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ALBERT R. MANN
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CORNELL UNIVERSITY
Cornell University Library

SF 285.Y6 1858

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UNDER THE SUPERINTENDENCE OF THE SOCIETY FOR THE
DIFFUSION OF USEFUL KNOWLEDGE.

 

 

THE HORSE.

BY WILLIAM YOUATT.

 

Head of the Black Arabian.

WITH A TREATISE OF DRAUGHT,

LONDON:
LONGMAN, BROWN, GREEN, LONGMANS, & ROBERTS.
1858.
PREFACE TO THIS EDITION.

Tue First Edition of The Horse, which was completed in the
year 1831, has since had a large and continued sale: and in
acknowledging the valuable communications which have been made
for the improvement of the work, it is satisfactory to the Com-
mittee to be able to state, that no grave errors in it havo been

pointed out.

Veterinary science has, however, made great progress in the
last twelve years; the Structure of the Horse, the Injuries and
Diseases to which he is subject, and the Treatment of these, have
been investigated, in this country and abroad, with much diligence
and success, both at Colleges and in Societies devoted to the
cultivation of Veterinary knowledge, and by practitioners whose
education and experience render their observations worthy of

great respect.

In these circumstances, the Society intrusted to the Author
the preparation of a New Edition of this Treatise; and he has
subjected it to so complete a revision, as to render it in many
respects a new work. This remark applies especially to the

chapters relating to the Diseases of the Horse.
vi PREFACE.

The rapid improvement which has been made in the art of
wood-cutting since the First Edition was published, will be
apparent by comparing the portraits of Horses, by Mr. Harvey,

in the present Edition, with the cuts in the original work.

The Committee are indebted to the able author of the Treatise
of Draught for the revision of his part of the work.

By Order of the Committee,

THOMAS COATES, Sec.

42, Brprorp Square, Loxpon,
\st March, 1848.

 
TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PAGE
1.-EARLY HISTORY OF THE HORSE . . . . . L
IL—FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES . . . . . - « 16
UI.—HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH HORSE . . . . - 653
IV.—DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES ‘ ‘ » » 66
V.—THE ZOOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE HORSE . - 106
VI.—THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION 3 . . . . . - 109

VII.—INJURIES AND DISEASES OF THE SKULL—THE BRAIN—THE
EARS—AND THE EYES . 5 . . . . « « 135

VIII.—ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH - 169

IX.—ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NECK AND NEIGHBOUR.

ING PARTS 7 . . . . . . . . 210

X.—THE CHEST . ‘ . . ° . . . . « « 221
XI—CONTENTS OF THE CHEST . . . . . - oe - 231
XIL—THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM . . . . . . « « 250

XIII.—THE ABDOMEN AND ITS CONTENTS . . . . « 28h

XIV.—DISEASES OF THE INTESTINES . . . . . e - 298
XV.—BREEDING; CASTRATION . . . . . ° e - 317
XVI.—THE FORE LEGS . . . . . ° © 0 ee « 829
XVIIL—THE HIND LEGS . . . . . . . . . . 352

XVIII.--THE FCOT . * . . . . . . . « « 374
vili CONTENTS.

CHAPTER PaGE

XIX.—DISEASES OF THE FOOT be eS Bh ae 880
XX.-FRACTURES . . . «© « 404
XXIL_ON SHOEING’ . .. 2k ‘ 417
XXIL—SURGICAL OPERATIONS . . . «© « . 430
XXIIM—VICES.. 20. www lt , 440
XXIV.-GENERAL MANAGEMENT . «6 eee 456
XXV.—THE SKIN AND ITS DISEASES . . . «. 473

XXVI.—ON SOUNDNESS, AND THE PURCHASE AND SALE OFHORSES 485

XXVIIL—MEDICINES—THEIR NATURE AND USES . 3 . 494

 

A TREATISE OF DRAUGHT . ‘ . ° 518
THE HORSE.

 

CHAPTER I.

ITS EARLY HISTORY.

dee this animal existed before the Flood, the researches of geologists

afford abundant proof. There is not a portion of Europe, nor scarcely any
part of the globe, from the tropical plains of India to the frozen regions of
Siberia—from the northern extremities of the New World to the very southern
point of America, in which the fossil remains of the horse have not been found
mingled with the bones of the hippopotamus, the elephant, the rhinoceros, the
bear, the tiger, the deer, and various other animals, some of which, like the
Mastodon, have passed away.

There is scarcely a district in Great Britain in which the fossil remains of this
animal have not been discovered. In the majority of cases the bones are of nearly
the same size with those of the common breed of horses at the present day ;
but in South America the bones of horses of a gigantic size have been dug up.

Whether the horse had then become the servant of man, or for what purpose
he was used, we know not. Every record of him was swept away by the gene-
ral inundation, except that the ark of Noah preserved a remnant of the race for
the future use of man *.

In the sacred volume, which, beside its higher claims to stand at the head of
“The Farmer's Library,” contains the oldest authentic history of past transac-
tions, an enumeration is made of certain valuable gifts that were presented
to Abraham by Pharach, the monarch of Egypt. They consisted of sheep,
oxen, asses male and female, camels, men-servants and maid-servants ; but the
horse is not mentioned t. This can scarcely be accounted for, except on the
supposition that this noble animal was not then found in Egypt, or, at least, had
not been domesticated there. ‘

The first allusion to the horse, after the period of the Flood, is a perfectly
incidental one. It is said of Anah, the son of Zibeon, a contemporary of Isaac,
who was born about the year before Christ 1590, that he found the mules in the
wilderness—the progeny of the ass and the horse—as he fed the asses of his
father t. The wilderness referred to was that of Idumea or Seir, Whether
these were wild horses that inhabited the deserts of Idumea, or had been sub-
jugated by man, we know not. History is altogether silent as to the period
when the connexion commenced or was renewed between the human being and
this his most valuable servant §.

 

 

* An interesting account of the history of + Gen. xii. 16. t Gen. xxxvi. 24.
the horse, from the earliest period, by Col. § Colonel Hamilton Smith has the follow-
Hamilton Smith, will be found in the 12th ing interesting observations on the early history
volume of the ‘‘ Naturalist’s Library.” Mr. of the horso:—‘ We know so littlu of the
Karbeck has also some valuable remarks on primitive seat of civilisation, the original centre,
the same subject, in the 14th volume of the perhaps in Bactria, in the higher valleys of the
* Vetcrinarian.”” B
2 EARLY HISTORY OF THE HORSE.

Nearly a century after this, when Jacob departed from Laban, a singular
account is given of the number of goats and sheep, and camels, and oxen, and
asses which he possessed ; but no mention is made of the horse *. This also
would lead to the conclusion that the horse was either not known or was not
used in Canaan at that early period.

Another century or more passed on, and waggons—conveyances drawn by
animals—were sent to Canaan to bring Joseph’s father into Egypt. No mention
is made of the kind of animals by which these vehicles were drawn ; but there
are many fragments of the architecture of the early ages, and particularly of the
Egyptian architecture, in which the chariots, even on state occasions, were drawn
by oxen. We cannot, however, cometo any certain conclusion from this; but,at no
distant period, while Joseph and his father were still living, a famine, preceded
by several years of plenty, occurred in Egypt. Joseph, who had arrived at the
chief office in the state under Pharaoh, had availed himself of the cheapness of
the corn during the plentiful years, and had accumulated great quantities of it
in the royal granaries, which he afterwards sold to the starving people for
money, as long as it lasted, and then for their cattle and horses.

This is the first certain mention of the horse in sacred or profane history ; but
it affords no clue as to the purposes to which this animal was then devoted. In
a few years, however, after the cessation of this famine, some elucidation of this
interesting point is obtained. When Jacob lay on his deathbed, he called his
sons around him, and, under the influence of that inspiration which has been
withheld in later times, prophesied what would be the character and fate of
their descendants. Of Dan he says, ‘ Dan shall be a serpent by the way, an
adder in the path that biteth the horse’s heels, so that his rider shall fall back-
wardt.” We have nothing here to do with the fulfilment of this prediction.
That which principally concerns the reader is the office which is, for the first
time, assigned to the horse. He is ridden.

We hear no more of the horse until the time of Job, who lived about
twenty years before the Israelites were brought out of Egypt by Moses. He
was well acquainted with the horse, and admired him on account of his unrivalled
beauty and the purposes to which he was devoted. Job’s description of the horse is
quoted in almost every work on the subject, and Dr. Blair cites it as an instance
of the sublimity of the inspired writers. ‘ Hast thou ”—the Divine Being is
supposed to inquire of Job—‘‘ given the horse his strength ? Hast thou clothed
his neck with his beautiful mane? The glory of his nostrils is terrible. He
paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength. He hurries on to meet the
armed men—he mocketh at fear—he turneth not his back from the sword. The
quiver rattleth against him—the glittering spear and the shield—he swallow-
eth the ground with fierceness and rage ; neither believeth he that it is the
sound of the trumpet (ordering a retreat). He saith among the trumpets,
Ha! ha!—and he smelleth the battle afar off, and heareth the thunder of the
captains and the shouting {.”

It appears from this that the horse, nearly 1500 years before the birth of Christ,

 

Oxus, or in Cashmere, whence knowledge
radiated to China, India, and Egypt, that it
may be surmised that the first domestication
of the post-diluvian horse was achieved in
Central Asia, or commenced nearly simultane-
ously in several regions where the wild ani-
mals of the horse form existed.’

* Gen. xxxii. 15. + Gen. xlix. 17.

t Job xxxix. 10—25. The Hebrew word
which is translated “ thunder’? in the 19th

verse, also signifies the mano of a horse.
Whoever has observed how much the mane of
a thorough-bred perfect horse, and under some
momentary excitement, contributes to. the
nobleness of his appearance, will enter into
the sublimity of the question, “Hast thou
clothed his neck with his beautiful mane?”
To “clothing the neck with thunder” no
meaning can be attached,
EARLY HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 3

was used for the purposes of war. The noble animal which Job described
belonged to the cavalry service of that time.

The same author assigns to him another task. Job had been previously
speaking of the ostrich and of the hunting of that bird, and he says, “ What
time she lifteth herself on high,”—springs from the ground as she runs, —“ she
scorneth the horse and his rider *,.” :

In less than twenty years after this, we are told that Pharaoh “ took 600 chosen
chariots and all the horses and chariots of Egypt, and all the horsemen, and
pursued the Israelites to the Red Seat.” Here we seem to have three distinct
classes of horses, the chosen chariot horse, the more ordinary chariots, and the
cavalry. In fact, the power and value of the horse were now fully appreciated.
Buxtorff says that the word “parash,” or “horseman,” is derived from the
Hebrew root to prick or spur, and that the rider derived his name from the use
of the spur. It would seem that riding was at this period not only a familiar
exercise, but had attained a degree of perfection not generally imagined i

In what country the horse was first domesticated there are no records certainly
to determine. The most ancient of all histories is silent as to his existence in
the time of Abraham ; although it can hardly be imagined that this noble animal
was not used when Nimrod founded the Babylonish monarchy, full 200 hundred
years before the birth of Abraham—or Semiramis, 150 years afterwards, reigned
over the same country—or the Shepherd Kings, a little while before that period,
conquered Egypt. It is natural to imagine that the domestication of the horse
was coeval with the establishment of civilisation.

The author was disposed, in a former edition of this work, to trace the first
domestication of the horse to Egypt ; but farther consideration has induced him
to adopt the opinion of Colonel Hamilton Smith, that it took place in Central
Asia, and perhaps nearly simultaneously in the several regions where the wild
animals of the horse form existed. From the higher valleys of the Oxus and
from Cashmere the knowledge of his usefulness seems to have radiated to
China, India, and Egypt §.

The original horse of the southern and western countries came from the
north-eastern part of Asia, the domicile of those who escaped from the ravages
of the Flood. Indeed, without the aid of the horse, the advancement of colonisa-
tion would have been exceedingly slow.

Colonel Smith is perfectly correct when he says that “ to ancient Egypt we
appear to be indebted for the first systematic attention to reviving and improving
the breeds of horses ; numerous carved or outlined pictures represent steeds whose
symmetry, beauty, and colour attest that they are designed from high-bred
types.” Grooms also are represented as “rubbing their joints and sedulously
attending to their comfort on every proper occasion.” The horses, in-all those
tasteful works of art, are represented as either being loose or harnessed to
chariots ; no mounted cavalry are to be seen until a comparatively late period.
It is the same with the bas-reliefs of Persepolis. On the frieze, however, of the
temple of Minerva, in the Acropolis of Athens, built many years before the
destruction of Persepolis, there were numerous figures of men on horseback, but
not one of a horse harnessed to a chariot. The following cut was faithfully copied
from the frieze of that temple. This isa singular fact, and might lead to a very
wrong conclusion—namely, that the chariot was in common use in Persia, and
not known in Greece ; whereas the Persians were far more decidedly a nation of
horsemen than the Greeks, but chariots were occasionally used by them in their
solemn festivals in honour of their divinities, and therefore naturally found on

 

* Job xxxix. 18, T Exod. xiv. 9. + Berenger’s History of Horsemanship, i. 1].
§ Naturalist’s Library, vol. xii. p. 76.

b2
4 EARLY HISTORY OF THE HORSE.

the frieze of their temples. Among the Greeks, however, chariots were never
used for the purposes of war, but only in their public games

 

  
 
 
 

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The breeding of the horse, and his employment for pleasure and in war, were

forbidden to the Israelites.
those that were taken in war.

* It may not be useless to pause for a mo-
ment, and study the form and character of
these horses and their riders.

There is considerable difference in the form
and action of the two horses, The right-hand
onc, and the foremost of the two, is sadly
defective in the portions of the fore-arms
which we aro permitted to see. The near
one is poorly supplied with muscle.

The off-horse is out of all keeping. The
largo ears placed so low; the clumsy swelling
of the lower part of the neck; the bad union
of it with the breast ; the length and thinness
of the barrel compared with the bulk of the
fore parts, notwithstanding the natural and
graceful position of the hind legs, show no
little want of skill in the statuary.

The more animated head of the left and
hinder horse, the inflated nostril, the opening
of the mouth, the form and prominence of the
eye, and the laying of the ears, sufficiently
confirm the accounts which we have of the
spirit—sometimes untameable—of the primi-
tive horses. The neck, however, is too short
even for one with these immense forehands; it
sptings badly out of the chest ; the shoulder is
very defective; but the fore-arms, their ex-
pression and their position, are exceedingly
good; the long foyre-arms and short leg are

They were commanded to hough or hamstring
The sheep yielded them their wool, and the

excellent ; and so are the off fetlock and foot ;
but the barrel is deficient, the carcase is lengthy,
and the hind quarters are weak compared with
the fore-arms.

The beautiful execution of the riders can.
not escape observation. The perfect Grecian
face, the admirable expression of the counte-
nance, the rounding and perfection of every
limb, are sufficient proofs that the riders were
portraits, as probably the horses were to a very
considerable extent.

These animals remind us of some of the
heavy ones of the present day particularly ;
they have the beauties and the defects of
many of the modern Holstein horses; they
are high, but perhaps heavy-actioned ; courage-
ous, spirited, possibly fierce. They exhibit
the germs of many future improvements, aud,
taken altogether, may be examined with con-
siderable pleasure, remembering that they are
horses of nearly 2300 years ago. Art has
done much for the horse since that period, but
the countenance and figure of the human being
were at that time perfect. These horsemen
have not even the switch to guide the animal
but they are holding by the mane with the
zt rae oe are evidently direc.ing the horse

y pulling the mane, or pressing th i
theceny tanalille hiker ap.
EARLY HISTORY OF THE HORSE, 5

cattle their milk, and both of them their flesh. By the latter of these animals
the land was tilled, and the corn trodden out ; while the rulers and the judges,
and even the kings of Israel, ave carried by asses. The horse is occasionally
mentioned in the early period of the Israelitish commonwealth. No definite
duty, however, is assigned to him ; and it is said of the then monarch that “ He
shall not multiply horses to himself*.” There were two reasons for this:
they were destined to be a peculiar people, preserving in the narrow confines
of their country the knowledge and worship of the true God: therefore they
were forbidden the means of wandering to other lands, The nature of their
country likewise forbade the extensive breeding of the horse. It consisted, in
@ great measure, of mountains, and was bounded on the west by the sea, and on
three other sides by deserts. It was not until the time of Solomon, 500 years
after the Israelites had left Egypt,-that the horse was domesticated among
them ; and then so rapidly did he increase that Solomon had a thousand and
four hundred chariots, and twelve thousand cavalry, and stabling for forty thou-
sand horsest. The greater part of these horses were imported from Egypt.

The sacred historian gives the price both of the chariots and the horses.
Tt is the oldest document of the kind on record. The horse, including pro-
bably the expense of the journey, cost 150 shekels of silver, or rather more
than £17}. The chariot cost G00 shekels, or a little more than £68. Of the
comparative value of money at that period it is impossible to speak ; but it was
probably many times greater than at present.

It is‘a question yet disputed, whether the use of chariots or the art of riding
was first cultivated. According to Colonel Hamilton Smith, the northern
nations were exclusively riders. At Nineveh, in Asia Minor, and India, they
were both charioteers and riders. In Greece, Palestine, and Egypt, they were
originally charioteers only §.. The probability, however, is, that although one
might prevail in particular eras and countries, the other would aot long remain
unpractised |].

Before a sketch of the history of the European horse is attempted, it may
be interesting to collect the accounts given by historians of the character and
management of the horse in earlier periods.

Upper Egypt and Ethiopia were inhabited by horsemen, of wild and preda-
cious habits; plundering those who fell into their power, ov hiring themselves
to increase the army of any foreign potentate. Many truops of them attended
Xerxes in his expedition into Greece.

In Libya, Numidia, Mauritania, and the settlements on the northern coast
of Africa, comprising Morocco, Barbary, Tunis, and Tripoli of the present day,
‘and the northern part of the Sahara, or Great Desert, the horses were numerous
and fleet. AZlian describes them as being somewhat slenderly made, and seldom
carrying much flesh; requiring little care and attendance from their owners ;
content with the common pasture which the country afforded, and on which
they were turned, without further care or notice, as soon as their work was
done. Their present treatment is not a great deal better.

They were at first ridden, as they are represented on the fresco of the
Parthenon, without either bridle or saddle; and the rider had nothing but
a switch or stick by which to guide them. This is said to have given them
an ungraceful and awkward appearance; their necks being straignt ana

 

* Deut. xvii. 16. + 1 Kings x. 26. || Berenger’s Hist. of Horsemanship, vol. x
¢ 1 Kings x. 29. p. 11
§ Nat. Lib., vol. xii. p. 88.

4 This is a work of great. research and fidelity. We have found it truly invaluable in our
investigation of the early history of the horse.
6 EARLY HISTORY OF THE HORSE.

extended, and their noses pointing somewhat upwards. “It may, in some
degree,” says Berenger, “be difficult to conceive how a wand or stick could
be sufficient to guide or control a spirited or obstinate horse in the violence of
his course, or the tumult of battle; but the attention, docility, and meniery’
of this animal are such, that it is hard to say to what a degree of obedience he
may not be reduced. ‘There is no reason why these horses should not be
brought to understand the intention and obey the will of his rider with as
much certainty and readiness as our cart-horses in our crowded streets attend
to the voice of their driver, by which they are almost solely governed*.” The
older writers say that the horse was touched on the right of the face, to make
him go forward—on the left, to direct him to the right—on the muzzle, when
he was required to stop; while the heel was used to urge him forward. The
guidance of the horse by the gentle touch of the fingers is well represented in
the engraving given at page 4.

Passing the Isthmus of Suez, ancient writers say not a word of the horses
of Arabia. These deserts were not then inhabited by this noble animal,
or there was nothing about him worthy of record.

Palestine, during the later periods of the Jewish monarchy, contained nume-
rous horses. Mention has been made of the forty thousand stalls for horses
built by Solomon; but they were all brought from Egypt, and a very little
portion of the Holy Land was ever devoted to the breeding of horses after the
settlement of the Israelites in it.

Syria acquired little reputation on this account, nor did Asia Minor gene-
rally, with the exception of the country around Colophon, between Smyrna
and Ephesus, whose cavalry was so numerous and well trained that they were
always in request as mercenaries, and deemed to be invinciblet.

We must now travel to Armenia, on the west of Media, before we meet
with anything to arrest our steps. A beautiful breed of horses was cultivated
in this district. The chariot of Xerxes was drawn by Armenian horses, being
the stateliest and the noblest which his extensive empire could producef.

Some writers, describing the horse at a later period, mention the great care
that was taken of the dressing and adorning of the mane. Vegetius givesa
long account of this. It was cut into the form of an arch or bow; or it was
parted in the middle, that the hair might fall down on either side; or, more
generally, it was left long and flowing on the right side—a custom which has
been retained to the present day §.

Many old sculptures prove that the horsemen of almost every country
mounted on the right side of the animal. There are a few exceptions to this.
‘The mane hanging on that side would assist the rider in getting on the horse.
There were not any stirrups in those days. The modern horseman always
mounts on the left side, yet the mane is turned to the right/].

Mepra produced numerous horses of the same characteras those from Armenia.

Cappapocta stood highest of all the castern countries for its breed of
horses; not perhaps so speedy as those from some other districts, but dis-

* Silius Italicus thus describes the manage-

eeu loheee + In all long and tedious wars the assistance
ment of the carly horse :—

of the Colophonian troops was courted, and the

“Paret in obsequium lente mode ramine
virge, [freeni.”’
Verbera sunt praecepta fugee, sunt verbera
“ All necdless here the bit’s coercive force
Fo guide the motions of the pliant horse :
Form’d by the rod alone, its aids they know,
And stop and turn obedient to the blow §.”

 Berenger, vol. i. pp. 24 aud 26.

party that abtained supplies from them were so
certain of success, that KoAopava 710évat, and,
afterwards among the Romans, “ Colophonem
imponere,” were used Proverbially for putting
a conclusion to any affair. Strabo, lib. xiv.

} Berenger, vol. i. p. 20.

§ Denso juba, et dextro jactata recumbit
in armo.— Virgil.

ll] Vegetius, lib. iv. «. 7.
IN ASIA. 7

tinguished for their stately appearance and lofty action, Old Blundeville,
from the inspection of many of the ancient sculptures, says that these were
more heavy-headed than the heroes of the Parthians*. Perhaps they were so ;
but no one can dispute the stateliness of their figure, and their proud and high
and equal step. Although often ridden, they were better calculated for the
chariot. This kind of horse seems to have pleased the ancients; and their
painters and statuaries are fond of exhibiting them in their most striking
attitudes. The horses in the cut at the commencement of this chapter are
illustrative of the remark. Oppian says of them, what is truc at the present
day of many horses of this character, “when young, they are delicate and
weak ; but strength comes with years, and, contrary to other horses, they are
better and more powerful when advanced in aget.”

The Parruians fought on foot in the army of Xerxes. Either they had
not begun to be celebrated as horsemen, or there were reasons which no author
states for their being dismounted at that time. No very long period, however,
passed before they became some of the most expert riders that the world could
produce, and were reckoned, and justly so, almost invincible. They are
described as being exceedingly active and dexterous in the management of their
horses. They were as formidable in flight as in attack, and would often turn
on the back of the animal, and pour on their pursuers a cloud of arrows that
at once changed the fortune of the day.

Vegetius gives a singular account of the manner of their breaking in their
horses, and rendering them sure-footed when galloping over the most irregular
and dangerous grounds; for they were lighter and hardier horses than those of the
Cappadocians or Medes, and better for their peculiar pace and manner of fight-
ing. A spot of dry and level ground was selected, on which various troughs or
boxes, filled with chalk or clay, were placed at irregular distances, and with
much irregularity of surface and of height. Here the horses were taken for
exercise ; and they had many a stumble and many a fall as they galloped over
this strangely uneven course; but they gradually learned to lift their feet
higher, and to bend their knees better, and to deal their steps sometimes
shorter and sometimes longer, as the ground required, until they could carry
their riders with ease and safety over the most irregular and dangerous places.
Then it was that the Parthians could fully put into practice their favourite
maneeuvre, and turn upon and destroy their unsuspecting foes. They could
also travel an almost incredible distance without food or rest.

To the Scythians, the Medes, and the Parthians, in after times, and in rapid
succession (if, indeed, they were not different names for hordes of one common
origin), succeeded the Ostraces, the Urals, the Monguls, the Calmucks, the
Nogays, the Visigoths, the Ostrogoths, and the Huns—all people of the vast
plains of Central ‘Asia, which has been well denominated the nursery of
nations. These were all horsemen. Some of their leaders could bring from
two to three hundred thousand horsemen into the field. The speed of their
marches ; their attacks and their retreats ; the hardihood to which they inured
themselves and the animals by which they were carried ; the incursion, and often
settlement, of horde after horde, each as numerous as that to which it succeeded ;
—these are circumstances that must not be forgotten in our rapid sketch of the
horse.

At the end of the eighth century, when the Saracens overran a great part of
Europe, they brought with them a force of 200,000 cavalry, in a much higher
state of discipline than the Goths and Huns of former ages.

 

* Blundeville’s Fower Chiefest Offices,p. 3. £ Quot sine aqua Parthus millia currat
+ Berenger, vol.i. p. 22. equus,—Propertius, lib. iv. eleg. 3,
& THE PERSIAN HORSE.

Of the horses in the south of Asia and the east of the Indus little mention
occurs, except that both chariots and cavalry were summoned from this distant
region to swell the army of Xerxes.

Celebrated as the horses of Persia afterwards became, they were few, and
of an inferior kind, until the reign of Cyrus. That monarch, whose life was
devoted to the amelioration and happiness of his people, saw how admir-
ably Persia was adapted for the breeding of horses, and how necessary was
their introduction to the maintenance of the independence of his country,
He therefore devoted himself to the encouragement and improvement of the
breed of horses. He granted peculiar privileges to those who possessed a certain
number of these animals; so that at length it was deemed ignominious in a Persian
to be seen in public, except on horseback. At first the Persians vied with each
other in the beauty of their horses, and the splendour of their clothing ; and
incurred the censure of the historian, that they were more desirous of sitting
at their ease than of approving themselves dexterous and bold horsemen* ;
but under such a monarch as Cyrus they were soon inspired with a nobler
ambition, and became the best cavalry of the East. The native Persian horse
was so highly prized, that Alexander considered one of them the noblest gift
he could bestow ; and when the kings of Parthia would propitiate their divini-
ties by the most costly sacrifice, a Persian horse was offered on the altar.

Vegetius has preserved a description of the Persian horse, which proves him
to have been a valuable animal, according to the notions of those times; but
capable of much improvement, according to the standard of a more modern
period. He says that “they surpassed other horses in the pride and grace-
fulness of their paces, which were so soft and easy as to please and relieve,
rather than fatigue the rider, and that the pace was as safe as it was pleasant ;
and that, when they were bred on a large scale, they constituted a considerable
part of their owner's revenue.” He adds, as a commendation, “the graceful
arching of their necks, so that their chins leaned upon their breasts, while their
pace was something between a gallop and an amble.” The horsemen of the
present day would decidedly object to both of these things, and that which
follows would be a still more serious cause of objection :—‘t They were subject
to tire upon a long march or journey, and then were of a temper which, unless
awed and subdued by discipline and exercise, inclined them to obstinacy and
rebellion; yet, with all their heat and anger, they were not difficult to be
pacified.”

Both the soldier and the horse were often covered with armour from head to
foot. They adopted much of the tactics of the Parthians in their pretended
flight. “Even when retreating in earnest, they annoyed their pursuers by the
continual discharge of their arrows. Arrian gives a curious account of their
manner of riding. They had. no bridles, like the Greeks; but they governed
their horses by means of a thong or strap, cut from the raw hide of a bull, and
which they bound across their noses. On the inside of this noseband weie
little pointed pieces of iron, or brass, or ivory, moderately sharp. In the
mouth was a small piece of iron, in the form of a small bar, to which the reins
were tied, and with which the noseband was connected. When the reins were
pulled, the small teeth on the noseband pinched the horse, and compelled him
to obey the will of the rider. The modern caveson was probably derived from
this inventiont.

It is time to proceed to the early history of the horse in Europe. Many
colonics of Egyptians emigrated to Greece. They carried with them the love
of the horse, anl as many of these noble animals as their ships would contain.

 

 

* Athcuus, lib. xt. 4, + Arian. Hist. Ind. lib, 17. Berenger, vol. i, p. 301
THE GRECIAN IlORSE. 9

It would appear that the first colony, about the time of the birth of Moses,
landed in Thessaly, in the north of Greece. Their appearance mounted on
horseback, according to the old fable, terrified the native inhabitants, and they
fled in all directions, imagining that their country was attacked by a set of
monsters, half horse and half man, and they called them Centaurs, Such was
the origin of the figures which are not unfrequent among the remains of ancient
sculpture.

Another and a more natural interpretation offers itself to the mind of the
horseman, The Thessalians were the pride of the Grecian cavalry. Before the
other provinces of Greece were scarcely acquainted with the name of the horse
their subjugation of him was so complete, that, in the language of another poet
of far later days, but not inferior to any that Greece ever knew,

These gallants
Had witchcraft in’t—they grew unto their seat,
And to such wondrous doing brought their horse

As they had been incorpsed, and demi-natured
With the brave beast *.”’

Hence the origin of the fable and of all the expressive sculptures. Bucephalus,
the favourite war-horse of Alexander, was probably of this breed. He would
permit no one to mount him but his master, and he always knelt down to
receive him on his back. Alexander rode him at the battle of the Hydaspes,
in which the noble steed received his death-wound. For once he was disobe-
dient to the commands of his master: he hastened from the heat of the fight ;
he brought Alexander to a place where he was secure from danger ; he knelt
for him to alight, and then dropped down and diedt.

Sixty years afterwards, another colony of Egyptians landed in the southern
part of Greece, and they introduced the knowledge of the horse in the neigh-
bourhood of Athens. Their leader was called Erichthonius, or the horse-
breaker; and after his death, like the first Centaur, he found a place in the
Zodiac under the name of “ The Archer.” Erichthonius likewise occupied a
situation among the constellations, and was termed Auriga, or the charioteer.

The Thessalians always maintained their character as the first and the
choicest of the Grecian cavalry. In point of fact, it was the only part of the
country in which horses could with decided advantage be bred. It abounded in
rich pastures, whereas the rest of Greece was comparatively dry and barren{.

From various of the Greek authors we can very satisfactorily trace the rapid
improvement which about this time took place in the character and management
of the horse. It has been stated that the soil and produce of Greece were not
favourable for the breeding of horses, and that it could be a matter of profit
only in Thessaly. They soon, however, became necessary in almost every part
of the country, both for offence and defence ; therefore, in most of the cities, and
particularly in Athens and in Sparta, in order to induce the inhabitants to keep
the requisite number, a new order of citizens was instituted, deemed the second

 

authors are most celebrated. For which cause
Xerxes, on his comming into Greece, made 1

* Shakspeare, Hamlet, Activ. scene 7.
+ Plutarch, in Alex., Arrian. v.c. 3.

t Blundeville, who was an execllent classic
as well as horseman, says :—‘‘ The horses of
Greece have good legges, great bodyes, comely
heads, and are of a high stature, and very
well made forewarde, but not backwarde,
because they are pyn-buttocked. Notwith-
standing, they are verye swift, and of a bolde
courage. But of all the races in Greece, both
the horses and mares of Thessaly for their
bewtic, bignesse, bountic and courage, of al

running of horses in chariots to be proclaymed
only in Thessalia, because hee woulde have his
owne horses to runne wythe the best horses in
Greece. Julius Cesar, also, beying Dictatour
of Rome, knowyng the courage of these horses,
was the first that ordeyned them as a spectacle
before the people to fyghte wythe wylde bulls,
and to kyll them."—The F'ower Chie/est
Offices belonging to Horsemanship, yp. 4.
10 THE ACCOUTREMENTS

in rank in the commonwealth, and distinguished by certain honours and privi-
leges, The equites, or knights, in the Roman republic, were formed on the
same model, ;

It is in some of the Grecian sculptures that we first see the bit in the horse's
mouth, but it is not always that we do see it; on the contrary, there is fre-
quently neither bridle, saddle, nor stirrup. It however was frequently neces-
sary to make use of cords or thongs, in order to confine the horse to the place
at which it suited the rider for a while to leave him. These cords were fastened
round the animal’s neck, and may be seen in several of the ancient figures,
According to some writers, the occasional struggles of the animal to escape from
these trammels, and the strength which he exerted in order to accomplish his
purpose, first suggested the idea of harnessing him to certain machines for the
purpose of drawing them; and it is evident that soon after this it must have
occurred to the horseman, that if this rope were put over the head, and over
the muzzle, or perhaps into the mouth of the animal, he would be more easily
fastened or lcd from place to place, and more securely guided and managed,
whether the man was off or on his back. Hence arose the bridle. It probably
was at first nothing more than the halter or cord by which the horse was usually
confined. An improvement on this was a detached cord or rope, with prolonga-
tions coming up on both sides of the mouth, and giving the rider much greater
power over the animal; and after that, for the sake of cleanliness, and to pre-~
vent the wear and tear of the rope, and also giving yet more command over the
animal, an iron bit was fitted to the mouth, and rested on the tongue, and the
bridle was attached to each end of it. Jt was the common snaffle bridle of the
present day, the iron being jointed and flexible, or often composed of a chain.
There were, however, no cross pieces to these bits at the mouth, but simple
knobs or bulbs, to the inside of which the bits were attached.

Bits and bridles of this kind occur frequently in the Athenian sculptures of
the time of Pericles, about 430 years before the Christian era; but the head-
gear of the bridle had not been long introduced, the bit being supported, in
some figures, by the buckling or tying of the bridle about the nose, a little
above the muzzle. These, however, soon disappear, and we have the present
snaffle with very little alteration, except a straight leather or cord from the
head to the noseband, and that not always found. The chain under the chin
is occasionally observed, probably for the sake of keeping the bit steady in the
mouth.

In no period of Grecian history, so far as the author is aware, was the severe
and often cruel curbed-bit known. This was an invention of after-times. The
only instrument of punishment which was then attached to the bit was found
in the knobs at the corners of the mouth: they had sharp or rough points on
their inner surface, which by a turn or twist of the bridle might easily be
brought to bear painfully on the cheeks and angles of the mouth. A bit so
constructed was termed a Jupatum, from the supposed resemblance of these
sharp projections to the teeth of a wolf. It would seem that this was, among
the Romans, almost coeval with the introduction of the bit, for the poet attri-
butes it to Neptune, the fabuious parent of the horse*.

No mention is made of saddles, such as are used in modern times; but by
way of ornament, and partly of convenience too, the horses were often covered
with beautiful cloths, or with the skins of wild beasts, secured by a girth or
surcingle. Thus the horse of Parthenopius was covered with the skin of a

 

* “ Neptunus equo, si certa priorum, ‘ Neptune, if we may eredit give to fame.
Jama patet, primus tencris lesisse lupatis First taught with bits the pencrous ihavao
Ora, ct littoreo domuisse in pulvere fer- tame.”

tur.”

ci
OF THE HORSE, 11

lynx, and that of Aineas with a lion’s skin. In their religious or triumphal,
processions the housings of the horses were particularly magnificent, being fre-
quently adorned with gold and silver and diamonds. Rich collars were also
hung round their necks, and bells adorned their crests. The trappings of the
young knight in the days of chivalry did not exceed those of the Grecian war-
rior on days of ceremony.

The stirrup was likewise unknown. The adoption of that convenient assist-
ance in mounting the horse was of singularly late date. The first mention of
it occurs in the works of Eustathius, about the 1158th year of the Christian
era; but it was used in the time of William the Conqueror, nearly a century
before that, Bérenger gives the figure of a horse saddled, bridled, and with
stirrups, copied from the Bayeux tapestry, which was embroidered in the time
of the Conqueror by his wife, and describes the circumstances preceding and
attending his descent into England. The heroes of ancient times trusted chiefly
to their own agility in leaping on their horses’ backs, and that whether standing
on the right side or the left.

They who fought on horseback with the spear or lance had a projection on
the spear, or sometimes a loop of cord, about two feet from the bottom of it,
which served at once for a firmer grasp of the weapon, and a step op which the
right or the left foot might be placed, according to the side on which the war-
rior intended to mount, and from which he could easily vault on his courser’s
back. The horse was sometimes taught to assist the rider in mounting by
bending his neck or kneeling down*. The magnates always had their slaves
by their horse’s side to assist them in mounting and dismounting. Some made
use of a short ladder; and it was the duty of the local magistracy, both in
Rome and Greece, te see that convenient stepping-stones were placed at short
distances along all the roads.

The boot for the defence of the leg from the dangers to which it was exposed
was very early adopted, and the heel of it was, occasionally at least, armed with
@ spur.

The horses’ feet were unshod, the paved or flinty roads, which are now so
destructive to the feet, being in a manner unknown. Occasionally, however.
from natural weakness of the foot, or from travelling too far or too fast over
the causeways, lameness then, as now, occurred. In order to prevent this, the
Greeks and the Romans were accustomed to fasten a sort of sandal or stocking,
made of sedges twisted together like a mat, or else of leather, and where the
owner could afford it, strengthened with plates of iron, and sometimes adorned
with silver and even with gold, as was the case with the horses of Poppza and
Nerot.

There was a peculiarity in the Greek mode of riding, at least with regard
to the cavalry horses, and, sometimes, those used for pleasure. Two or three
of them were tied together by their bridles, and the horseman, at full speed,
leaped from one to another at his pleasure. This might occasionally be useful ;
when one horse was tired or wounded, the warrior might leap upon another ;
but he would be so hampered by the management of all of them, and the
attention which he was compelled to pay to them all, that it never became the
general way of riding or fighting; nor was it practised in any other country
Homer, in his 15th Iliad, alludes to it as a feat of skill attempted insport. The

 

* Thus the Roman poet :— To give his rider a more free ascent.”’

“ Inde inclinatus collum, submissus et armos Silius Italicus,
De more, inflexis prebebat scandere terga
Cruribus.” [bent, + Appendix to the Translation of Xcno-

‘* Downwards the horse his head and shoulders phon’s Rules, p. 51.
12 THE CHARIOTS.

following is a translation of the passage :-—‘ Just asa skilful horseman riding
four chosen horses along a public road to some great city, where his course 1s
to terminate, the whole town assembles to behold him, and gaze upon him
with wonder and applause ; while he leaps with ease from the back of one horse
to another, and flies along with them.” :

The Greeks must have carried their management of the horse to a very high
state of perfection ; and the Grecian horse must have been exceedingly docile,
when exhibitions of this kind could take place.

It was, however, to the draught of the chariot that this animal was princi-
pally devoted in some other countries, and among the Greeks in the early
period of their history. No mention is made of a single horseman on either
side, during the ten years’ siege of Troy; but the warriors all fought on foot
or in chariots.

The chariots were simple in their structure, open at the back, and partly on
the sides ; and containing the driver in the front, and the warrior standing‘on a
platform, usually somewhat elevated. These vehicles seem to have been rarely
brought into collision with each other ; but they were driven rapidly over the
field, the warrior hurling his lances on either side, or alighting when he met
with a foe worthy of his attack. These chariots were not only contrived for
service, but were often most splendidly and expensively ornamented. They
were the prize of the conqueror. Sometimes they were drawn by three horses ;
but the third was a spare one, in case either of the others should be tired or
wounded. Some had four horses yoked abreast ; such was the chariot of Hector.

The charioteer, although at the time inferior to, or under the command of
the warrior, was seldom or never a menial. He was often the intimate friend
of the warrior ; thus Nestor, and even Hector, are found acting as charioteers.
When not the personal friend of the warrior, he was usually a charioteer by
profession ; and drove where he was directed.

Occasional mention is made of the currus falcati, chariots with armed instru-
ments in the form of scythes, projecting from the axles of the wheels, by means
of which whole ranks might be mown down at once. They were confined,
however, to the more barbarous nations, and were used neither by the Greeks
nor the Romans. They were advantageous only on tolerably open and level
ground; and it not unfrequently happened that, affrighted by the clamour of
the battle, or by wounds, the horses became ungovernable, and, turning on the
ranks of their friends, threw them into complete disorder. They were on this
account laid aside, even by the barbarians themselves, :

In process of time, war-chariots of every kind fell into disuse, and the higher
classes of warriors were content to fight on horseback, where their personal
strength and courage might ke as well displayed, and discipline could be better
preserved.

Still, almost to the period of the Christian era, and long after that in many
countries, the use of the horse was confined to war, to the chase, and to public
pageants. The first employment of the Egyptian colonists, when they landed
in Thessaly, was to rid the forests of the wild cattle, and other dangerous ani-
mals, with which they were then peopled, In the central and southern parts
of Greece, the country was more open, and the wilder animals were scarcely
known; but in Assyria and Persia, and every country in which the legitimate
prey of the hunter was found, the horse was employed in its pursuit. ,

In process of time, in order to decide the comparative value of different horses,
or to gratify the vanity of their owners, and also to give more effect to certain,
religious rites and public spectacles, horse-races were introduced. The most
celebrated of these exhibitions was that at Olympia, in Pcloponnesus, held
THE CHARIOT-RACES, 13

every fourth year, in honour of Jupiter. The young men flocked thither from
every district of Greece, to contend in every manly exercise—hurling the javelin
leaping, running, wrestling and boxing. The candidates were persons of unble-
mished reputation—the contest fairly and honourably conducted, and the con-
ueror, crowned with a laurel, or with gold, was received in his native town
with acclamations of joy. A breach was made in the wall of the town for one
who had so distinguished himself to pass. He was, for life, entitled to prece-
dency at every public exhibition ; he was exempted from all taxes and inferior
civil offices ; his name was enrolled in the archives of his country, and statues
were erected to his memory. This was the source of the noble spirit of emu-
lation and the ardent love of country by which the Greek was distinguished.

Nearly a century, however, passed before the attraction of the exhibition
was increased by the labours of the horse. The first colonists could bring with
them only a few of these noble animals. In several of the wars in which they
were engaged, their deficiency in cavalry was lamentably apparent. It was not:
until the 23rd Olympiad that the horse mingled in the contest.

During the first two Olympiads after this, horsemen alone appeared. Of
these races the accounts are exceedingly imperfect. Each horse was ridden by
his owner, who was obliged to undergo preparatory trials for the space of thirty
days. The horses were divided into full and under-aged; but no explanation
is given by any writer of the precise meaning of these terms, nor is anything
said of the weight of the riders. We only know the space to be run over, which
somewhat exceeded four miles. There was one race, called Colne, in which
mares alone were permitted to run. Towards the end of the course, the riders
were compelled to leap from their backs, and, keeping the bridle in their
hands, to run alongside of them to the winning-post.

In the 25th Olympiad, chariot-races were introduced. The chariots were
arranged abreast of each other at the starting-post ; the places—for it will appear
that these gave some important advantages—having been previously decided by
lot. An altar was erected on one side, upon which stood a brazen eagle, dedi-
cated to Jupiter, and a dolphin, sacred to Neptune. At a signal from the
presiding officer, the eagle, by some mechanism, sprang into the air, the
dolphin sank under ground, and away the horses started. The hippodrome, or
course, was about one-third of a mile in length; and at the farther end was a
pillar, round which the chariots were to be driven, and back again to the start-
ing-place, six times, -making rather more than four miles.

The rounding of this pillar was the first test of the skill of the driver and
the docility of the horses, and many an accident happened there.

This dangerous spot was no sooner passed, than the competitors came at
once upon a strange figure placed to try the courage and nerve of the horses.
It was an enormous statue, called Taraxippus, the terrifier of horses—and,
according to the old writers, well worthy of the name. None of them describe
this strange deity, but all agree that he used sadly to frighten the steeds, and
often to endanger their lives, and that of the driver.

A little farther on was a lofty rock, in the very centre of the course, leaving
only a very narrow defile, in the passing through which the skill of the cha-
rioteer was severely tried ; while several men, placed on the rock, increased
the confusion, and the terror of the horses, by the continual braying of their
trumpets.

As may be well supposed, the number of the competitors was much dimi-
nished ere the conclusion of the race. Some ran against the pillar, others were
frightened out of the course by the horrible statue, and not a few were wrecked.
on that fearful rock. Some were destroyed on the spot ; others, who escaped
iM XENOPHON’S HORSE.

without serious injury, were derided by the spectators, on account of their want
of skill; and the fragments with which the course was covered, rendered almost
every step perilous. The conqueror in such a race well deserved the crown
which he received, and the honours that were bestowed on him . ;

What were the opinions which prevailed at this early period respecting the
proper form—the points of the horse? Let that master horseman, Xenophon,
declare. ‘The first thing that ought to be looked to is the foot ; for as a house
would be of no use, though all the upper parts of it were beautiful, if the lower
parts of it had not a proper foundation, so a horse would not be of any use in
war, if he had tender feet, even though he should have all other good qualities ;
for his good qualities could not be made any valuable use of.” This maxim,
more than 2200 years old, bespeaks at once the horseman.

“ Thick hoofs make a horse’s feet better than thin ones.” This must be
self-evident, where there was no artificial protection of the foot. ‘The force
with which the foot will come in contact with the ground at every step will
produce sufficient expansion of the heel ; but it is only a strong foot that can
long endure the concussion, without being worn away.

“It likewise must not be forgotten to see whether the hoofs are high or
low, and near the ground, both before and behind.” Few things are of greater
importance than this. If the inclination of the foot in front is less than its
usual angle (forty-five degrees), it indicates a contracted foot, and a morbidly
hollow sole, and inflammation of the laminw, and speedy and incurable lame-
ness. If the inclination is greater, and the angle acuter than it should be,
there is flatness of the sole, and liability to serious bruise of it, or, perhaps,
pumiced feet.

“ The pasterns, or bones immediately above the hoofs and below the fetlocks,
ought not to be straight like those of a goat ; for this would shake the rider,
and such legs are more subject to inflammation ; nor ought these bones to be
too low, for the fetlock would be chafed and ulcerated, if the horse was ridden
over ploughed grounds, or among stones.” If he had added that the oblique
pastern was sadly liable to sprain, and there would often be injury through the
whole course of the flexor tendon, nothing could have been added to the force
of his observation. :

“The bones of the legs ought to be large, since they are supporters of the
body ; not, however, thick with veins, or cellular matter.” He is speaking of
the war-horse and the hunter, and what can be more correct ?

“Tf the colt in walking bends his knees freely, you may judge, when he
comes to be ridden, that his legs will be supple; and supple joints are justly
cominended, as they make a horse less liable to stumble, and not tire so soon as
when his joints are stiff.”

“ The thighs under the shoulders (the fore-arms), when theyare large, are both
powerful and graceful ; and the chest being large, contributes not only to beauty
and strength, but to a horse’s being able to continue a long time in one pace.”

“The necx should proceed from the chest, rising upwards, and it should be
loose about the bend of the head: the head, too, being bony, should have a
small cheek. The eye should be standing out, and not sunk in the cheek.
The nostrils that are wide, are not only better adapted for breathing than
those that are compressed, but likewise cause the horse to appear more terrible
in battle. The top of the head being large, and the ears small, makes the
head appear more elegant. The point of the shoulder likewise, being high,
renders that part of the body more compact.” The author was evidently aware

 

 

* Pausanias, lib. vii, Pindar. Olymp. 38. Voyage du Jeune Anacharsis, vol. iii, p- 506
Berenger, vol. i. p. 53. :
THE ROMAN HORSE, 13,

of the advantage of this form, but he did not know the principles on which it
was founded.

“The sides, being deep and swelling towards the belly, make a horse in
general more commodious to be seated on, and better able to digest his food.
‘The broader and shorter his loins are, the more readily will he throw his fore
feet out ; and the belly that appears small, being large, not only disfigures a
horse, but makes him weaker and less able to carry hisrider.” How beautifully
again he seizes the point, although we of the present day smile a little at his
illustration !

“The haunches should be large and full of flesh, that they may correspond
with the sides and the chest ; and when all these are firm, they make a horse
lighter for the course and fuller of animation*.”

Another work of Xenophon, Le«pt “Imacxijs,—on the management of the
horse,—exhibits equal proof of a knowledge of the points and proper treatment
of this animal, mixed with the same ignorance of the principles on which these
things are founded. He was an acute observer, and the facts made their due
impression, but no one had yet taught the anatomy and physiology of the horse.

The Romans, from the very building of their cities, paid much attention to
the breeding and management of the horse; but this was more than 700 years
after this animal had been imported into Greece, and his value and importance
had begun to be almost universally acknowledged.

Horse and chariot races were early introduced at Rome. The chariot-races fell
gradually into disrepute, but the horse-races were continued to the times of the
Cesars, and the young men of the equestrian order were enthusiastically devoted
to this exercise. There were not, however, any of the difficulties or dangers
that attended the Grecian races. They were chiefly trials of speed, or of
dexterity in the performance of certain circles, now properly confined to our
theatrical exhibitions. The rider would stand upright on his steed, lie along
his back, pick up things from the ground at full speed, and leap from horse to
horse in the swiftest gallop.

A singular circumstance in the management of this animal by the Romans,
was the superior value which they attributed to the mare. Their natural
historians, agriculturists, and poets, unite in this opinion. Perhaps this might
in part arise from the custom of the Romans to castrate all the horses that were
employed in mercantile and agricultural pursuits. The horse, however, was
not degraded by the operation or the labour, but rather he was made to occupy
the situation for which nature designed him ; and from this time, and gradually
over every part of Europe, he has become one of the most useful of the servants
of man.

To the Romans may be attributed the invention of the curb-bit. The
Emperor Theodosius is represented in one of the ancient sculptures as using a
bit with a tremendously long lever, and which could inflict dreadful punishment
if the rider were so inclined.

It may readily be supposed that a knowledge of the horse now became more
perfect and more diffused. Terentius Varro, who flourished about the year
seventy before Christ, and during the existence of the commonwealth, has
given a description of the horse, which has scarcely been excelled in modern
times. “We may prognosticate great things of a colt,” says he, “if when
running in the pastures he is ambitious to get before his companions, and if, in
coming to a river, he strives to be the first to plunge into it. His head should
be small, his limbs clean and compact, his eyes bright and sparkling, his nostrils

 

* ‘Inmapxixés, or Duties of the Master of the Horse in the Army, chap. i.
16 FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES.

apen and large, his tars placed near each other, his mane strong and full, his
chest broad, his shoulders flat and sloping backward, his barrel round and com-
pact, his loins broad and strong, his tail full and bushy, his legs strait and even,
his knees broad and well knit, his hoofs hard and tough, and his veins large and
swelling over all his body *.” q :

Virgil, eighty or ninety years afterwards, gives some interesting accounts of
the horse, and particularly when taken from the pursuits of war and employed
in the peaceful service of agriculture. :

A few years after him followed Columella, who, in a work devoted exclusively
to agriculture, treats at longth of the management of the horse and of many of
his diseases.

To him sueceeded Palladius on agriculture, the management of the vineyard,
and the apiary, &e.; and he also describes at considerable length the treatment
and the diseases of the horse.

About the same time, or somewhat before, the Roman emperors being con-
tinually engaged in foreign wars, and in many of these expeditions the cavalry
forming a most effective division of the army, veterinary surgeons were appointed
to each of the legions. The horse and his management and diseases were then
for the first time systematically studied. The works, or extracts from the
works of a few of them are preserved. There is, however, little in them that
is valuable.

About the middle of the fourth century a volume of a different character on
the veterinary art was written by Vegetius, who appears to have been attached
to the army, but in what situation is unknown. His work, with all its errors,
is truly valuable as a collection of the best remarks that had been written on
veterinary matters, from the earliest age to his day, and including extracts from
the works of Chiron and Hippocrates, which would otherwise have been lost.
The history of the symptoms of various diseases is singularly correct, but the
mode of treatment reflects little credit on the veterinary acquirements of the
author or the age in which he lived.

Almost in his time the irruptions of the Goths commenced, and shortly after

every record of science was swept away in both the eastern and the western
empires.

CHAPTER II.
THE FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES.

ea

We commence again with that country connected with which we have the
earliest history of the horse.

THE EGYPTIAN HORSES.

Notwithstanding the flattering reports of travellers, and the assertion of Dr.
Shaw that the Egyptian horses are preferable to the Barbary ones in size, beauty,
and goodness, the modern horse of this country had little to recommend him.
The despotism under which the inhabitants groaned altogether discouraged the
rearing of a valuable breed, for their possession was completely at the mercy of
their Turkish oppressors, and the choicest of their animals were often taken from
them without the slightest remuneration for the wrong. It was therefore

* Bereuger, p. 62. " |
THE DONGOLA OR NUBIAN HORSE. W7

common practice with the owners of superior or good horses to blemish or to
lame them, in order that they might not be robbed of them by order of the Bey,

Of the state to which the native horses were reduced, and even many in the
corps of the Mamelukes—the body-guard of the Bey—the following evidence
from a competent observer will determine :-—“ Although the horses there seldom
pass out of a foot pace except for a gallop of 100 yards, most of them are
foundered, and none, if quickly trotted ten miles, would be able from want of
wind and stamina to go farther *.”

The testimony of Burckhardt is to the same effect: —“‘ The Egyptian horse
is ugly, of coarse shape, and looking more like a cart-horse than a racer. Thin
legs and knees and short and thick necks are frequent defects among them.
The head is sometimes fine, but I never saw good legs in an Egyptian horse.
They are not able to bear any great fatigue, but when well fed, their action
occasionally is more brilliant than that of the Arabian. Their impetuosity,
however, renders them peculiarly desirable for heavy cavalry, and it is upon
this quality alone that their celebrity has ever been founded.”

Since the accession of Mehemet Ali to the government of Egypt, a beneficial
change has been effected in the internal management and prosperity of the
country, and the improvement of the breed of horses has especially engaged
his attention. He has even gone so far as to establish a veterinary school at
Abou-Zabel, and, as should be the case with every institution of this kind, he
has not only identified it with the cavalry service, but with the agricultural
interests of the country. The happy consequences of this are neither doubtful
nor distant.

There is a long but narrow tract of desert between the Nile and the Red Sea,
on which some Arabian horsest of the choicest breed are reared.

THE DONGOLA OR NUBIAN HORSE.

The kingdom of Dongola, the modern Nubia, lying between Egypt and
Abyssinia, contains a breed of horses different from any other that either
Arabia or Africa produces. Mr. Bruce speaks of it in the following strong terms
of approbation :—“ What’ figure the Nubian breed of horses would make in
point of swiftness is very doubtful, their form being so entirely different from
that of the Arabian; but if beautiful and symmetrical parts, great size and
strength, the most agile, nervous, and elastic movements, great endurance of
fatigue, docility of temper, and, beyond any other domestic animal, seeming attach-
ment to man, can promise anything for a stallion, the Nubian is, above all compari-
son, the most eligible in the world. Few of them are less than sixteen hands high.”

Bosman, whose descriptions prove him to be no bad horseman, thus speaks of
them :—“ The Dongola horses are the most perfect in the world, being beautiful,
symmetrical in their parts, nervous and elastic in their movements, and docile
and affectionate in their manners. One of these horses was sold in 1816, at
Grand Cairo, for a sum equivalent to 1000/.” The Dongola horses are usually
of a black colour, but there are some bright bays and sorrels, When their
exercise is over, the usual bridle is taken away, and a lighter one put upon
them ; for the inhabitants tell of many battles that were lost, from their being
attacked when their horses were unbridled.

The slender yet finely set on neck, the noble crest, the elevated withers, the
beautiful action and bearing of the animal were admirable ; but the long and
slender legs, the weakness of the fore-arm, the narrowness and want of depth of
the chest, and even a deficiency of substance about the flank and quarters, could
not escape observation. Such an animal might have speed, but his endurance

* Wilson’s Expedition to Egypt in 1803, p. 250.

“Sf Comparative View of the Racer, &c., p. 148.
Cc
18 FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES.

must be doubtful, and it is difficult to suppose that any breed of English horses
could be materially improved by it.

Some of these horses have lately reached England ; and one of them was
recently in London, and belonged to an officer of the Life Guards.

THE HORSE OF ETHIOPIA OR ABYSSINIA.

‘Ludolph in his history of this country says that the horses are strong, nimble,
mettlesome, and mostly black. They are used only for war and in the chase ;
they travel no long and fatiguing journeys, and all the drudgery of every kind
is performed by the mule.

An Abyssinian who accompanied Ludolph to Europe expressed a great dea
of pity for the horses when he saw them drawing heavy carts, and loudly
exclaimed at the cruelty of putting so noble a creature to such hase and servile
employment. He said that he wondered at the patience of the animals, and
was every moment in expectation that they would rebel against such unheard-
of tyranny *.

The number of horses in Ethiopia must have considerably decreased, for Cyr-
tacus, a former king of that country, entered Egypt at the head of 100,000
cavalry.

The art of shoeing had not in Ludolph’s time (the middle of the seventeenth
century) reached Abyssinia ; and consequently, when the natives had to travel
over rough and stony ground, they dismounted and got upon mules, and led their
horses in hand, that by having no burden to carry, they might tread the lighter,

Bruce says little of the Ethiopian horses; but Mr. Salt, an enterprising
traveller, says that the horses are generally strong, well-made, and kept in
good condition ; that their accoutrements are also good, and the men themselves
are excellent horsemen

THE BARB.

 

THE GODOLPHIN aRaBIAN.

By the term Barbary is understood the nortl :
n her part of Afri xtending -
along the coast, and as far inland as the Great Deeart, from ts ee

* Ludolph’s New History of Ethiopia, 1684, p. 53.
THE BARB. 19

Egypt to the Mediterranean. The Arabs that are found in this extensive district
are mostly the descendants of those who emigrated or were driven from eastern
Arabia. The horses are likewise all of Arab stock, considerably modified by
change of climate, food, and management. Mr. Bruce relates, that “the best
African horses are said to be descended from one of the five on which Mahomet
and his four immediate successors fled from Mecca to Medina, on the night of
the Hegira.” This must be received with very considerable allowance. The
inhabitants of almost the whole of these countries are as cruelly oppressed as
the Fellahs of Egypt, and the consequence of that oppression is the same. The
Arabs will scarcely be induced to cultivate a breed of horses of much value
when, without scruple or compensation, they may be deprived of every colt by
the first man in power that chooses to take a fancy to it. It is only among the
tribes of the Desert, who are beyond the reach of the tyrants of their country,
that the Barb of superior breed, and form, and power, is to be found.

The common horse of Barbary is a very inferior animal—just such a one
as many years of supineness and neglect would produce ; but the following are
the characteristic points of a true barb, and especially from Morocco, Fez, and the
interior of Tripoli :—The forehand is long, slender, and ill-furnished with mane,
but rising distinctly and boldly out of their withers ; the head is small and lean;
the ears well-formed, and well-placed ; the shoulders light, sloping backward,
and flat; the withers fine and high; the loins straight and short; the flanks
and ribs round and full, and with not too much band; the haunches strong;
the croup, perhaps, a little too long; the quarters muscular and well developed;
the legs clean, with the tendons boldly detached from the bone ; the pastern
somewhat too long and oblique; and the foot sound and good*. They are
rather lower than the Arabian, seldom exceeding fourteen hands and an inch,
and have not his spirit, or speed, or continuance, although in general form they
are probably his superior.

The barb has chiefly contributed to the excellence of the Spanish horse ; and,
when the improvement of the breed of horses began to be systematically pursued
in Great Britain, the barb was very early introduced. The Godolphin Arabian,
as he is called, and who was the origin of some of our best racing blood, was a
barb; and others of our most celebrated turf-horses trace their descent from
African mares. They are generally first mounted at two years old. They are
never castrated, for “a Mussulman would not mutilate or sell the skin of the
beast of the Prophet.” The horses alone are used for the saddle t, and the
mares are kept for breeding. The cavalry exercise to which their horses are
exposed is exceedingly severe. The Moorish method of fighting principally
consists in galloping at the very height of their-horses’ speed, for the distance of
a quarter of a mile or more, then suddenly stopping while the rider throws his
spear or discharges his musket. By way of exercise, they will sometimes con-
tinue to do this without a moment's intermission to change or to breathe their
horse. All that is required of the best-taught and most valuable Barbary horse
is thus to gallop and to stop, and to stand still, all the day if it is necessary,
when his rider quits him. As for trotting, cantering, or ambling, it would be
an unpardonable fault were he ever to be guilty of it. A Barbary horse is

* Berenger, p. 127.

t+ No Arab ever mounts a stallion ; on the
contrary, in Africa they never ride mares. The
reason is plain. The Arabs are constantly at
war with their neighbours, and always endea-
vour to take their enemies by surprise in the
grey of the evening, or the dawn of day. A
stallion no sooner smells the stale of the mare
in the enemy’s quarters, than he begins to

neigh, and that would give the alarm to the
party intended to be surprised. No such thing
can ever happen when they ride mares only.
On the contrary, the African trusts only to
superior force, They are in an open plain
country, must be discovered at many miles’
distance, and all such surprises and stratagems
are useless to them.

c2
‘ ‘\ a
20 FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES.

generally broken in in a far severer way, and much earlier than he ought to
be, and therefore he usually becomes unfit for service long before the Arabian.
The usual food of the barb is barley and chopped straw, and grass while it is
to be found, but of the provision for winter food in the form of hay they are
altogether ignorant. : :

Captain Brown, in his Biographical Sketches of Horses, gives the following
interesting account of a barb and his rider, at the Cape of Good Hope :—In one
of the violent storms which often occur there, a vessel in the road dragged her
anchors, and was forced on the rocks, and beaten to pieces. The greater part
of the crew perished immediately, but some few were seen from the shore cling-
ing to different pieces of the wreck. No boat could venture to their assistance.
Meanwhile a planter came from his farm to see the shipwreck, and perceiving
no other chance of escape for the survivors, and knowing the spirit of his horse
and his excellence as a swimmer, he determined to make one desperate effort
for their deliverance, and pushed into the midst of the breakers. At first both
disappeared, but they were soon seen on the surface. Nearing the wreck, he
induced two of the poor fellows to quit their hold and to cling to his boots, and
so he brought them safe ashore. He repeated this perilous expedition seven
times, and saved fourteen lives; but on his return, the eighth time, his horse
being much fatigued, and meeting with a formidable wave, the rider lost his
balance and was overwhelmed in a moment. The horse swam safely to land,
but his gallant rider was seen no more. The Cape was then a colony of the
Dutch. The Directors christened one of their new vessels after him, and ordered
a pillar to be erected to his memory, but the local authorities refused to the
son a trifling place which his father filled *.

The barb improves towards the Western coast of Africa, both in his form
and graceful action.

Deep in the Sahara Desert is a noble breed of barbs, known by the name of
the “ Wind-sucker or the Desert-horse.” Jackson says of him that the Desert-
horse is to the common Barbary horse what the Desert-camel is to the usual
camel of burden; but that he can only be induced to eat barley or wheat—oats
are never given to horses in Africa; but that, supplied with a little camel’s
milk, he will travel almost incredible distances across the Desert. He is prin-
cipally employed in hunting the antelope and the ostrich.

There is some little exaggeration, however, about this, for when he is brought
towards the coast, and can no longer get his camel’s milk, he will eat the barley
and the straw which are given to him, and will thrive and get fat upon them.
If he chances to die, it is from being suffered to gorge too much of his new
food; or if he loses a portion of his speed and wind, it is because he has been
taken out of his exercise, and permitted to accumulate flesh and fat too fast.

More in the centre of Africa, in the kingdom of Bournou, is a breed, which
Mr. Tully, in his almost romantic history of Tripoli, reckons superior even
to those of Arabia or Barbary ; it possesses, according to him, the best qualities
of both those breeds, being as serviceable as that of Arabia, and as beautiful as
that of Barbary.

On the south of the Great Sahara Desert we find again the Arabian or the
Barbary horse in the possession of some of the chiefs of the Foulahs and the
Jalofs ; but the general character of the animal is in those torrid regions much
deteriorated. These horses are small, weak, unsafe, and untractable. The
Foulahs, however, can bring into the field no fewer than 16,000 cavalry. Some
writers have asserted, that in the kingdom of Benin a much larger number
could be collected.

In the country lying between that of the Foulahs and the kingdom of Benin

© De Pago’s Travels Round the World, and Sharman’s Voyage to the Cape of Good Hope.
ev
THE ARABIAN HORSE. 21

there ave few horses immediately on the coast, but they are more numerous in
the inland districts. Bosman, however, says of them that they are very ill
shaped ; that they carry their heads and necks more projecting and depressed
than even the ass; that they are slow and obstinate, and only to be forced on
by dint of blows; and that they are so low, that a tall man sitting on their
backs could touch the ground with his feet. He adds that at Fida, on the
Slave-coast, whence he journeyed inland to Elmina, he bought five or six of
them, each of which cost him somewhat less than 4/., but they did him no
manner of service, and he was compelled to leave them behind. Neither horses,
nor any other produce of value, can be looked for in these unhappy countries,
so long as they are desolated by the abominable slave-trade, under the sanction
of the more civilised but truly unchristian nations of Europe*.

THE CAPE OF GOOD HOPE HORSE.

Nothing is certainly known of the western coast of Africa, descending
towards the south; but arriving at the Cape of Good Hope, we find that the
horse, if a native of that country, is only occasionally seen in its wild state.
The horses that were introduced by the first colonists, the Dutch, were mostly
procured from Batavia, Java, and South America. At the very commencement
of the colony, many horses were imported from Persia. ‘lhese were mingled
together, and crossed in every possible way, except that not one notion of scien-
tific improvement seems to have entered the head of the Dutch boor. They
were a small hardy race, capable of enduring a great deal of fatigue, but in
every way sadly neglected ; never dressed, and often ill-fed.

When the Cape was ceded to the English, both the colonists and the govern-
ment set earnestly to work to improve these undersized animals, and with very
considerable success. The British light regiments of dragoons, in their passage
to the East, can now frequently draw considerable supplies of horses from this
colony, and some regiments have been entirely mounted here. This is sufficient
proof of the degree of improvement which they have reached. It is, however,
said that the riding-masters have occasionally much trouble in breaking in the
Cape horses, which are naturally vicious, and especially when put beyond the
pace to which they had been accustomedt. They rarely stand above fourteen
hands high ; they are hardy, and when thoroughly broken in, are capable of
enduring great privation and fatigue. They are rarely shod while they remain
in the colony, or if they are, it is only on the fore feet. Their principal food is
carrots, with a small quantity of com. No hay is grown near Cape Town, nor
are there any pastures on which the horses can be turned}.

The wild horses have long disappeared near to the colony, and we have no
authentic record that any of them were ever taken and attempted to be domes-
ticated.

The horse is rarely seen in any part of the eastern coast of Africa. It is not
a native of Madagascar, but is again found in Ajan and Adel, on the soutl.ern
frontiers of Abyssinia.

THE ARABIAN HORSE.

Although modern Europe owes so much to Arabia for the improvement in
her breed of horses, it may be doubted whether these animals were found in that
country as a matter of merchandise, or indeed existed there at all in large num-
bers in very early times. The author of the book of Job, in describing the wealth
of that patriarch, who was a native of Arabia, and the richest man of his time,
makes no mention of horses, although the writer shows himself very conversant

* Bosman’s Coast of Guinea, p. 366. + Percivall’s Capo of Good Hope, p. 161
$ Percivall’s Cape of Good Hope, p. 145.
22 FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES.

with that animal. Five hundred years after that, Solomon imported spices,
gold, and silver, from Arabia *; but all the horses for his own cavalry and
chariots, and those with which he supplied the Phoenician monarchs, he pro-
cured from Egyptt.

There is a curious record of the commerce of different countries at the close
of the second century. Among the articles exported from Egypt to Arabia, and
particularly as presents to reigning monarchs, were horses.

In the fourth century, two hundred Cappadocian horses were sent by the
Roman emperor as the most acceptable present he could offer a powerful prince
of Arabia.

So late as the seventh century the Arabs had few horses, and those of little
value ; for when Mahomet attacked the Koreish near Mecca, he had but two
horses in his whole army : and at the close of his murderous campaign, although
he drove off twenty-four thousand camels and forty thousand sheep, and carried
away twenty-four thousand ounces of silver, not one horse appears in the list of
plunder.

These circumstances sufficiently prove that, however superior may be the
present breed, it is comparatively lately that the horse was naturalised in
Arabia. Indeed the Arabs do not deny this ; for until within the last century,
when their horses began to be so deservedly valued, they were content to limit
their pedigree to one of the five on which Mahomet and his four immediate
successors fled from Mecca to Medina on the night of the Hegira.

Although in the seventh century the Arabs had no horses of value, yet those
which they had derived from their neighbours began then to be preserved with
so much care, and propagated so uniformly and strictly from the finest of the
breed, that in the thirteenth century the Arabian horse began to assume a just
and unrivalled celebrity.

There are now said to be three breeds or varieties of Arabian horses: the
Attechi, or inferior breed, on which the natives set little value, and which are
found wild on some parts of the deserts; the Kadischi, literally horses of an
unknown race, answering to our half-bred horses—a mixed breed; and the
Kochlani, horses whose genealogy, according to the modern exaggerated accounts,
has been cultivated during two thousand years. Many written and attested
pedigrees extend, with true Eastern exaggeration, tothe stud of Solomon. The
Kochlani are principally reared by the Bedouin Arabs in the remote deserts. A
stallion may be procured without much difficulty, although at a great price.
The Arabs imagine that the female is more concerned than the male in the
excellence and value of the produce, and the genealogies of their horses are
always traced through the dam.

The Arab horse would not be acknowledged by every judge to possess a
perfect form. The head, however (like that which is delineated in the title-
page), is inimitable. The broadness and squareness of the forehead ; the small-
ness of the ears ; the prominence and brilliancy of the eye ; the shortness and
fineness of the muzzle; the width of the nostril; the thinness of the lower
jaw, and the beautifully developed course of the veins,—will always characterise
the head of the Arabian horse. The cut in the title-page is the portrait of the
head of a black Arabian presented to William IV. by the Imaum of Muscat.
It is a close and honest likeness. The muzzle, the nostrils, and the eye, are
inimitable. In the sale of the Hampton Court stud, in 1837, this animal realised
580 guineas ; it was bought for the King of Wiirtemberg, and is highly prized
in Germany.

The body of the Arab may, perhaps, be considered as too light, and his chest

# 2 Chron. ix. 14. + 2 Chron. i, 17,
THE -ARABIAN: HORSE, 23

too narrow ; but behind the arms the barrel generally swells out, and leaves
sufficient rcom for the play of the lungs. ‘his is well exhibited in the cut of
the grey Arabian mare, whose portrait is here given. She is far inferior to the

   

an aw

Qo
eee ie eee
Zyl

ARAB MARE AND FOALe

black one in the peculiar development of the head and neck, but in other respects
affords a more faithful specimen of the true form of the Arabian horse. She is
of the purest caste, and was a present from the same potentate by whom the
black Arabian was given. The foal at her foot was by Acteon. She was sold
for 100 guineas only. Perhaps her colour was against her. Her flea-bitten
appearance would not please every one. The foal, which had more than the
usual clumsiness belonging to the youngster, sold for 58 guineas.

The neck of the Arabian is long and arched, and beautifully joined to the chest.
The black horse in the frontispiece afforded a perfect specimen of this. In the
formation of the shoulder, next to that of the head, the Arab is superior to any
other breed. The withers are high, and the shoulder-blade has its proper
inclination backwards. It is also thickly clothed with muscle, but without the
slightest appearance of heaviness.

The fineness of his legs and the oblique position of the pasterns might be
supposed by the uninitiated to lessen his apparent strength, but the leg,
although small, is deep, and composed of bone of the densest character. The
tendons are sufficiently distinct from the bone, and the starting muscles of the
fore-arm and the thigh indicate that he is fully capable of accomplishing many
of the feats that are recorded of him.

Asa faithful specimen of the general form of these horses, with perhaps a little
deficiency in the head and neck, we refer once more to the following portrait of
a bay Arabian—an animal of the purest caste, presented also by the Imaum of
24 FOREIUN BREEDS OF HORSES.

Muscat. It was sold for 410 guineas, The higher price that was given for the
black Arabian proves that he was the general favourite ; but the bay one, elthough
not so striking in his figure, was a stronger, a speedier, and a better horse.

 

BAY ARABIAN.

The Barb alone excels the Arabian in noble and spirited action ; but if there
is a defect about the latter, he is perfect for that for which he was designed.
He presents the true combination of speed and bottom: strength enough to
carry more than a light weight, and courage that would cause him to die rather
than yield.

Mr. Burckhardt, in a letter to Professor Sewell, says that “the tribes richest
in horses are those who dwell, during the spring of the year at least, in the
fertile plains of Mesopotamia; for, notwithstanding all that is said of the
desert horse, plenty of nutritious food is absolutely requisite for its reaching
its full vigour and growth. The numerous tribes on the Red Sea, between
Akaba and Mecca, and especially those to the south of Mecca, and as far as
Yemen, have very few horses; but the Curdes and Bedouins in the east, and
especially in Mesopotamia, possess more horses, and more valuable ones, than
all of the Arabian Bedouins ; for the richness of their pastures easily nourishes
the colts, and fills their studs.” These observations are very important, and
are evidently founded on truth. He adds, that “the number of horses in
Arabia is not more than 50,000; a number far inferior to that found in any part
of Europe, or Asia, on an equal extent of ground.”

“‘ During the Wahabee government, horses became scarcer every year among
the Arabs. They were sold by their masters to foreign purchasers, who carried
them to Yemen, Syria, and Bassora ; which latter place supplies India with
Arabian horses, because they were afraid of having them seized upon by their
chiefs—it having become the custom, upon every slight pretext of disobedience

or crime, to declare the most valuable Bedouin mare forfeit to the public
treasury.”
THE ARABIAN HORSE, 25

Syria is the best place to purchase true Arabian blood-horses ; and no district
is superior to the Naurau, where the horse may be purchased from the first
hand, and chosen in the very encampments of the Arabs themselves, who fill
these plains in the spring. The horses bought at Bassora for the Indian markets
are purchased second-hand from Bedouin dealers. These procure them from
the Montifell Arabs, who are not careful in maintaining a pure breed. Damascus
would be the best residence for a person constantly employed in this trade.

While the number of horses generally is much smaller than had been sup-
posed, there are comparatively fewer of those of perfect quality and beauty,—
perhaps not more than five or six in a whole tribe; probably not two hun-
dred in the whole desert. Each of these in the desert itself may be worth
from one hundred and fifty to two hundred pounds; but very few, if any, of
these have ever found their way to Europe. :

There has, however, been much exaggeration with regard to these pedigrees.
Burckhardt says, that in the interior of the desert, the Bedouins never make use
of any, because, among themselves, they know the genealogy of their horse
almost as well as that of their own families; but if they carry their horses to
any distance, as to Bassora, Bagdat, or Damascus, they take care to have a
written pedigree made out, in order to present it to the purchaser. In that case
only would a Bedouin be found possessed of his horse's pedigree. He would
laugh at it in the desert.

The Kochlani are principally reared by the Bedonin Arabs in the remoter
deserts. One of them was sold at Acre for the suri of fifteen thousand piastres.

It is an error into which almost every writer on the history of the horse
has fallen, that the Arabian is bred in the arid deserts, and owes the power of
endurance which he possesses in his adult state to the hardships which he
endured while he was a colt. The real fact is, that the Arabs select for their
breeding-places some of those delightful spots, known only in countries like
these, where, though all may be dry and barren around, there is pasture
unrivalled for its succulence and its nutritious or aromatic properties. The
powers of the young animal are afterwards developed, as they alone could be,
by the mingled influence of plentiful and healthy food, and sufficient, but not,
except in one day of trial, cruel exercise.

The most extraordinary care is taken to preserve the purity of the breed.
Burckhardt states that the favourite mare of Savud the Wahabee, which he
constantly rode in all his expeditions, and was known in every part of Arabia,
produced a colt of very superior beauty and promise, and it grew to be the finest
stallion of his day. Savud, however, would never permit him to be used for
the purposes of breeding, because his mother was not of pure blood ; and not
knowing what to do with him, as the Bedouins never ride stallions, he sent
him as a present to the scheriff.

The parentage and birth of the foal are carefully recorded by competent
witnesses, whose certificate includes the marks of the colt, and the names of the
sire and dam.

The colt isnever allowed to fall on the ground at the period of birth, but is
caught in the arms of those who stand by, and washed and caressed as though
it were an infant. The mare and her foal inhabit the same tent with the
Bedouin and his children. The neck of the mare is often the pillow of the
rider, and, more frequently, of the children, who are rolling about upon her
and the foal. No accident ever occurs, and the animal acquires that friend-
ship and love for man which occasional ill-treatment will not cause her for a
Moment to forget.

At the end of a month the foal is weaned, and is fed on camel’s milk for
one hundred days. At the expiration of that period, a little wheat is allowed ;
£6 FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES.

and by degrees that quantity is increased, the milk continuing to be the prin-
cipal food. This mode of feeding continues another hundred days, when the
foal is permitted te graze in the neighbourhood of the tent. Barley is also
given ; and to this some camel’s milk is added in the evening, if the Arab can
afford it. By these means the Arab horse becomes as decidedly characterised
for his docility and good temper, as for his speed and courage. The kindness
with which he is treated from the time of his being foaled, gives him an affec-
tion for his master, a wish to please, a pride in exerting every energy In obedi-
ence to his commands, and, consequently, an apparent sagacity which is seldom
found in other breeds. In that delightful book, Bishop Heber’s “ Narrative of
a Journey through the Upper Provinces of India,” the following interesting cha-
racter is given of him :—“ My morning rides are very pleasant. My horse is a
nice, quiet, good-tempered little Arab, who is so fearless, that he goes without
starting close to an elephant, and so gentle and docile that he eats bread out of
my hand, and has almost as much attachment and coaxing ways asa dog. This
seems the general character of the Arab horses, to judge from what I have seen
in this country. It is not the fiery dashing animal I had supposed, but with
more rationality about him, and more apparent confidence in his rider, than
the majority of English horses.”

When the Arab falls from his mare, and is unable to rise, she will immedi-
ately stand still, and neigh until assistance arrives. If he lies down to slecp,
as fatigue sometimes compels him, in the midst of the desert, she stands watch-
ful over him, and neighs and rouses him if either man or beast approaches.
The Arab horses are taught to rest occasionally in a standing position; and
great many of them never lie down.

The Arab loves his horse as truly and as much as the horse loves him ; and
no little portion of his time is often spent in talking to him and caressing him.

An old Arab had a valuable mare that had carried him for fifteen years in
many a rapid weary march, and many a hard-fought battle ; at length, eighty
years old, and unable longer to ride her, he gave her, and a scimitar that had
been his father’s, to his eldest son, and told him to appreciate their value, and
never lie down to rest until he had rubbed them both as bright as a mirror.
In the first skirmish in which the young man was engaged, he was killed, and
the mare fell into the hands of the enemy. When the news reached the old
man, he exclaimed, that “life was no longer worth preserving, for he had lost
both his son and his mare, and he gricved for one as much as the other.” He
immediately sickened and soon afterwards died *-

The following anecdote of the attachment of an Arab to his mare has often
been told :—“ The whole stock of an Arab of the desert consisted of a mare.
The French consul offered to purchase her in order to send her to his sovereign,
Louis XIV. The Arab would have rejected the proposal, but he was misera-
bly poor; he had scarcely a rag to cover him, and his wife and his children
were starving. The sum offered was great,—it would provide him and his
family with food for life. At length, and reluctantly, he yielded. He brought
the mare to the dwelling of the consul, dismounted, and stood leaning upon
her ; he looked now at the gold, and then at his favourite. ‘To whom is it,’

said he, ‘I am going to yield thee up?

To Europeans, who will tie thee close,

 

* A Bedouin had committed some offence,
and was pursued by the’ governor’s guards in
the direction towards Jericho. They were so
close upon him that his only chance of escape
was to gallop down the almost perpendicular
declivity of the hills that overlooked the town.
His mare precipitated herself down it at full
specd, leaving the soldiers lost in admiration

and astonishment. She, however, dropped dead
on entering Jericho. The Bedouin, who would
not quit her, was taken weeping over the body
of his faithful companion. Ali Aga,” says
M. Chateaubriand, “religiously showed me
her footsteps along the face of the mountain.”
A Macedonian could not have bebeld those of
Bucephalus with greater ‘veneration.
THE ARABIAN HORSE. 27

‘who will beat thee,—who will render thee miserable. Return with me,
my beauty, my jewel, and rejoice the hearts of my children.’ As he pro-
nounced the last words, he sprung upon her back, and was presently out of
sight.”

One of our own countrymen, the enterprising traveller, Major Denham,
affords us a pleasing instance of the attachment with which the docility and
sagacity of this animal may inspire the owner. He thus relates the death of his
favourite Arabian, in one of the most desert spots of Central Africa. His feel-
ings needed no apology : we naturally honour the man in whom true sensibi-
lity and undaunted courage, exerted for useful purposes, were thus united.

“There are a few situations in a man’s life in which losses of this nature are
felt most keenly ; and this was one of them. It was not grief, but it was some-
thing very nearly approaching to it; and though I felt ashamed of the degree
of derangement I suffered from it, yet it was several days before I could get
over the loss. Let it, however, be remembered, that the poor animal had been
my support and comfort,—nay, I may say, companion, through many a dreary
day and night ;—had endured both hunger and thirst in my service; and was
so docile, that he would stand still for hours in the desert while I slept between
his legs, his body affording me the only shelter that could be obtained from
the powerful influence of a noon-day sun: he was yet the fleetest of the fleet,
and ever foremost in the chase.”

Man, however, is an inconsistent being. The Arab who thus lives with and
loves his horses, regarding them as his most valuable treasure, sometimes treats
them with a cruelty scarcely to be credited. The severest treatment which the
English race-horse endures is gentleness compared with the trial of the young
Arabian. Probably the filly has never before been mounted. Her owner springs
on her back, and goads her over the sands and rocks of the desert for fifty or
sixty miles without one moment's respite, She is then forced, steaming and
panting, into water deep enough for her to swim. If, immediately after this,
she will eat as if nothing had occurred, her character is established, and she is
acknowledged to be a genuine descendant of the Kochlani breed. The Arab
does not think of the cruelty which he thus inflicts; he only follows an in-
variable custom.

We may not perhaps believe all that is told us of the speed and endurance of
the Arabian. It has been remarked, that there are on the deserts which this
horse traverses no mile-stones to mark the distance, or watches to calculate the
time; and that the Bedouin is naturally given to exaggeration, and, most of all,
when relating the prowess of the animal, that he loves as dearly as his children:
yet it cannot be denied that, at the introduction of the Arabian into the Euro-
pean stables, there was no horse comparable to him. The mare in her native
deserts will travel fifty miles without stopping; she has been urged to the
almost incredible distance of one hundred and twenty miles, and, occasionally,
neither she nor her rider has tasted food for three whole days.

Our horses would fare badly on the scanty nourishment afforded the Arabian.
The mare usually has but two meals in twenty-four hours. During the day
she is tied to the door of the tent, ready for the Bedouin to spying, at a moment’s
warning, into the saddle; or she is turned out before the tent ready saddled,
the bridle merely being taken off, and she is so trained that she immediately
gallops up at her master’s call. At night she receives a little water ; and with
her scanty provender of five or six pounds of barley or beans, and sometimes a
little straw, she lies down content, if she is accustomed to lie down at all, in the
midst of her master’s family.

Burckhardt relates a story of the speed and endurance of one of them, and
shows with what feelings an Arab regards his quadruped friend :—“ A troop of
28 FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES.

Druses on horseback, attacked, in the summer of 1815, a party of Bedouins, and
pursued them to their encampment: the Bedouins were then assisted by a
superior force, and becoming the assailants in their turn, killed all the Druses
excepting one who fled. He was pursued by some of the best mounted Bedouins,
but his mare, although fatigued, could not be overtaken. Before his pursuers
gave up the chase they called to him, and begged to be permitted to kiss his
excellent mare, promising him safe conduct for her sake. He might have taken
them at their word, for the pledge of an Arab, in such circumstances, might have
been relied on: he however refused. ‘They immediately left the pursuit, and,
blessing the noble beast, cried out to the fugitive, ‘Go and wash the feet of your
mare and drink off the water.’ This expression is often used by the Bedouins
to show the regard they have for their mares *,” :

A periodical writer, on what authority is not stated, but he is right in most
of the particulars if not in all of them, says, that “ taking the comparative
excellence of the different races, Nejed, between the desert of Syria and Yemen,
and now in the possession of the Wahabis, is generally reckoned to produce the
grandest, noblest horses. Hejaz (extending along the Red Sea, from Mount
Sinai to Yemen, and including in it Medina and Mecca) the handsomest ; Yemen
(on the coast of the Red Sea and the Indian Ocean, and the most fertile part of
Arabia) the most durable ; Syria the richest in colour ; Mesopotamia the most
quiet ; Egypt the swiftest; Barbary the most prolific; and Persia and Koor-
distan the most warlike +.”

The introduction of the Arabian into England, and the concern which he has
had in the improvement of the English horse, will be treated of in the next
chapter.

THE PERSIAN HORSE,

Next in the route which has been pursued along the south of Asia, towards.
the east, and yielding only to the Arabian in beauty and value, stands the Per-.
sian horse. He is of larger growth than the Arabian,—purposely bred so,—
and on that account some foreign—still east country, but not pure Arabian
blood, being introduced. A larger animal, one more adapted for modern war,
is the result, but with some diminution of speed and endurance. The Persian
is a nobler-looking animal at the first glance, but he will not bear the accurate
examination that only increases our admiration of the other. Berenger thus
describes their principal points :—“‘ They are in general small headed; they
have long and somewhat too fine foreheads, and they are rather too narrow
chested ; their legs are a little small, but their croups are well fashioned, and
their hoofs good and firm. They are docile, quick, light, bold, full of spirit,
capable of enduring much fatigue, swift, sure-footed, hardy in constitution, and
contented with almost any provender.” They have, since his time, lost
somewhat of the beauty, elasticity, docility, speed, and almost never-failing
endurance.

The Persian horses constituted in ancient times the best cavalry of the East.
The improved, incomparable Arabian breed was not then in existence.

An entertaining traveller (Sir R. Kerr Porter) gives the following account of
them :—“ The Persian horses seldom exceed fourteen or fourteen and a half
hands high, yet certainly, in the whole, are taller than the Arabs. Those of
the desert and country about Hillah run very small, but are full of bone and of
good speed, General custom feeds and waters them only at sunrise and sun-
set, when they are cleaned. Their usual provender is barley and chopped straw,
which, if the animals are picketed, is put into a nose-bag and hung from their
heads ; but if stabled, it is thrown into a small lozenge-shaped hole left in the

“ Comparative View of the Racer, p. 151. ‘+ The Sportsman, vol. iii, p. 256.
THE CIRCASSIAN HORSE. 29

thickness of the mud-wall for that purpose, but much higher up than the line
of our mangers, and there the animal eats at his leisure. Hay is a kind of food
not known here. The bedding of the horse consists of his dung. After being
exposed to the drying influence of the sun during the day, it becomes pulverised,
and, in that state, is nightly spread under him*, Little of it touches his body,
that being covered by his clothing, a large nummud from the ears to the tail
and bound firmly round his body by a very long surcingle. But this apparel is
only for cold weather ; in the warmer season the night-clothes are of a lighter
substance, and during the heat of the day, the animal is kept entirely under
shade.

“ At night he is tied in the court-yard. The horses’ heads are attached to
the place of security by double ropes from their halters, and the heels of their
hinder legs are confined by cords of twisted hair, fastened to iron rings, and pegs
driven into the earth. The same custom prevailed in the time of Xenophon,
and for the same reason: to secure them from being able to attack and maim
each other, the whole stud generally consisting of stallions. Their keepers,
however, always sleep on their rugs amongst them to prevent accident; and
sometimes, notwithstanding all this care, they manage to break loose, and then
the combat ensues. A general neighing, screaming, kicking, and snorting, soon
rouses the grooms, and the scene for a while is terrible. Indeed no one can
conceive the sudden uproar of such a moment who has not been in Eastern
countries to hear it, and then all who have, must bear me witness that the noise
is tremendous, They seize, bite, and kick each other with the most deter-
mined fury, and frequently cannot be separated before their heads and haunches
stream with blood. Even in skirmishes with the natives, the horses take part
in the fray, tearing each other with their teeth, while their masters are in
similar close quarters on their backs.”

His description of a Persian race does not altogether remind us of Newmarket
or Doncaster.

“ My curiosity was fully on the spur to see the racers, which I could not
doubt must have been chosen from the best in the nation to exhibit the per-
fection of its breed before the sovereign. The rival horses were divided into
three sets, in order to lengthen the amusement, ‘They had been in training for
several weeks, going over the ground very often during that time ; and when I
did see them, I found so much pains had been taken to sweat and reduce their
weight, that their bones were nearly cutting the skin. The distance marked
for the race was a stretch of four-and-twenty miles, and, that his majesty might
not have to wait when he had reached the field, the horses had set forward long
before, by three divisions, from the starting point, (a short interval of time
passing between each set,) so that they might begin to come in a few minutes
after the king had taken his seat. The different divisions arrived in regular
order at the goal, but all so fatigued and exhausted, that their former boasted
fleetness hardly exceeded a moderate canter when they passed before the royal
eyes,”

The plains of Persepolis, Media, Ardebil and Derbane, rear annually a great
number of valuable horses, but those bred in Kurdistan are accounted the best
both in beauty and strength.

THE CIRCASSIAN HORSE.

The Circassian horse, although inferior to the Persian, does not often find
his equal among the predatory hordes with which this part of Asia abounds.

* It is the usual flooring of the stable and from use it becomes a second time offensivo,
the tent. The united influence of the sun and it is again exposed to the sun, and all unpleas-
air deprives it of all unpleasant odour, and when ant smell once more taken away.
20 FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES.

Vast numbers of horses and sheep are reared in the plains of Circassia, and they
and the slaves which are made in their excursions, form the principal articles of
the commerce of the natives. Almost every family of distinction aims at pos-
sessing a peculiar breed of horses, excelling, in their estimation, that of any
other tribe. Each breed is distinguished by its peculiar mark, to forge or to place
which on an inferior breed, would be punished with death. The most valuable
breed of all is in the possession of the reigning family, and its distinguishing mark
is a full horse-shoe. These horses possess considerable strength and speed.

THE EAST INDIAN HORSE,

We will now travel farther eastward, and examine the breeds of horses in our
Indian possessions, They are small, and, although some have considerable
endurance and courage, they wear the general character of degeneracy from a
nobler stock. First in value is the Toorky, originally from a Toorkoman and a
Persian, beautiful in his form, graceful in his action, and docile in his temper.
When skilfully managed his carriage is stately and grand. His spirit rising as
his exertions are required, he exhibits to his beholders an appearance of fury in
the performance of his task, yet preserving to his rider the utmost playfulness
and gentleness. They are usually from fourteen to fifteen hands high, and have
the common defect of the East India horse—smallness and length of bone
below the knees and about the hocks.

Next comes the Iranee, well limbed, and his joints closely knit, and particu-
larly powerful in the quarters, but with large head, and hanging ears, and
deficiency of spirit.

The gentle and docile Cozakee is deep in the girth, powerful in the fore-arm,
but with large head and cat-hammed ; hardy, and calculated for long journeys
and severe service.

The Mojinniss have spirit, beauty, speed, and perseverance.

The Tazsee is slight, hollow-backed, and, for that reason perhaps, deficient
in strength. His hind legs are ill placed, and dragged as it were behind him, and
he is stubborn and irritable, yet this horse is sought after on account of the
peculiar easiness of his paces, a matter of no small consideration where the heat
is so great and the slightest exertion fatiguing.

A sale of horses near the Company’s stud, at Hissar, is thus described by an
excellent judge :—“ Not less than one thousand horses were shown. They were
all above fourteen hands and a half in height, high-crested, and showy-looking
animals. The great defect seemed a want of bone below the knee, which is
general to all the native horses throughout India; and also so great a tendency
to fullness in the hocks, that, in England, it would be thought half of them hada
blood spavins.”

There are other studs in different parts of the country, in which some valu-
able stallions are kept for the purpose of improving the various Indian breeds.
Almost all of them have a greater or lesser portion of Arabian blood in them,
which gives them the appearance of good cavalry horses, but renders them inferior
to the Arabians generally in swiftness and always in endurance. For this reason
the native cavalry are principally mounted on Arabian horses, which are brought
in great numbers, but of no considerable value, from Arabia and Syria.

It may be readily supposed that it was not long before races were established
in the East Indies, and that they were properly patronised by the government.
They were, however, confined almost entirely to the Arabian horses, for those
of half blood were manifestly inferior to them.

In 1828, Recruit, by Whalebone, a horse of some celebrity at the time, was
sent out to Calcutta. This was deemed a proper opportunity to decide the
question of superiority between the pure Arab, and the true English racing
THE EAST INDIAN HORSE. 31

blood, and he was matched against Pyramus, the best Arabian in Bengal. ‘I'he
distance was two miles, with give and take weights, fourteen hands to carry nine
stone, and the Arabian to be allowed seven pounds; Recruit carried ten stones
twelve pounds, and Pyramus only eight stones three pounds. They started
well together, and ran the first part of the distance neck and neck, but at about
half the distance, Recruit took the lead, and the Arabian was beaten easily by
several lengths. The distance was run in three minutes and fifty-seven seconds,
Another trial took place between Champion, a first-rate Arabian, and Con-
stance, a moderately good thoroughbred English horse. The Arabian won ina
canter; the question, therefore, is thought by some persons to be yet undecided.

There is an East Indian pony, called the Tattoo, varying from ten to
twelve hands in height. This is a serviceable and hardy animal for carrying
baggage or any light weight. Tavernier describes one which he saw ridden
by a young Mogul prince, of seven or eight years of age, and which was not
much larger than a greyhound.

In 1765 one, not more than seven hands, or twenty-eight inches in height,
was sent from India, asa present to the queen of George III. It was taken
from the ship to the palace in a hackney-coach. It was of a dun colour; and
its hair resembled that of a young fawn. It was four years old, well pro-
portioned, had fine ears, a quick eye, with a handsome long .tail, and was
thoroughly good-natured and manageable.

The Mahrattas were two powerful tribes or nations, inhabiting the central
part of Hindoostan, and their territory extending from sea to sea, across the
south of the Deccan. Their wars among themselves, or in union with the
British against Tippoo Saib, and afterwards against their former protectors and
allies, are prominent objects in the modern history of India. Their troops con-
sisted almost entirely of cavalry, composed of one of the best varieties of the half-
blood Arabian and native horse. The Mahratta, when not on horseback, may be
said to be almost constantly employed in shampooing his horse. It is properly
so called, for he rubs him violently with his wrists and elbows, as well as his
hands, and moulds and bends his limbs in every direction. The Mahrattan way
of riding is a singular and, according to European notions, a very ungraceful one.
His knees are as high as his horse's back ; he holds on with his heels, and clings
with his hands either to the mane or the peak of the saddle. With such aids,
his seat is more secure than at first sight it would appear to be. The peak of
the saddle rises in the form of a crane’s neck, and is said to have been borrowed
from the Moguls. A crupper and a martingale are almost indispensable accom-
paniments of the Mahratta horse-furniture. It is a singular kind of crupper,
however, not projecting from the centre of the saddle, but attached to both sides
The tobsa, or leathern vessel out of which the horse eats his corn, is also
attached to the crupper ; and this part of the trappings is generally ornamented
with silver knobs, or with silk tassels or embroidery.

Their horses, like most of those in the East, are picketed, not only during
the day, but very frequently in the night. A rope is carried from the head-
stall on each side to a peg driven into the ground. A rope, or thong, is also
tied round the fetlocks behind, and carried backwards twenty or thirty feet.
and fastened to a peg. This pulls the horse back, and keeps him, when
standing, on the stretch, but does not prevent him from lying down. When
they are thus tethered, their eyes are covered, that they may not be alarmed
by any object that passes. They are also clothed, in order that the beautiful,
glossy appearance of their coat may be preserved. :

They use the snaffle-bridle, but it is so jagged and pointed that the animal
may be punished to the full content of any barbarian that may ride him.
The headstall is usually ornamented, and from the rein a thong descends by
32 FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES.

which the horse may be occasionally reminded of his duty. _ The horseman
has neither whip, switch, nor spur, but the horse is controllcd, if he is disposed
to rebel, by the cruel argument of the bit..

The breast of the Mahratta horse is more splendidly ornamented than any
other part. Numerous coins, of different size and value—rupees and double
rupees—are formed into plates more or less highly ornamented, and which in time
of war form a rich booty for the conqueror. The mane, too, is generally plaited
with silk-braids, and silver knobs attached to them, with a beautiful top-knot
between the ears. If the rider has distinguished himself in war, some curious
tails, said to be taken from the wild cow, dangle on either side*.

THE BIRMAN AND CHINESE HORSE.

The Birman horses are small, but spirited and strong. There is one at
present (1842) in the menagerie belonging to the Zoological Society of London.
It does not stand more than twelve hands high; but he is a beautiful little
fellow, and a picture of strength.

In Sram the horses are few, and inferior to those of the Birman empire.

In Cocuin-Curna, on the eastern coast of the peninsula, the horses are still
small; but they are better formed, and more active and strong, than they are
in Siam. In Sumarra and Java the horses have not increased in size ; but in
form and usefulness they scarcely yield to any in the south-west of Asia. In
Borneo they are few, and scarcely deserving of notice. The horses of Cuma
are, generally speaking, small, ill-formed, weak, and without spirit; indeed
they have little occasion for the horse in the greater part of that immense
empire.

THE AUSTRALIAN HORSE,

The new colonies of the British in Australia and its dependencies will present
something more satisfactory. The greater part of the horses in New South
Wales—the eastern coast of Australia, were derived from the Cape of Good
Hope and from India. Very little judgment was employed in the selection,
and indeed very few horses of good quality could have been procured from
either place. The consequence was, that a writer so late as 1824 says of them,
that “they are principally of the nag kind, and bred without much care.
They are not very sightly in appearance, being narrow-chested and sharp-
backed, and sadly deficient in the quarters. They have an incurable habit of
shying, and they are not very sure-footed.”. The New South Wales horses
are seldom stabled; but are supposed to be healthier, and better able to endure
fatigue, when kept in the open air. This, however, is probably only an excuse
for neglect}.

The sheep, however, prospering so well, and the cattle rapidly increasing and
improving, the colonist began to be a little ashamed of his horses. Several of a
better kind, cart and blood, were consequently imported from the mother-country
—an Arabian was procured from India—and the Australian horse soon began
to be a very different sort of animal. A writer of a few years’ later date says:
“‘We have few thorough-bred cart-horses, almost all of them having a spice of
blood about them, which makes them unsteady at draught, restive, and given to
Jibbing when put to a hard pull.” This was a very erroneous charge, and the
writer seems to be aware of it ; for he adds, “‘ This may arise in a great measure
from their being badly broken in.” It was the faulty management and edu-
cation of the horse, and not the portion of pure blood which he had acquired,
that produced vices like these. The writer proceeds: “ We have many fine

* The Sportsman, vol. iv. p. 174. + Atkinson’s New South Wales, p. 61.
, THE TARTARIAN HORSE, 33

gig, carriage, and saddle horses, and even some that have pretensions to rank
in the list of racers.” In fact races were instituted at Sydney. A turf-club was
formed, and horses of no despicable qualities entered the lists.

An excellent stallion, named Bay Cameron, was imported from England,
and the owner netted by him, for the first season or two, more than £660 per
annum. Horses gencrally rose more than fifteen per cent. in value. Even at
Sydney, £200 and more were given for a horse of extraordinary figure and,
powers ; and no good saddle, gig, or cart horse could be purchased for less
than £40.

These horses were found to be remarkably hardy, and could undergo con-
siderable fatigue. The greatest fault was a heaviness of the head, with a
considerable degree of obstinacy and sulkiness—as much, however, the fault of
education as of natural disposition*.

A still later writer says, “that the breed is rapidly improving, and par-
ticularly the draught horses, from the importation of some of the Cleveland
breed from England.” The true dray-horse, however, was yet to be found,
and could not be procured from any of the native horses, not even with the
assistance of the Cleveland. The mixture of English blood had not lessened the
endurance of the native breed; for at the hottest time of the year, with the
thermometer at times as high as ninety-six degrees in the shade, the writer
says that he has ridden the same animal fifty miles a day for three successive
days. They will all go through a vast deal of work, but they would have
more endurance, if they were not broken in for the saddle and for harness so
young. ‘ It is no unusual thing to ride them sixty miles in less than seven
hours, and immediately turn them out, to pick up what scanty herbage they
can find. The number of good horses was so rapidly increased that their price
had materially diminished, and scarcely more than £35 could be got for the
best of them t.

The traveller adds, that there are some diseases to which the horse is subject
in England, which are as yet unknown in New South Wales. Glanders has
never made its appearance there. Greasy heels, the almost peculiar disease of
Britain, have not been seen there. Strangles, however, are prevalent, and, the
author of the present work learns from another source, unusually severe}.

In Van Diemen’s Land the breed of horses, originally derived from India,
is very good. A valuable breed of cart-horses is beginning to be formed.
The riding-horses are small, but they are hardy. Horses of every kind are sixty
per cent. dearer in Van Diemen’s Land than in New South Wales; because the

vmmemmcolony is smaller, and the number of horses that are bred is comparatively
small, Their treatment is not so good as in the larger colony. Many of them
know not the taste of corn, and, when it is given to them, it is usually in the
mesma straw.§

THE TARTARIAN HORSE.

Tartary comprehends a vast extent of country, reaching from the Eastern
Ocean to the European dominions of Russia, through the central part of Asia
and Europe. Eastern Tartary belongs chiefly to China—the Western has
been subjected by Russia, but a small portion of it about the Caspian Sea claims
to be independent. ‘The tribes which inhabit this immense space are dissimilar
in their appearance, and manners, and customs; but, with a few excepticns,
the character of the horse is nearly the same.

 

* Two Years in New South Wales, by P, Cunningham, vol. i. p. 296.
¢ Breton’s Excursions in New South Wales, in 1833, p. 330. { Ibid. p. 382.
§ Widowson's State of Van Diemen’s Land in 1829, p. 184,
D
34 TOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES.

The witp norse is found in various parts of Tartary ; but nowhere can it
be considered as the remnant of an original race that has never been domesti-
cated, The horses of the Ukraine, and those of South America, are equally the
descendants of those that had escaped from the slavery of man. The origin of
the horses of Tartary has been clearly traced to those that were employed in the
siege of Azof, in 1657. Being suffered, for want of forage, to penetrate into the
desert in order to find subsistence, they strayed to too great a distance to be pur
sued or recalled, and became wild and created a new breed. They are generally
of a red colour, with a black stripe along the back. They are divided into numerous
herds, at the head of each of which is an old stallion, who has fought his way to
the crown, and whose pre-eminence is acknowledged by the rest. On the
approach of apparent danger, the mares and their foals are driven into a close
body, in front of which the males are ranged. There are frequent contests
between the different herds. The domesticated horse, if he falls in their way
unprotected by his master, is instantly attacked, and speedily destroyed; but
at the sight of a human being, and especially mounted, they all take to flight,
and gallop into the recesses of the desert. The young stallions as they grow up
are driven from the herd, and are seen straggling about at a distance, until they
are strong enough to form herds of wild mares for themselves.

The Cossacks are accustomed to hunt the wild horses, partly to keep up their
own stock, and partly for food. A species of vulture is sometimes made use of
in this affair. The bird pounces upon the poor animal, and fastens itself on
his head or neck, fluttering his wings, and perplexing, and half-blinding him,
so that he becomes an easy prey to the Tartar. ‘The young horses are generally
tamed without much difficulty ; they are, after a little while, coupled with a
tame horse, and grow gentle and obedient. ‘The wild horses thus reclaimed
are usually found to be stronger and more serviceable than any which can be
bred at home.

In the great deserts of Tartary, the herds of wild horses are much larger.
Many thousands, as on the Pampas of South America, are often collected toge-
ther. The Kirghise Tartars either capture them for use, or spear them for food.

The flesh of the horse is a frequent article of food among the Tartars ; and
although they do not, like the Indians of the Pampas, eat it raw, their mode a.
cookery would not be very inviting to the European epicure. They cut the
muscular parts into slices, and place them under their saddles, and after they
have galloped thirty or forty miles, the meat becomes tender and sodden, and
fit for their table. At all their feasts, the first and last, and most favourite
dish, is a horse’s head, unless they have a roasted foal, which is the greatest
delicacy that can be procured.

When water was not at hand, the Scythians used to draw blood from their
horses, and drink it ; and the Dukes of Muscovy, for nearly two hundred and
sixty years, presented the Tartar ambassadors with the milk of mares*.

* Most of the Tartars manufacture a liquor

called Koumiss, from the milk of the mare.
It has a very pleasant taste of mingled sweet
and sour, and is considerably nutritious. The
Tartars say that it is an excellent medicine,
and almost a specific in consumption, and some
diseases of debility. It is thus made :—To a
certain quantity of fresh mare’s milk, asixth part
of water, and an eighth part of very sour milk,
or of old kowmiss, is added. The vessel is
covered with a thick cloth, and set in a place
of moderaie warmth. It is thus left at rest
twenty-four hours, when the whole of it will
have become sour, and a thick substance will

have gathered on the top. The whole is thea
beaten with a stick, in the form of a churn-
staff, until it becomes blended into one homo-
geneous mass, Twenty-four hours after this
the beating is repeated, or the liquor is agitated
ina churn, until the whole is again mingled
together. The process is now complete and
the koumiss is formed, but it must be always
well shaken before itis used.— Transactions
of Royal Society of Edinburgh, vol. i.
p- 181.

The Tartars have discovered a method of
obtaining an ardent spirit from this kowmiss, ,
which they call rack, or racky, from the name +
THE TOORKOMAN HORSE, 35

Some of the Tartar and Kalmuck women ride fully as well as the men.
When a courtship is taking place between two of the young ones, the answer of
the lady is thus obtained. She is mounted on one of the best horses, and off she
gallops at full speed. Her lover pursues, and if he overtake her, she becomes his
wife ; but it is seldom or never that a Kalmuck girl once on horseback is
caught, unless she has a partiality for her pursuer*.

The domesticated horses belonging to the Tartars that wander over the
immense plains of Central Asia are little removed from a wild state. They are
small and badly made, but capable of supporting the longest and most rapid
journeys on the scantiest fare.

One well-known circumstance will go far to account for their general hardi-
ness. ‘The Tartars live much on the flesh of horses; and the animals that are
unable to support the labour of their frequent and rapid emigrations are first
destroyed ; the most vigorous are alone preserved.

Berenger gives the following account of the Tartar horses :—“ Although but
of a moderate size, they are strong, nervous, proud, full of spirit, bold, and
active. They have good feet, but somewhat narrow; their heads are well-
shaped and lean, but too small ; the forehead long and stiff; and the legs over
long: yet with all these imperfections they are good and serviceable horses,
being unconquerable by labour, and endowed with considerable speed. The
Tartars live with them almost in the same manner that the Arabs do with their
horses. When they are six or eight months old, they make their children
ride them, who exercise them in small excursions, dressing and forming them
by degrees, and bringing them into gentle and early discipline, and, after a
while, making them undergo hunger and thirst, and many other hardships.
The men, however, do not ride them until they are five or six years old, when
they exact from them the severest service, and enure them to almost incredible
fatigue, travelling two or three days almost without resting, and passing four ov
five days with no more or better nourishment than a handful of grass, and with
nothing to quench their thirstt.” This discipline as much exceeds that of the
Arabs in severity and horrible barbarity, as the Arabs excel the Tartars in
civilisation.

The horses of the Nogais Tartars are some of the best of the roving tribes.
They are stronger and taller than the others ; and some of them are trained to
draw carriages. It is from them that the Khan of Tartary derives the principal
part of his supplies. It is said that in case of necessity they could furnish a
hundred thousand men. Each of the Nogais commonly has with him four
horses ; one is for his own riding ; a second to mount if the first should be
tired ; and the other two to carry his provisions, his slaves and his booty.

THE TOORKOMAN HORSE.
Turkistan is that part of South Tartary, north-east of the Caspian sea, and
has been celebrated from very early times for producing a pure and valuable

 

given to the spirit manufactured in the East
Indies.

Dr. Clarke saw the process of the manufac-
ture : — “ The still was composed of mud, or
very close clay. For the neck of the retortacane
was used ; and the receiver was entirely covered
by a coating of wet clay. The brandy had just
passed over. The women who had the ma-
nagement of the distillery, wishing to give us a
taste of the spirit, thrust a stick with a small
tuft of camel’s hair into the receiver, dropped
a portion of it on the retort, and waving the
instrament above her head, scattered the re-

maining liquor in the air. I asked the mean-
ing of this ccremony, and was answered that
it was a religious custom to give always the
first of the brandy which they drew from the
receiver to their god. The stick was then
plunged into the liquor a second time, when more
brandy adhering to the camel’s hair, she
squeezed it into the palm of her dirty hand, and
having tasted the liquor, presented it to our lips.
—Clarke’s Travels in Russia, p. 239.

* Clarke’s Travels in Russia, p. 333.

+ Berenger on Horsemanship, vol. i. p.

v2
86 FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES.

breed of horses. They are called Toorkomans. They are said to be preferable
even to the pure Persians, for actual service. They are large, from fifteen
to sixteen hands high, swift, and inexhaustible under fatigue. Some of them
have travelled nine hundred miles in eleven successive days. They are, how-~
ever somewhat too small in the barrel,—too long on the legs,—occasionally
ewe-necked, and always having a head out of proportion large: yet such are the
good qualities of the horse, that one of the pure blood is worth two or three
hundred pounds, even in that country.

Captain Fraser, who is evidently a good judge of the horse, thus relates the
impression which they made on him, in his Journey to Khorasan :—“ They
are deficient in compactness. Their bodies are long in proportion to their bulk.
They are not well-ribbed up. They are long on the legs,—deficient in muscle,
—falling off below the knee ; narrow-chested,—long-necked,—head large,
uncouth, and seldom well put on. Such was the impression I received from
the first sight of them, and it was not for some time that their superior valu-
able qualities were apparent to me.”

The Toorkomans trace their breed of horses to Arabian sires ; and, most
anxious that a sufficient proportion of the pure blood shall be retained, they
have frequent recourse to the best Arabians they can procure.

Before a ‘Toorkoman starts on an expedition, he provides himself with a few
hard balls of barley-meal, which are to serve both him and his horse for sub-
sistence until his return; but sometimes when, crossing the desert, he is un-
usually faint and weary, he opens the jugular vein of his horse, and drinks a
little of the blood, by which he is undoubtedly refreshed, and, he thinks, his
horse is relieved. According to Sir John Malcolm, the Toorkoman will think
little of pushing the same horse one hundred miles a day for some successive
days ; and he adds, that a horseman mounted on a Toorkoman horse brought a
packet of letters from Shiraz to Teheran, a distance of five hundred miles, in
six days.

THE TURKISH HORSE.

The Turkish horses are descended principally from the Arab, crossed by the
Persian and other kindred varieties. They possess all the gentleness and tracta-
bility of the parent race, but they have lost some of their vigour and speed.
They have contributed materially to the improvement of the English breed.
The Byerley and the Helmsley Turk are names familiar to every one conver-
sant with horses, and connected with our best blood.

The learned and benevolent Busbequius, who was ambassador at Constanti-
nople in the seventeenth century, gives the following account of the Turkish
horses. Our grooms, and their masters too, may learn a lesson of wisdom and
humanity from his words.

“There is no creature so gentle as a Turkish horse, nor more respectful to
his master, or the groom that dresses him. The reason is, because they treat
their horses with great lenity. I myself saw, when I was in Pontus, passing
through a part of Bithynia called Axilos, towards Cappadocia, how indulgent
the countrymen were to young colts, and how kindly they used them soon after
they were foaled. They would stroke them, bring them into their houses, and
almost to their tables, and use them even like children. They hung something
like a jewel about their necks, and a garter which was full of amulets against
poison, which they are most afraid of. The grooms that dress them are as
indulgent as their masters ; they frequently sleck them down with their hands,
and never use a cudgel to bang their sides, but in cases of necessity. This makes
their horses great lovers of mankind ; and they are so far from kicking, wincing,
or growing untractable by this gentle usage, that you will hardly find an ill-
tempered horse amongst them.
THE WILD HORSE OF SOUTH AMERICA. 37

“* But, alas! our Christian grooms’ horses go on at another rate. They
never think them rightly curried till they thunder at them with their voices,
and let their clubs or horse-whips, as it were, dwell on their sides, This makes
some horses even tremble when their keepers come into their stable ; so that
they hate and fear them too. But the Turks love to have their horses so
gentle, that at the word of command they may fall on their knees, and in this
position receive their riders.

“They will take up a staff or club upon the road with their teeth, which their
rider has let fall, and hold it up to him again ; and when they are perfect in this
lesson, then, as a reward, they have rings of silver hung on their nostrils as a
badge of honour and good discipline. I saw some horses when their master
was fallen from the saddle stand stock still without wagging a foot till he got up
again. Another time I saw a groom standing at a distance in the midst of a
whole ring of horses, and at the word of command, they would either go round
or stand still. Once I saw some horses when their master was at dinner with
me in an upper room prick up their ears to hear his voice, and when they did so
they neighed for joy.”

; THE AMERICAN HORSES,

Before we can advance eastward into Europe, it will be convenient to dispose
of the horses of the American continents. In South America, although con-
stant warfare is carried on against them, there are innumerable herds of wild
horses ; and in the back settlements of the south-western states of North
America, there is a horse resembling the wild horse of the Pampas; but both
are evidently the descendants of those who have escaped from the slavery of man.

: THE WILD HORSE OF SOUTH AMERICA.

All travellers who have crossed the plains extending from the shores of La
Plata to Patagonia have spoken of numerous droves of wild horses. Some
affirm that they have seen ten thousand in one troop. They appear to be under
the command of a leader, the strongest and boldest of the herd, and whom they
implicitly obey. A secret instinct teaches them that their safety consists in
their union, and in a principle of subordination. The lion, the tiger, and the
leopard * are their principal enemies. At some signal, intelligible to them all,
they either close into a dense mass and trample their enemy to death, or, placing
the mares and foals in the centre, they form themselves into a circle and wel-
come him with their heels. In the attack, their leader is the first to face the
danger, and when prudence demands a retreat, they follow his rapid flight.

In the thinly-inhabited parts of South America it is dangerous to fall in with
any of these troops. The wild horses approach as near as they dare: they call
to the loaded horse with the greatest eagerness, and if the rider is not on the
alert, and has not considerable strength of arm and sharpness of spur, his beast
will divest himself of his burden, take to his heels, and be gone for ever. Byron
beautifully describes this in his Mazeppa :—

“ A trampling troop: I see them come
In one vast squadron they advance !
I strove to cry—my lips were dumb,
The steeds rush on in plunging pride,
But where are they the reins who guide ?
A thousand horse and none to ride !
With flowing tail and flying mane,
Wide nostrils—never stretch’d by pain—
Moutha bloodless to the bit or rein,
And feet that iron never shod,
And flanks unscarr’d by spur or rod—

* These animals are of a different race from those which go under the same namee in
the Old World, and are very inferior in strength,
33 FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES.

A thousand horse, the wild, the free,

Like waves that follow o’cr the sea.

On came the troop... «

They stop—they star-—they snuff the air,
Gallop a moment here and there,
Approach, retire, whcel round and round,
Then plunging back with sudden bound ;
They snort, they foam, neigh. swerve aside,
And backward to the forest fly.”

Captain Head gives the following account of a meeting with a troop of wild
horses, where the country is more thickly inhabited. Some poor captured animals
are supposed to be forced along by their riders at their very utmost speed :—“ As
they are thus galloping along, urged by the spur, it is interesting to see the
groups of wild horses one passes. The mares, which are never ridden in South
America, seem not to understand what makes the poor horse carry his head so
low and look so weary *. The little innocent colts come running to meet him,
and then start away frightened; while the old horses, whose white marks on
the flanks and backs betray their acquaintance with the spur and saddle, walk
slowly away for some distance, then breaking into a trot as they seek their
safety, snort and look behind them, first with one eye and then with the other,
turning their noses from right to left, and carrying their long tails high in the
air t.”

The same pleasing writer describes the system of horse-management among
the rude inhabitants of the plains of South America, They have no stables,
no fenced pastures. One horse is usually kept tied at the door of the hut, fed
scantily at night on maize; or at other times several may be inclosed in the
corral, which is a circular space surrounded by rough posts, driven firmly into
the ground. The mares are never ridden, or attempted to be tamed, but
wander with their foals wherever they please.

When the Gaucho, the native inhabitant of the plains, wants horses for him-
self or for the supply of the traveller, he either goes with his /asso to the corral,
and selects those possibly who on the preceding day had for the first time been
backed, or he scampers across the plain, and presently returns with an unwilling,
struggling, or subdued captive. When the services of the animals have been
exacted, he either takes them to the corral and feeds them with a small quantity
of maize, if he thinks he shall presently need them again, or he once more turns
them loose on the plains.

Travellers give some amusing accounts of the manner in which all this is
effected. Mierst thus describes the /asso, simple in its construction, but all-

. powerful in the hands of the Gaucho :— a

“ The Jasso is a missile weapon used by every native of the United Provinces
and Chili. It is a very strong plaited thong of equal thickness, half an inch in
diameter and forty feet long, made of many strips of green hide plaited like a
whipthong, and rendered supple by grease. It has at one end an iron ring,
above an inch and a half in diameter, through which the thong is passed, and
this forms a running-noose. The Gaucho, or native Peon, is generally mounted
on horseback when he uses the lasso. One end of the thong is affixed to his
saddle-girth: the remainder he coils carefully in his left hand, leaving about
twelve feet belonging to the noose-end in a coil, and a half of which he holds in
his right hand. He then swings this long noose horizontally round his head,

* An Englishman once attempted to ride is only a short time since mares began to be
amare, but he was hooted and petted by the ridden in Russia.
natives, and thought himself fortunate to + Head’s Journey across the Pampas, p.
escape without serious injury.—Sir John Carr, 258. =
in his Northern Summer, p. 44, states that it } Miers’ Travels in Chile, vol. i. p. 88.
THE WILD HORSE OF SOUTH AMERICA, 39

the weight of the iron ring at the end of the noose assisting in giving to it, by a
continued circular motion, a sufficient force to project it the whole length of the
line.”

When the Gauchos wish to have a grand breaking-in, they drive a whole herd
of wild horses into the corral :—“ The corral was quite full of horses, most of
which were young ones about two or three years old. The capitar (chief
Gauche), mounted on a strong steady horse, rode into the corral, and threw his
lasso over the neck of a young horse, and dragged him to the gate. For some
time he was very unwilling to lose his comrades; but the moment he was
forced out of the corral, his first idea was to gallop away: however a timely
jerk of the lasso checked him in the most effectual way. The peons now ran
after him on foot, and threw a lasso over his fore-legs just above the fetlock,
and twitching it, they pulled his legs from under him so suddenly, that I really
thought the fall he got had killed him. In an instant a Gaucho was seated on
his head, and with his long knife, in a few seconds, cut off the whole of the
horse’s mane, while another cut the hair from the end of his tail: this, they
told me, was a mark that the horse had been once mounted. They then put a
piece of hide into his mouth to serve for a bit, and a strong hide halter on his
head. The Gaucho who was to mount arranged his spurs, which were unusually
long and sharp *, and while two men held the horse by his ears, he put on the
saddle, which he girthed extremely tight. He then caught hold of the horse’s
ear, and in an instant vaulted into the saddle; upon which the man who held
the horse by the halter threw the end to the rider, and from that moment no
one seemed to take any further notice of him.

“ The horse instantly began to jump in a manner which made it very difficult
for the rider to keep his seat, and quite different from the kick or plunge of an
English horse: however, the Gaucho’s spurs soon set him going, and off he
galloped, doing everything in his power to throw his rider.

“ Another horse was immediately brought from the corral ; and so quick was
the operation, that twelve Gauchos were mounted in a space which I think
hardly exceeded an hour. It was wonderful to see the different manner in
which different horses behaved. Some would actually scream while the Gau-
chos were girding the saddle upon their backs ; some would instantly lie down
and roll upon it; while some would stand without being held, their legs stiff
and in unnatural positions, their necks half bent towards their tails, and looking
vicious and obstinate: and I could not help thinking that I would not have
mounted one of those for any reward that could be offered me, for they were
invariably the most difficult to subdue.

“ It was now curious to look around and see the Gauchos on the horizon in
different directions, trying to bring their horses back to the corral, which is the
most difficult part of their work, for the poor creatures had been so scared there
that they were unwilling to return to the place. It was amusing to sec tlie
antics of the horses ; they were jumping and dancing in different ways, while
the right arm of the Gauchos was seen flogging them. At last they brought
the horses back, apparently subdued and broken in. The saddles and bridles
were taken off, and the young horses trotted off towards the corral, neighing to
one another t.”

 

texture and appearance. The ham forms the
calf of the boot; the hock easily adopts itself

* The manufacture of the Gaucho’s boots is

somewhat singular: —“ The boots of the Gauchos
are formed of the ham and part of the leg-skin
of acolt taken reeking from the mother, which
18 said to be sacrificed for the sole purpose, just
at the time of bearing, when the hair has not
begun to grow. At this stage, the skin strips
off easily, and is very white and beautiful in

to the heel, and the leg above the fetlock con-
stitutes the foot; the whole making a neat
and elegant half-boot, with an aperture suffi-
cient for the great tue to project through.’’
—Andrews’s Journey in South America,
vol. i, p. 26.

t Head’s Journcy across the Pampas, p. 258,
40 FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES.

When the Gaucho wishes to take a wild horse, he mounts one that has been
used to the sport, and gallops over the plain. As soon as he comes sufficiently
near his prey, “the lasso is thrown round the two hind legs, and as the Gaucho
rides a little on one side, the jerk pulls the entangled horse’s feet laterally, so as
to throw him on his side, without endangering his knees or his face. Before
the horse can recover the shock, the rider dismounts, and snatching his poncho
or cloak from his shoulders, wraps it round the prostrate animal's head. He
then forces into his mouth one of the powerful bridles of the country, straps a
saddle on his back, and bestriding him, removes the poncho ; upon which the
astonished horse springs on his legs, and endeavours by a thousand vain efforts
to disencumber himself of his new master, who sits quite composedly on his
back, and, by a discipline which never fails, reduces the horse to such complete
obedience, that he is soon trained to lend his whole speed and strength to the
capture of his companions *.”

These animals possess much of the form of the Spanish horse, from which
they sprang; they are tamed, as has been scen, with far less difficulty than
could be thought possible; and although theirs is the obedience of fear, and
enforced at first by the whip and spur, there are no horses who so soon and so
perfectly exert their sagacity and their power in the service of man. They are
possessed of no extraordinary speed, but they are capable of enduring immense
fatigue. They are frequently ridden sixty or seventy miles without drawing
bit, and have been urged on by the cruel spur of the Gaucho more than a hun-
dred miles, and at the rate of twelve miles in the hour.

Like the Arab horses, they know no intermediate pace between the walk and
the gallop. Although at the end of a day so hard, their sides are horribly
mangled, and they completely exhausted, there is this consolation for them,—
they are immediately turned loose on the plains, and it will be their own fault
if they are speedily caught again. The mare is occasionally killed for food, and
especially on occasions of unusual festivity. General San Martin, during the
war for independence, gave a feast to the Indian allies attached to his army in
‘which mares’ flesh, and the blood mixed with gin, formed the whole of the
-entertainment.

On such dry and sultry plains the supply of water is often scanty, and then
a species of madness seizes on the horses, and their generous and docile qualities
are no longer recognised. They rush violently into every pond and lake,
savagely mangling and trampling upon one another ; and the carcasses of many
thousands of them, destroyed by their fellows, have occasionally been seen in
and around a considerable pool. That is one of the means by which the too
rapid increase of this quadruped is, by the ordinance of nature, there prevented.
Humboldt says that during the periodical swellings of the large rivers, immense
numbers of wild horses are drowned, particularly when the river Apure is
swollen, and these animals are attempting to reach the rising grounds of the
Llanos. ‘The mares may be seen, during the season of high water, swimming
about followed by their colts, and feeding on the tall grass, of which the tops
alone wave above the waters. In this state they are pursued by crocodiles, and
their thighs frequently bear the prints of the teeth of these carnivorous reptiles.
They lead for a time an amphibious life, surrounded by crocodiles, water-ser-
pents, and marsetees. When the rivers return again into their beds, they roam
in the savannah, which is then spread over with a fine odoriferous grass, and
scem to enjoy the renewed vegetation of springt.

* Basil Hall's Journcy to Peru and Mexico, general use. The men leap on their backs
vol. i. p. 151. The Jesuit Dobrizhoffer, in his without assistance.

history of the Abipones, a nation of Para- f Humboldt’s Pers, Nar., vol. iv. p. 394.
guay, and speaking of the tamed horse, (vol. -—Lyel!’s Geology.

ii. p. 118,) says, that ‘Stirrups are not in
THE WILD HORSE OF SOUTH AMERICA, 4]

Numerous herds of wild horses abound in the west of Louisiana, and of all
colours. ‘They are, like those on the Pampas, the remains of the Spanish
horses, and are hunted, caught, and sometimes destroyed for food, by the
savage inhabitants of the back settlements.

Mr. Low, in his beautiful delineations of the British quadrupeds, gives the
following account of the horses of North America ;—

‘North America seems as well adapted to the temperament of the horse as
any similar countries in the old continent. The Mexican horses are derived
from, but somewhat deteriorated by, a less careful management. Mexican horses
have likewise escaped into the woods and savannahs, and although they have not
multiplied, as in the plains of the Plata, thence they have descended northward
to the Rocky Mountains, and the sources of the Columbia. The Indians of
the country have learned to pursue and capture them, employing them in hunt-
ing, and transporting their families from place to place—the first great change
that has taken place for ages in the condition of the Red Man of the North
American woods. The highest ambition of the young Indian of these northern
tribes, is to possess a good horse for the chase of the buffalo. The Osages
form large hunting-parties, for the chase of horses, in the country of the Red
Canadian River, using relays of fresh horses, until they have run down the wild
herds. To steal the horse of an adverse tribe, is considered as an exploit almost
as heroic as the killing of an enemy, and the distances that they will travel
and the privations they will undergo in these predatory excursions are scarcely
to be believed.”

The Anglo-Americans, the Canadians, and the colonists of the West India
Islands, have all acquired the domesticated horse. The Canadian is found
principally in Canada, and the northern states. He is supposed to be of French
descent, and many of the celebrated trotters are of this breed. Mention will
be made of some of these when the paces of the horse are described.

These horses are much used for winter travelling in Canada, and in the
northern states. One of them has drawn a light cabriolet over the ice ninety
miles in twelve hours. Their shoes are roughened by the insertion of two or
three steel screws, instead of the con:mon European method. The curry-comb
is never used upon them in the winter, for a thick fur has grown over them to
protect them from the inclemency of the season. They are animals never
refusing the collar, yet they are accustomed to bad usage. Those of the United
States are of every variety, but crossed by the modern English race, or the
Arab. The improvement of the horse, at this time, occupies much of their
attention. Horse-races are established in many places, and particularly in the
southern States; and they have adopted, to a very considerable degree, the
usages of the English turf. They have different varieties of useful horses for
riding, and for their public and private carriages. Habit, arising from some
cause or whim now not known, has made them partial to the trotting-horse ;
and the fastest trotting-horses in the world are to be found in the United
States. The breeds of the West India Islands are those of the parent states.
The horses of Cuba are derived from Spain, and retain the distinctive charac-
ters of the parent stock ; and those of the English colonies have been improved
by continued intercourse with the mother country.

A much-valued correspondent, Mr. Rotch, of Louisville, in the State of New
York, thus addresses the author :—‘‘ From my own personal experience, !
should say that all our stock in America seems to possess a harder constitution
and are much less liable to disease than in England ; and that animals, but a few
generations removed from those actually imported, acquire much stronger con-
stitutions than their ancestors, and it has been a question with me, and acceded
to by the late Rev. H. Berry, whether importations of sorie of our pure-bred
42 FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES.

animals might not sometimes be made into your country with advantage. I
am sure that our hacks and roadsters will endure a great deal more fatigue
and hardship than the same description of horse in England. I speak with
confidence in these matters, because I have been a breeder in both countries. ;

That the greater hardship and labour to which the American horse of this
description is exposed would produce a greater development of animal power,
there can be no doubt, and a cross from the best of such a breed could not fail
of being advantageous; but we must adopt and perpetuate the circumstances
that produced this superior power, or we should not long retain the advantage
of the cross.

In the extensive territory and varied climate of the United States several
breeds of horses are found.

The Conestoga horse is found in Pennsylvania and the middle States; long
in the leg and light in the carcass; sometimes rising seventeen hands; used
principally for the carriage; but, when not too high, and with sufficient sub-
stance, useful for hunting and the saddle.

The English horse, with a good deal of blood, prevails in Virginia and
Kentucky, and is found to a greater or less degree in all the States. The
Americans have at different times imported some of the best English blood.
It has been most diligently and purely preserved in the southern States. The
celebrated Shark, the best horse of his day, and equalled by few at any time,
was the sire of the best Virginian horses; and Tally-ho, a son of Highflyer,
peopled the Jerseys.

THE MODERN EUROPEAN HORSES.

The limits of our work compel us to be exceedingly brief in our account of
the breeds of the different countries of Europe. We start from the South-west
of this quarter of the world.

THE SPANISH HORSE.

The Spanish horses, for many a century, ranked next to those of Barbary and
Arabia. They descended from the Barbs, or rather they were the Barbs trans-
planted to a European soil, and somewhat altered, but not materially injured, by
the change. Solleysel, the parfuit mareschal, gives an eloquent description of
them :—“ I have seen many Spanish horses; they are extremely beautiful, and
the most proper of all to be drawn by a curious pencil, or to be mounted by a
king, when he intends to show himself in his majestic glory to the people.”

The common breed of Spanish horses have nothing extraordinary about them.
The legs and feet are good, but the head is rather large, the forehand heavy,
and yet the posterior part of the chest deficient, the crupper also having too
much the appearance of a mule. The horses of Estremadura and Granada, and
particularly of Andalusia, are most valued. Berenger, whose judgment can
be fully depended on, thus enumerates their excellences and their defects :—
“* The neck is long and arched, perhaps somewhat thick, but clothed with a
full and flowing mane; the head may be a little too coarse ; the ears long, but
well placed ; the eyes large, bold, and full of fire. Their carriage lofty, proud,
and noble. The breast large ; the shoulders sometimes thick ; the belly fre-
quently too full, and swelling ; and the loin a little too low; but the ribs round,
and the croup round and full, and the legs well formed and clear of hair, and the
sinews at a distance from the bone—active and ready in their paces—of quick
apprehension ; a memory singularly faithful; obedient to the utmost proof ;
docile and affectionate to man, yet full of spirit and courage *,” The Parfait
Mareschal shall take up the story again :—“ There will not be found any kind of

* Berenger’s Horscmanship, p. 151.
THE FRENCH HORSE. 43

horse more noble than they, and of their courage! why I have seen their entrails
hanging from them, through the number of wounds that they have received ;
yet they have carried off their rider safe and sound with the same pride with
which they brought him to the field, and after that they have diced, having Jess
life than courage*.” It is delightful to read accounts like these, and we know
not which to admire most, the noble horse or the man who could so well appre-
ciate his excellence.

The modern Spanish horses are fed upon chopped straw and a little barley
When the French and English cavalry were there, during the Peninsular war,
and were without preparation put upon this mode of living, so different from
that to which they had been accustomed, they began to be much debilitated,
and a considerable mortality broke out among them; but, after a while, they
who were left regained their strength and spirits, and the mortality entirely
ceased t.

THE PORTUGUESE HORSE.

There was a time when the Lusitanian or Portuguese horses were highly
celebrated. The Roman historian Justin compares their swiftness to that of
the winds, and adds, that many of them might be said to be born of the winds ;
while, on the other hand, Berenger, who lived at a time when the glory of the
Spanish horse had not quite faded away, says, that “‘ the Portugal horses are in
no repute, and differ as much from their neighbours, the Spaniards, as crabs
from apples, or sloes from grapes }.” He thus accounts for it. When Portugal
was annexed to Spain, the latter country was preferred for the establishment of
the studs for breeding, and the few districts in Portugal which weve sufficiently
supplied with herbage and water to fit them for a breeding country were
devoted to the rearing of horned cattle for the shambles and the plough, and
mules and asses for draught. Hence, the natives regarded the horse as con-
nected more with pompand pleasure than with utility, and drew the comparatively
few horses that they wanted from Spain. The present government, however,
seems disposed to effect a reform in this, and there are still a sufficient number
of Andalusian horses in Portugal, and Barbs in Africa, fully to accomplish the
purpose.

THE FRENCH HORSE,

According to the survey of 1829, France contained 2,400,000 horses, including
those of every description. The number of mares was 1,227,781. The greater
part of these were ewployed in the breeding of mules, and perhaps not more
than a fourth part were used for keeping up the number of horses. Besides
these, nearly 27,000 horses are annually imported into France, either on
speculation of immediate sale, or, for the express purpose of improving the
breed.

Two-thirds of the French horses are devoted to purposes of light work,
and possess a certain degree, and that gradually increasing, of Eastern blood.
There is room, however, for a great deal more than the French horse usually
possesses. One-third of the horses are employed in heavy work ; 70,000 in
post work, and about the same number are registered as fit for military use,
although not more than half of them are on actual service. The ascertained
number of deaths is about one in 12 or 18, or leaving the average age of the
horse at 12. This speaks strongly in favour of the humanity of the French, or
the hardihood of the horses, for it exceeds the average duration of the life of
the horse in England by more than two years. Calculating the average value
of the French horse at 400 francs, or 16/. 18s. 4d., there results a sum of

 

* Solleyscl’s Compleat Horseman, part i. p. 211.
+ Recucil de Méd., Oct., 1837, p. 80. + Berenger, p. 153.
44 FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES.

960,000,000 francs, or 40,000,000 pounds sterling, as the gross value of this
species of national property *. ;

It must be supposed that so extensive a country as France possesses various
breeds of horses. Auvergne and Poitou produce good ponies and galloways;
but the best French horses are bred in Limousin and Normandy. From the
former district come excellent saddle-horses and hunters, and from the latter a
stronger species for the road, the cavalry service, and the carriage.

M. Hoiiel has recently published an interesting work on the varieties of the
horse in France. Ie states that in the-time of the Romans there were but two
kinds of horses,—the war-horse, and the sumpter or pack-horse. The carriage,
or draught-horse, was comparatively or quite unknown; and even men of the
highest station suffered themselves to be indolently drawn by oxen. Great care
was taken to preserve or to renew the strength and speed of the war-horse, and
African or Arab blood was diligently sought. An animal, the type of the
English Cleveland breed, the handsomest and strongest description of the coach-
horse, was thus procured. By degrees, this horse was found too valuable for a
hackney, and too high-trotting for a long journey, and a more smoothly-moving
animal was gradually introduced. Still the charger did not grow quite out of
fashion, and in Normandy the rearing of this animal became an object of much
attention to the farmer. At first they were bred too slow and ponderous, but by
degrees a horse was obtained of somewhat lighter action and considerable speed
without much sacrifice of strength, and they now constitute a most valuable
breed. ‘*T have not elsewhere,” says M. Hoiiel, “ seen such horses at the
collar, under the diligence, or the post-carriage, or the farm-cart. They are
enduring and energetic beyond description. At the voice of the brutal driver,
or at the dreaded sound of his never-ceasing whip, they put forth all their
strength, and they keep their condition when other horses would die of neglect
and hard treatment.” The little Norman cart-horse is perhaps the best for farm-
work. The Norman horses—and the same observation applies to all the northern
provinces of France—are very gentle and docile. A kicking or vicious one is
almost unknown there; but they are, with few exceptions, treated with tyranny
and cruelty from first to last. The reign of terror may to a certain degree be
necessary where there are many perfect horses; but the principle of cruelty should
not extend, as it too often does, to the treatment of every kind of horse.

Something must be attributed to both causes. There is more humanity
among the French than the English peasantry; but, on the other hand, there
are horrible scencs of cruelty to the horse hourly taking place in the streets of
Paris, that would not be tolerated for a moment in the British metropolis.

The breeding of horses has more decidedly become a branch of agricultural
attention and speculation than it used to be ; for it has been proved to the farmer
that, with the proper kind of pasture, and within a fair distance of a proper
market, instead of being one of the most uncertain and unprofitable modes of
using the land, it yields more than an average return.

The establishment of races in almost every part of France has given a spirit
to the breeding and improvement of the horse which cannot fail of being exceed-
ingly beneficial throughout the whole of the French empire. In fact, it may be
stated without exaggeration, that the rapid improvement which is taking place
is attributable principally to this cause. In order to effect the desired improve-
ment, the French, and with much judgment, have had recourse to the English
thorough-bred horse far more than to the native Arabian. A great many of the
best English stallions have been purchased for the French studs, and have been
beneficially employed in improving, and often creating, the hunter, the racer,
aud almost all of the better class of horses used for purposes of luxury.

* Journal des Haras, March 1837
THE ITALIAN HORSE. 4b

It has been stated that the most valuable native horses are those of Normandy ;
perhaps they have been improved by the English hunter, and occasionally by
the English thorough-bred horse ; and on the other hand, the English roadster,
and the light draught-horse, has derived considerable advantage from a mixture
with the Norman, not only in early times when William the Conqueror was so
eager to improve the horses of his new subjects by means of those of Norman
blood, but at many succeeding periods.

A certain number of Normandy horses used to be purchased every year by
the French government for the use of the other departments. This led occa-
sionally to considerable trickery and evil. None of the Norman horses were
castrated until they were three, or sometimes four years old; and then it fre-
quently happened that horses of superior appearance, but with no pure blood in
them, were sold as belonging to the improved breed, and it was only in their
offspring that the cheat could be discovered. The government now purchases
the greater part of the Normandy horses in their first year, and brings them up
in the public studs. They cost more money, it is true; but they are better bred,
and become finer animals. There is no deception with regard to these horses,
and the amelioration of the other breeds is secured.

Every country that has occupied itself with the amelioration of its breed of
horses, has deemed it necessary to have a public register of the names and pro-
geny of those of an acknowledged race. England has had its stud-book nearly
half a century, containing a list of all the horses of pure blood that have existed
in the country. France, in the year 1837, had her first stud-book, in which are
inscribed the names of 215 stallions, of pure English blood, imported into France
or born there ; 266 Arabs, Barbs, Persian, or Turkish horses ; 274 English mares
of true blood, and 41 Eastern mares. Their progeny is also traced, so far as it
was practicable. This work will form an epoch in the equestrian annals of that
country.

THE SARDINIAN AND CORSICAN HORSES.

They are small, well-made, and capable of enduring much fatigue ; as for
their other qualities, (and they are not much changed at the present day from
what they formerly were,) Blundeville shall speak of them :—‘“ The horses
that come out of the Isle of Sardygnia and Corsica have short bodyes and he
verye bolde and courageous, and unquiet in their pace, for they be of so fierce
and hote cholericke complexion, and therewith so much used to running in
their countrie as they will stand still on no grounde. And, therefore, this kynde
of horse requireth a discreete and pacient ryder, who must not be over hastie in
correcting him for feare of marring him altogither* ”

THE ITALIAN HORSE

Was once celebrated for the beauty of his form and his paces ; but, like every-
thing else in that degraded country, he has sadly degenerated. The Neapolitan
horses were patticularly remarkable for their size and majestic action ; there
was, however, a degree of clumsiness about the heads, and forehand, and
general appearance, which the seeming grandeur of their action would not
always conceal, and they were occasionally untractable and vicious to an alarm-
ing degree, They are now much deteriorated, and, in fact, with but few
exceptions, scarcely of any value.

Some of the Italian races are a disgraceful burlesque on those of other countries.
AtRome they have become a necessary appendage tothe annual carnival, and there
is no other of the pastimes of that gay season in which the people take an equal
delight. Some of the horse-races resemble those in other countries, and are

 

* Blundeville’s Four Chiefest Offices,
46 FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES.

fairly contested; but much oftener the Roman course presents nothing but the
horse running without any rider, and not from his own spirit and emulation,
but startled by noises and goaded on by ridiculous and barbarous contrivances,

The horses termed Barberi—because the race was at first contested by Barbs—
are brought to the starting-post, their heads and their necks gaily ornamented ;
while to a girth which goes round the body of each are attached several loose
straps, having at their ends small balls of lead thickly set with sharp steel points.
At every motion these are brought in contact with the flanks and bellies of the
horses, and the more violent the motion, the more dreadful the incessant torture.
On their backs are placed sheets of thin tin, or stiff paper, which, when agitated,
will make a rustling, rattling noise.

It is dificult to conceive of the rearing, kicking, pawing and snorting which
occurs at the starting-place. A rope placed across the street prevents them
from getting away, and a stout peasant is employed with each horse in a struggle
of downright strength, and, at the hazard of limb and of life, to restrain him.
Occasionally some of them do break away and pass the rope before the street—
the race-course—is cleared, and then many serious accidents are sure to
happen.

When all is ready for starting, a troop of dragoons gallop through the street
in order to clear the way. A trumpet sounds—the rope drops—the grooms let
go their hold, and the horses start away like arrows from a bow. The harder
they run, the more they are pricked ; the cause of this they seem scarcely able
to comprehend, for they bite and plunge at each other, and a terrible fight is
sometimes commenced. Others, from mere fright or sulkiness, stand stock-still,
and it is by brute force alone that they can again be induced to move.

A strong canvas screen is passed along the bottom of the street. This is the
goal, It has the appearance of a wall ; but some of the horses, in the excess of
their agony and terror, dart full against it, tear through it, or carry it away.

After all, the prize is nothing more than an ornamental flag ; but it is presented
by the governor of Rome, and it is supposed to be a pledge of the speed and
value of the horse which will descend as an heir-loom from generation to
generation among the peasantry, to whom many of these horses belong. The
decision of such a race, however, can have little to do with the speed or
strength or value of the horses in any respect. The Italians, however, enter
into the affair with all their characteristic eagerness of feeling, and are guilty
of every kind of extravagance. During the first six days of the carnival, the
horses are fairly classed according to the age, height, degree of breeding, Xe. ;
but on the two last days—the choice days—they run all together, and some
in the manner that I have described, and thus increase the confusion, the riot,
and the danger of the exhibition *.

The Corso is very nearly a mile, and it has occasionally been run in two
minutes and twenty-one seconds: a very quick pace for small horses, many of
them not more than fourteen hands high t.

 

* Peuny Magazine, 1833, p. 425.

tT Races of a similar character take place at
Florence, of which Mrs. Piozzi gives the follow-
ing description :— The street is covered with
saw-dust, and made fast at both ends. Near
the starting-post are elegant booths, lined with
red velvet, for the court and first nobility. At
the other end a piece of tapestry is hung, to
prevent the creatures from dashing their brains
out when they reach the goal. Thousands and
tens of thousands of peopie on foot fill the
course, so that it is a great wonder to me still
that numbers are not killed. The prizes are

exhibited to view in quite the old classical style
—a piece of crimson damask for the winner 3
a small silver basin and ewer for the second;
and so on, leaving no performer unrewarded.
** At last come out the horses, without
riders, but with a arrow leathern strap hung
across their bodies, which has a lump of ivory
fixed to the end of it, all set full of sharp
spixes like a hedgehog, and this gozds them
along while galloping, worse than any spur
could do, because the faster they run the more
this odd machine keeps jumping up and down,
and pricking their sides ridiculously enough ;
THE AUSTRIAN HORSE 44

‘

Before we quit the neighbourhood of Italy, we may perhaps notice another
curious mode of horse-racing, practised in Malta. The horses here are indeed
mounted, but they have neither saddle nor bridle. The riders sit on the bare
back, and have nothing to guide or to spur on their horses, but a small pointed
instrument, not unlike a cobbler’s awl. These horses are small barbs, well
tempered, or they would resist this mode of management, and they certainly are
not swift. By pricking the horse on one side or the other of the neck, the rider
can guide him a little in the way he should go, and certainly he may urge him
to his fullest speed; but still, although it affords a novel and amusing sight to
the stranger, the horse and the spectators are degraded by such an exhibition *,

THE AUSTRIAN HORSE.

The following account is given by the Duke of Ragusa of the imperial esta-
blishment for the breeding of horses at Mesohagyés, near Carlsburg in Austria :—
“* This is the finest establishment inthe Austrian monarchy for the breeding and
improvement of horses. It stands on 40,000 acres of land of the best quality, and
is surrounded in its whole extent, which is 15 leagues, by a broad and deep ditch,
and by a broad plantation sixty feet wide. It was formerly designed to supply
horses to recruit the cavalry ; at present its object is to obtain stallions of a good
breed, which are sent to certain dépdts for the supply of the various provinces.
To produce these, 1000 brood mares and 48 stallions are kept ; 200 additional
mares and 600 oxen are employed in cultivating the ground. The plain is
divided into four equal parts, and each of these subdivided into portions,
resembling so many farms. At the age of four years the young horses are all
collected in the centre of the establishment. A selection is first made of the best
animals to supply the deficiencies in the establishment, in order always to keep
it on the same footing. A second selection is then made for the use of the other :
none of these, however, are sent away until they are five years old; but the horses
that are not of sufficient value to be selected are sold by auction, or sent to
the army to remount the cavalry, as circumstances may require.

The whole number of horses at present here, including the stallions, brood-
mares, colts and fillies, is 3000. ‘The persons employed in the cultivation of the
ground, the care of the animals, and the management of the establishment
generally, are a major-director, 12 subaltern officers, and 1170 soldiers.

The Imperial treasury advances to the establishment every year 118,000
florins, (the half rix-dollar.or florin is in value about 2s, 1d, English money, )
and is reimbursed by the sale of 150 stallions, which are sent every year to the
provinces at the price of 1000 florins each, and by the value of the horses
supplied to the cavalry. The other expenses of every description are paid for by
the produce of the establishment, which is required to defray, and does defray
all. This is, therefore, an immense estate—a farm on a colossal scale—with
a stud in proportion managed on account of the sovereign, and which produces
a considerable revenue, independently of the principal object which is attained,
the propagation and multiplication of the best breeds of horses. He can
always supply the wants of his army at a price almost incredibly small. Fora

 

and it makes one laugh to see that some of
them are so tickled by it as not to run at all,
but set about plunging in order to rid them-
selves of the inconvenience, instead of driving
forward to divert the mob, who Jeap, and caper,
and shout with delight, and lash the laggers
along with great indignation indeed, and with
the most comical gestures. I never saw horses
in so droll a state of degradation before, for
they were all striped, or spotted, or painted

of some colour, to distinguish them from each
other.’”

This curious scene is described on account
of the strongly-marked picture it affords, not
of the poor horses, but of the inhabitants of
Italy, once the abode of everything that was
honourable to human nature; and, perhaps,
also, of certain writers, when they sacrifice
good and kindly feeling to affectation and foily.

* Penny Mag., 1833, p. 426.
48 FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES.

horse of the light cavalry he pays only 110 florins, for the dragoons 120, for the
cuirassiers 140, for the train 160, and for the artillery 180. It is a great element
of power to possess at home such an immense resource against a time of war, at
an expense so far below that which the powers of the west and south of Europe
are compelled to incur. ‘ .

So early as 1790, a very superior Arabian, named Turkmainath, was imported
into Germany, and his stock became celebrated, not only in Hungary, but
throughout most of the German provinces. In 1819, the Archduke Maximi-
lian, brother to the emperor, purchased some valuable racers and hunters in
England, and sent them to Austria. Some of them went to the Imperial esta-
blishment of which mention has just been made, and the others contributed
materially to the improvement of the horses wherever they were distributed.
Races have been established in various parts of the Austrian dominions, and
particularly at Buda and at Pest, in Hungary. Of the good effect which this
will have on the breed of horses, there can be no dispute, provided the race does
not degenerate into a mere contest of superiority of speed, and exhibited in an
animal that from his youth must inevitably be injured or ruined in the
struggle.

The gipsies used to. be the principal horse-dealers in Hungary, but they
have been getting into comparative disrepute since the establishment of the
noble studs scattered through this district. He who wants a horse, or to
speculate in horses, may now go to head-quarters and choose for himself.

THE RUSSIAN HORSE,

It may be well supposed that this animal will be of a very different character
in various parts of this immense empire. The heavy cavalry and the greater part
of the horses for pleasure are descended originally from Cossack blood, but
improved by stallions from Poland, Prussia, Holstein, and England; and the
studs, which are now found on an immense scale in various parts of Russia, The
lighter cavalry, and the commoner horses, are, as these have ever been, Cossacks,
without any attempted improvement, and on that account more hardy and
better suited to the duties required from them.

It has been supposed that no horse, except the Arab, could endure privation
like the Cossack, or had combined speed and endurance equal to him. The
Cossack, however, was beaten, and that not by horses of the first-rate English
blood, in a race which fairly put to the test both qualities. It was a cruel
affair ; yet nothing short of such a contest would have settled the question.

On the 4th of August, 1825, a race of forty-seven miles was run between two
Cossack and two English horses. The English horses were Sharper and Mina,
well known, yet not ranking with the first of their class. The Cossacks
were selected from the best horses of the Don, the Black-sea, and the Ural.

On starting, the Cossacks took the lead at a moderate pace; but before they
had gone half a mile, the stirrup-leather of Sharper broke, and he ran away
with his rider, followed by Mina, and they went more than a mile, and up
a steep hill, before they could be held in.

Half the distance was run in an hour and fourteen minutes. Both the
English horses were then fresh, and one of the Cossacks, On their return,
Mina fell lame, and was taken away, and Sharper began to show the effects
of the pace at which he had gone when running away, and was much dis-
tressed. The Calmuck was completely knocked up, his rider was dismounted,
amere child was put on his back, and a Cossack on horseback on either side
dragged him on by ropes attached to his bridle, while others at the side sup-
ported him from falling. Ultimately Sharper performed the whole distance in
two hours and forty-eight minutes—sixteen miles an hour for three successive
THE RUSSIAN HORSE 49

hours—and the Cossack horse was brought in eight minutes after him. At
starting, the English horses carried full three stone more than the Cossacks -
and during the latter part of the race a mere child had ridden the Cossack.

The Emperor Nicholas has established races in different parts of his vast
empire, for the improvement of the Cossack and other horses, On the 20th of
September, 1836, the races at Ouralsk took place. The distance to be run was
18 wersts, or about 44 French leagues—rather more than 10 miles. Twenty-
one horses of the military stud of the Cossacks of Oural started for the first
heat, and which was won in 25 minutes and 19 seconds by a horse belonging
to the Cossack Bourtche-Tchourunief. The second race was disputed by
twenty-three horses of the Kergheese Cossacks, and which was won in 25
minutes and 5 seconds by the horse of the Cossack Siboka-Isterlaie. On the
following day the winners of the two first heats strove for the point of honour.
The course was now 12 wersts—3 French leagues, or about 63 miles. It was
won in 15 minutes by the horse of the Cossack Bourtche-Tchourunief. The
Russian noblemen who were present, admiring the speed and stoutness of the

 

L This cut represents a Cossack soldier accoutred for his journey, and having all that is ne-
cessary for him or for his horse. _ It gives a faithful but somewhat flattering representation
both of the soldier and his eteed.}

g
50 FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES.

horse, were anxious to purchase him; but the Cossack replied that “ All the
gold in the world should not separate him from his friend, his brother *.

In Southern and Western Russia, and also in Poland, the breeding of horses
and cattle has lately occupied the attention of the great land proprietors, and
has constituted a very considerable part of their annual income. There is
scarcely now a signorial residence to which there is not attached a vast court,
in four large divisions, and surrounded by stables. In each of the angles of this
court is a passage leading to beautiful and extensive pasture-grounds, divided
into equal compartments, and all of them having convenient sheds, under which
the horses may shelter themselves from the rain or the sun. From these studs
a larger kind of horse than that of the Cossacks is principally supplied, and
more fit forthe regular cavalry troops, and also for pleasure and parade, than
common use. The remounts of the principal houses in Germany are derived
hence; and from the same source the great fairs in the different states of the
German empire are suppliedt.

The stud of the Russian Countess Orloff Tshesmensky in the province of
Walonese contains 1320 horses, Arabs, English, natives, and others. The ground
attached to it amounts to nearly 1100 acres; and the number of grooms,
labourers, and others is more than 4000. The sum realised by the sale of horses
is of considerable annual amount; and they are disposed of not only on the
spot itself, but in the regular markets, both of St. Petersburgh and Moscow.

THE ICELAND HORSE.

There are numerous troops of horses in this cold and inhospitable country,
descended, according to Mr. Anderson, from the Norwegian horse, but, accord-
ing to Mr. Horrebow, being of Scottish origin. They are very small, strong,
and swift. There are thousands of them in the mountains which never enter a
stable : but instinct or habit has taught them to scrape away the snow, or break
the ice, in search of their scanty food. A few are usually kept in the stable ;
but when the peasant wants more he catches as many as he needs, and shoes
them himself, and that sometimes with a sheep’s horn}.

THE LAPLAND HORSE.

This animal, according to Berenger, is small, but active and willing—some-
what eager and impatient, but free from vice. We is used only in the winter
season, when he is employed in drawing sledges over the snow, and transporting
wood, forage, and other necessaries, which in the summer are all conveyed in

 

* Journal des Haras, Jan. 1337, p. 256.

+ “ The breeding of cattle is also zealously
and profitably pursued. The cow-houses form
the greater portion of the other buildings at-
tached to the mansion. The largest of these
is destined for the milch cows, and another
square building serves fora milking house.
These dairies are disposed and fitted up like
those in Switzerland. In the middle is a jet
of water. Slabs or tables of marble occupy
every side, and a slight inclination of the floor
permits the observance of the greatest possible
cleanliness. An upper story serves for the
manufacture of different kinds of cheese, which
are made in imitation of, and sometimes equal
those which are most esteemed in other parts
of Europe.

“There is another space or court inclosed
with walls, and with little buildings closed
With iron bars, This is destined to bo a me-

nagerie for bears of the rarest and most beau-
tiful colours, and yielding the choicest furs.
This speculation is a very profitable one. A
cub of six months old, with black hair pointed
with silver white, yields a very light skin and
fur, and which will obtain a considerable price,
especially if there are others of the same fine-
ness and variegated colour sufficient to makea
pelisse. A garment of this kind will some-
times be sold for £600 or £1000. The
skins of the old bears are employed for car-
pets, or linings of carriages, and the most sup-
ple of them form the clothing of the coach-
men.’’—Journal des Haras. Although this
note refers to cattle and bears, it does not
wander from the design of the Farmer’s Series,
since it describes the singular agricultural
pursuits of the Russian and Polish noblemen.
} Kerguclen’s Voyage to the North.
THE NORWEGIAN HORSE. 51

boats. During the summer these horses are turned into the forests, where they
form themselves into distinct troops, and select certain districts from which they
rarely wander. They return of their own accord when the season begins to
change, and the forests no longer supply them with food*.

THE SWEDISH HORSE
Is small, but nimble and willing. He is almost entirely fed on bread, com-
posed of equal parts of rye and oatmeal. To this is added a considerable quantity
of salt, and, if he is about to start on a long journey, a little brandy. “ While
changing horses we were not a little entertained at the curious group formed by
the peasants and their steeds breakfasting together ; both cordially partaking of
a large hard rye cake. The horses sometimes belong to three or even more pro-
prietors: it is then highly amusing to observe the frequent altercations between
them ; each endeavouring to spare his own horse. Their affection for their
horses is so great that I have seen them shed tears when they have been driven
- beyond their strength. The expedition, however, with which these little
animals proceed is surprising, when we consider the smallness of their size,
which hardly exceeds that of a pony. The road being universally good through-
out Sweden, they frequently do not relax from a gallop, from one post-house
to another ft.”

THE FINLAND HORSES

Are yet smaller than the Swedes, and not more than twelve hands high.
They are beautifully formed and very fleet. They, like the Swedes, are turned
into the forests in the summer, and must be fetched thence when they are
wanted by the traveller. Although apparently wild, they are under perfect
control ; and can trot along with ease at the rate of twelve miles in the hour.

Fish is much used, both in Finland and Lapland, for the winter food of
horses and cattle.

THE NORWEGIAN HORSE

Is larger than the Swedish or Finland, but is equally hardy and manageable,
and attached to its owner, and its owner toit. The roads in Norway are the
reverse of what they are in Sweden: they are rough and almost impassable for
carriages, but the sure-footed Norwegian seldom stumbles upon them. Pontop-
pidan speaks of their occasional contests with bears and wolves, and chiefly the
latter. These occurrences are now more matter of story than of actual fact, but
they do sometimes occur at the present day. When the horse perceives any of
these animals, and has a mare or foal with him, he puts them behind him, and
then furiously attacks his enemy with his fore legs, which he uses so expertly,
as generally to prove the conqueror; but if he turns round in order to strike
with his hind legs, the bear closes upon him immediately, and he is lost.

Of the horses of the islands of Fzroz, still belonging to the Danish crown,
Berenger speaks in terms of much praise. He says that “they are small of
growth, but strong, swift, and sure of foot, going over the roughest places with
such certainty that a man may more surely rely upon them than trust to his
own feet. In Suderoe, one of these islands, they have a lighter and swifter
breed than in any of the rest. On their backs the inhabitants pursue the
sheep, which are wild in this island; the pony carries the man over places
that would be otherwise inaccessible to him—follows his rider over others—
enters into the full spirit of the chase, and even knocks down and holds the
prey under his feet until the rider can take possession of it {.”

 

* Berenger, p. 150. + Sir A. de Capel Brooke's Travels in Sweden.
“£ Berenger’s Flistory of Horsemanship, p, 149.
E2
52 FOREIGN BREEDS OF HORSES.

THE HOLSTEIN AND MECKLENBURG HORSES.

Returning to the Continent, and having crossed the Baltic, we meet with
a horse as different from those which have just been described as it is possible
to imagine. The horses of Holstein and Mecklenburg, and some of the neigh-
bouring districts, are on the largest scale. Their usual height is sixteen, or
seventeen, or eighteen hands*. They are heavily made; the neck is too
thick; the shoulders are heavy; the backs are too long, and the croups are
narrow compared with their fore parts: but their appearance is so noble and
commanding, their action is so high and brilliant, and their strength and spirit
are so evident in every motion, that their faults are pardoned and forgotten,
and they are selected for every occasion of peculiar state and ceremony.

Before, however, we arrive at the native country of these magnificent
horses, we must glance at the attempt of one noble individual to improve the
general breed of horses. In the island of Alsen, separated from the duchy of
Sleswick by a narrow channel, is the noble habitation of the Duke of Augus-
tenbourg. His stud is attached to it, and under the immediate management of
the noble owner. It contains thirty mares of pure blood, and fifteen or sixteen
stallions of the same grade; and all of them selected with care from the best
thorough-bred horses in England. Notwithstanding this selection of pure
blood, or rather in its peculiar selection, it has been the object of the duke to
produce a horse that shall be useful for the purpose of pleasure, commerce,
and agriculture. Some of the stallions are reserved for his own stud; but with
regard to the others, such is the spirit with which this noble establishment is
conducted, and his desire to improve the race of horses in Sleswick, that he
allows more than 600 mares every year, belonging to the peasants of the isle of
Alsen, to be covered gratuitously. He keeps a register of them, and in the
majority of cases he examines the mares himself, and chooses the horse which
will best suit her form, her beauties, her defects, or the purpose for which the
progeny is intended. It is not therefore surprising that there should be so
many good horses in this part of Denmark, and that the improvement in
Sleswick, and in Holstein, and also in Mecklenburg, should be so rapid, and
80 universally acknowledged.

There is another circumstance which should not be forgotten—it is that by
which alone the preservation of a valuable breed can be secured—it is that to
the neglect of which the deterioration of every breed must be partly, at least,
and, in many cases, chiefly traced. The duke in his stud, and the peasants in
the surrounding country, preserve the good breeding mares, and will not part
with one that has not some evident or secret fault about her.

How much have the breeders of Great Britain to answer for in the deterio-
ration of some of our best breeds from this cause alone !

There is, however, nothing perfect under the sun. This determination to
breed only from horses of pure blood, although care is taken that these horses
shall be the stoutest of their kind, has lessened the size and somewhat altered
the peculiar character of the horse in the immediate districts; and we must
go somewhat more southward for the large and stately animal of which fre-
quent mention has been made. The practice of the country is likewise to
acertain degree unfriendly to the full development of the Augustenbourg horse.
The pasturage is sufficiently good to develop the powers of the colt, and few
things contribute more to his subsequent hardihood than his living on these
pastures, and becoming accustomed to the vicissitudes of the seasons : yet this
may be carried too far. The Sleswick colt is left out of doors all the year round,

* There are two in the Queen’s stables in Pimlico, that are nearly twenty hands in height.
IlISTORY OF THE ENGLISH HORSE, 53

and, except when the show renders it impossible for him to graze, he is, day
and night, exposed to the cold, and the wind, and the rain. We are no advocateg
for a system of nursing laborious to the owner and injurious to the animal, but
a full development of form and of power can never be auquired amidst outrage.
ous neglect and privation.

THE PRUSSIAN HORSE,

Prussia has not been backward in the race of improvement—or rather, with
her characteristic policy, she has taken the lead, where her influence and her
power were concerned. The government has established some extensive and
well-regulated studs in various parts of the kingdom ; and many of the Prus-.
sian noblemen have establishments of their own. In some of the marshy districts,
and about the mouth of the Vistula, there is a breed of large and strong horses
suited to agricultural purposes. The studs produce others for pleasure or for
war. In the royal studs particular attention has been paid to the improve-
ment of the Prussian cavalry-horse. He has acquired Considerably wore fire
and spirit, and strength and endurance, without any sacrifice either of form
or action.

THE FLEMISH AND DUTCH HORSE,

The Flemish and Dutch horses are large, and strongly and beautifully
formed. We are indebted to them for some of the best blood of our draught-
horses, and we still have frequent recourse to them for keeping up and improv-
ing the breed, They will be more particularly described when the cart-horse
is spoken of,

CHAPTER III.
HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH HORSE.

Tux earliest record of the horse in Great Britain is contained in the history
given by Julius Caesar of his invasion of our island. The British army was
accompanied by numerous war-chariots, drawn by horses. Short scythes were
fastened to the ends of the axle-trees, sweeping down everything before them,
and carrying terror and devastation into the ranks of the enemy. The con-
queror gives an animated description of the dexterity with which these horses
were managed. Ste

What kind of horse the Britons then possessed, it would be useless to inquire ;
but, from the cumbrous structure of the car, and the fury with which it was
driven, and the badness of the roads, and the almost non-existence of those that
were passable, it must have been both active and powerful in an extraordinary
degree. It is absurd to suppose, as some naturalists have done, that the ponies
of Cornwall and of Devon, or of Wales, or of Shetland, are types of what the
British horse was in early times. He was then as ever the creature of the
country in which he lived. With short fare and exposed to the rigour of the
seasons, he was probably the little hardy thing which we yet see him; but in
the marshes of the Nen and the Witham, and on the borders of the Tees and
the Clyde, there would be as much proportionate development of frame and of
strength as we find at the present day.

Cesar deemed these horses so valuable, that he carried many of them to
4 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH HORSE.

Rome; and they were, for a considerable period afterwards, in great request
in various parts of the Roman empire.

Horses must at that time have been exceedingly numerous in Britain, for we
are told that when the British king, Cassivellaunus, dismissed the main body of
his army, he retained four thousand of his war-chariots for the purpose of
harassing the Romans, when they attempted to forage.

The British horse now received its first cross; but whether the breed was
thereby improved cannot be ascertained. The Romans having established
themselves in Britain, found it necessary to send over a numerous body of
cavalry, in order effectually to check the frequent insurrections of the natives,
The Roman horses would breed with those of the country, and, to a greater or
less extent, change their character ; and from this time, the English horse would
consist of a compound of the native animal and those from Gaul, Italy, Spain,
and every province from which the Roman cavalry was supplied.

Many centuries afterwards passed by without leaving any record of the cha-
racter or value, improvement or deterioration, of the horse. About the year
630, however, according to Bede, the English were accustomed to use the saddle.
He says, that “the bishops and others rode on horseback, who until then were
wont to go on foot; and that even then it was only on urgent occasions that they
thus rode. They used mares only, as a mark of humility, the mare generally
not being so handsome or so much valued as the horse.”

About 920 years after the first landing of Cesar, we find the various British
kingdoms united, and Alfred on the throne. Nothing that concerned the wel-
fare of his kingdom was neglected by this patriotic monarch, and some of the
chronicles relate the attention which he paid to the breeding and improvement
of the horse. An officer was appointed for this especial purpose, who was
entitled the Hors-Than or Horse-Thane, or, as the historian renders it,
Equorum Magister, Master of the Horse. In every succeeding reign, this
officer was always near the royal person, especially on every state occasion *.

Athelstan, the natural son of Alfred, having subdued the rebellious portions of
the Heptarchy, was congratulated on his success by some of the Continental
princes, and received from Hugh Capet of France, who solicited his sister in
marriage, several German running horses. Hence our breed received another
cross, and probably an improvement. We are not, however, certain of the
precise breed of these horses, or how far they resembled the beautiful state
horses, whether black or cream-coloured, which we obtain from Germany at
the present day. Athelstan seems to have placed peculiar value on these horses
or their descendants, or the result of their intercourse with the native breed;
for he soon afterwards (a.p. 980) decreed, that no horses should be sent abroad
for sale, or on any account, except as royal presents. This proves his anxiety
to preserve the breed, and likewise renders it probable that that breed was
beginning to be esteemed by our neighbours.

It is not unlikely that, even at this early period, the beautiful effect of the
English soil and climate, and care in the improvement of the horse, began to
be evident. This will be a subject for pleasing inquiry by and bye: but the
experience of every age has proved that there are few countries in which the
native breed has been rendered so much more valuable by the importation of a
foreign stock, and every good quality of a foreign race so certainly retained, as
in England.

In a document bearing date a.p. 1000, we have an interesting account of the
relative value of the horse. If a horse was destroyed, or negligently lost, the
compensation to be demanded was thirty shillings; for a mare or colt, twenty

* Berenger’s History of Horsemanship, vol. i. p. 308,
HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH HORSE. 55

shillings ; 2 mule or young ass, twelve shillings; an ox, thirty pence; a cow,
twenty-four pence; a pig, eight pence; and, it strangely follows, a man, one
pound *,

In the laws of Howell Dha, Howell the Good, Prince of Wales, enacted a
little before this time, there are some curious particulars respecting the valne
and sale of horses. The value of a foal not fourteen days old is fixed at four
pence ; at one year and a day it is estimated at forty-eight pence; and at three
years, sixty pence. It was then to be tamed with the bridle, and brought up
either as a palfrey or a serving horse, when its value became one hundred and
twenty pence. That of a wild or unbroken mare was sixty pence.

Even in those early days, the frauds of dealers were too notorious, and the
following singular regulations were established. The buyer was allowed time
to ascertain whether the horse was free from three diseases. He had three
nights to prove him for the staggers; three months to prove the soundness of
his lungs; and one year to ascertain whether he was infected with glanders.
For every blemish discovered after the purchase, one-third of the money was to
be returned, except it should be a blemish of the ears or tail, which it was sup-
posed to be his own fault if the purchaser did not discover. The seller also
warranted that the horse would not tire when on a journey with others, or
refuse his food from hard work, and that he would carry a load or draw a
carriage up or down hill, and not be resty.

The practice of letting horses for hire then existed; and then, as now, the
services of the poor hack were too brutally exacted. The benevolent Howell
disdains not to legislate for the protection of this abused and valuable servant.
“ Whoever shall borrow a horse, and rub the hair so as to gall the back, shall
pay four pence ; if the skin is forced into the flesh, eight pence; if the flesh be
forced to the bone, sixteen pence.” If a person lamed a horse, he was to forfeit
the value of the animal ; and if he was supposed to have killed a horse, he was
to purge himself by the oaths of twenty-four compurgators.

Then, as now, it would appear that some young men were a little too fond of
unwarrantable mischief, or perhaps there were thieves in the country, even so
soon after Alfred’s days, showing also the estimation in which this portion of the
animal was held, and the manner in which the hair was suffered to grow, for it
was decreed that he who cut off the hair from a horse’s tail was to maintain
him until it was grown again, and in the mean time to furnish the owner with
another horse. If the tail was cut off with the hair, the miscreant who inflicted
the outrage was mulcted in the value of the animal, and the horse was deemed
unfit for future service.

Athelstan seems to have placed considerable value on some of his horses ; for
he bequeaths, in his will, the horses given him by Thurbrand, and the white
horses presented to him by Lisbrand. These are apparently Saxon names, but
the memory of them is now lost.

With William the Conqueror came a marked improvement in the British
horse, To his superiority in cavalry this prince was ehiefly indebted for the
victory of Hastings. The favourite charger of William was a Spaniard. His
followers, both the barons and the common soldiers, principally came from a
country in which agriculture had made more rapid progress than in Engiand.
A very considerable portion of the kingdom was divided among these men; and
it cannot be doubted that, however unjust was the usurpation of the Norman,
England benefited in its husbandry, and particularly in its horses, by the change

 

* According to the Anglo-Saxoa comwputa- money. Five pence made one shilling : the
tion, forty-eight shillings made a pound, equal actuai value of these coins, however, strangely
in silver te about three pounds of our present varied in different times and circumstances.
56 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH HORSE.

of masters. Some of the barons, and particularly Roger de Boulogne, earl of
Shrewsbury, introduced the Spanish horse on their newly-acquired estates.
The historians of these times, however—principally monks, and knowing nothing
about horses—give us very little information on the subject.

The Spanish horse was then highly and deservedly valued for his stately
figure and noble action, and was in much request in the tilts and tournaments
that were then in fashion. The Spanish horse was the war-horse of every one
who could afford to purchase and properly accoutre so noble an animal.
The courage and the skill of the rider were most perfectly displayed when
united with the strength and activity, and spirit and beauty, of the steed.

One circumstance deserves to be remarked, namely, that in none of the earliest
historical records of the Anglo-Saxons or the Welsh is there any allusion to
the use of the horse for the plough. Until a comparatively recent period, oxen
alone were employed in England, as in other countries, for this purpose; but
about this period—the latter part of the tenth century—some innovation on
this point was commencing, and a Welsh law forbade the farmer to plough
with horses, mares, or cows, but with oxen alone. On one of the pieces of
the Bayeux tapestry woven in the time of William the Conqueror (a.p. 1068),
there is the figure of a man driving a horse attached to a harrow. This is the
earliest notice that we have of the use of this animal in field-labour.

In the reign of Henry I. (a.p. 1121), the first Arabian horse, or at least the
first on record, was introduced. Alexander I., king of Scotland, presented to
the church of St. Andrew’s an Arabian horse, with costly furniture, Turkish
armour, many valuable trinkets, and a considerable estate.

There have been some pretensions to the existence of a breed derived fiom
or improved by this horse, but no certain proof of it can be adduced.

In the reign of Henry II. several foreign horses were imported, but of what
kind is not mentioned. Maddox speaks of “ the increased allowance that was
made for the subsistence of the King’s horses that were lately brought from
beyond sea *,”

Smithfield is also now first spoken of as a horse-market, a field for tourna-
ments, and a race-course. Fitzstephen, who lived at that time, gives the
following animated account of the scene :—‘* Without one of the gates of the
city is a certain field, plain or smooth, both in name and situation. Every
Friday, except some festival intervene, there is a fine sight of horses brought
to be sold. Many come out of the city to buy or look on—to wit, earls, barons,
knights, and citizens. It is a pleasant thing to behold the horses there, all
gay and sleek, moving up and down, some on the amble and some on the trot,
which latter pace, although rougher to the rider, is better suited to men who
bear arms. Here also are colts, yet ignorant of the bridle, which prance and
bound, and give early signs of spirit and courage. Here also are managed or
war horses, of elegant shape, full of fire, and giving every proof of a generous
and noble temper. Horses also for the cart, dray, and plough, are to be found
here; mares, big with foal, and others with their colts wantonly running by
their sides.

“Every Sunday in Lent, after dinner, a company of young men ride out
into the fields, on horses that are fit for war, and excellent for their speed.
Every one among them is taught to run the rounds with his horse. The
citizens’ sons issue out through the gates by troops, furnished with lances and
shields, The younger sort have their pikes not headed with iron; and they
make representation of battle, and exercise a skirmish. To this performance
many courtiers resort, when the court is near; and young striplings, yet

* History of the Exchequer, p. 252.
HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH HORSE, 57

uninitiated in arms, from the families of barons and great persons, to train
and practise.

“They begin by dividing themselves into troops. Some labour to outstrip
their leaders, without being able to reach them; others unhorse their anta-
gonists, yet are not able to get beyond them. A race is to be run by this sort
of horses, and perhaps by others, which also in their kind are strong and fleet
a shout is immediately raised, and the common horses are ordered to withdraw
out of the way. Three jockeys, or sometimes only two, as the match is made,
prepare themselves for the contest. The horses on their part are not without
emulation: they tremble and are impatient, and are continually in motion.
At last, the signal once given, they start, devour the course, and hurry along
with unremitting swiftness. The jockeys, inspired with the thought of applause
and the hope of victory, clap spurs to their willing horses, brandish their whips,
and cheer them with their cries.” This animated description reminds us of the
more lengthened races of the present day, and proves the blood of the English
horse, even before the eastern breed was tried *.

Close on this followed the Crusades. The champions of the Cross certainly
had it in their power to enrich their native country with some of the choicest
specimens of the Eastern horse, but they were completely under the influence
of superstition and fanaticism, and common sense and usefulness were forgotten.

An old metrical romance, however, records the excellence of two horses
belonging to Richard Coeur de Lion, which he purchased at Cyprus, and were
therefore, probably, of Eastern origin :—

Yn this worlde they hadde no pere tT,
Dromedary nor destrere t,

Stede, Rabyte§ , ne Cammele,
Goeth none so swifte, without fayle:

For a thousand pownd of golde,
Ne should the one be solde.

The head of the war-steed was ornamented with a crest, and, together with
his chest and flanks, was wholly or partially protected. Sometimes he was
clad in complete steel, with the arms of his master engraved or embossed on
his bardings. The bridle of the horse was always as splendid as the circum-
stances of the knight allowed, and thus a horse was often called brigliadore,
from briglia d’oro, a bridle of gold. Bells were a very favourite addition to
the equipment of the horse. The old troubadour, Arnold of Marson, says that
“nothing is so proper to inspire confidence in a knight and terror in an enemy.”

The price of horses at this period was singularly uncertain. In 1186,
fifteen breeding mares sold for two pounds, twelve shillings, and sixpence.
They were purchased by the monarch, and distributed among his tenants ; and,
in order to get something by the bargain, he charged them the great sum of
four shillings each. Twenty years afterwards, ten capital horses brought no
less than twenty pounds each ; and, twelve years later, a pair of horses were
imported from Lombardy, for which the extravagant price of thirty-eight
pounds, thirteen shillings, and fourpence was given. The usual price of good
handsome horses was ten pounds, and the hire of a car or cart, with two
horses, tenpence a-day.

To King John, hateful as he was in all other respects, we are much indebted
for the attention which he paid to agriculture generally, and particularly to the
improvement of the breed of horses. He imported one hundred chosen stal-
lions of the Flanders breed, and thus mainly contributed to prepare our noble
species of draught-horses, as unrivalled in their way as the horses of the turf.

 

* Leland’s Itinerary, vol. viii. ; and Berenger, vol. i. p. 165. .
t Peer, equal. $ War-horse. § Arabia.
68 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH HORSE.

John accumulated a very numerous and valuable stud. He was eager to
possess himself of every horse of more than usual power; and at all times
gladly received from the tenants of the crown horses of a superior quality
instead of money for the renewal of grants, or the payment of forfeitures
belonging to the crown. It was his pride to render his cavalry, and the horses
for the tournament and for pleasure, as perfect as he could. It was not to be
expected that so haughty and overbearing a tyrant would concern himself much
with the inferior kinds; yet while the superior kinds were rapidly hecoming
more valuable, the others would, in an indirect manner, partake of the
improvement.

One hundred years afterwards, Edward II. purchased thirty Lombardy
war-horses, and twelve heavy draught-horses. Lombardy, Italy, and Spain
were the countries whence the greater part of Europe was then supplied with
the most valuable cavalry or parade horses. Those for agricultural purposes
were chiefly procured from Flanders.

Edward III. devoted one thousand marks to the purchase of fifty Spanish
horses ; and of such importance did he consider this addition to the English, or
rather, mingled blood then existing, that formal application was made to the
kings of France and Spain to grant safe-conduct to the troop. When they had
safely arrived at the royal stud, it was computed that they had cost the monarch
no less than thirteen pounds, six shillings, and eightpence per horse, equal in
value to one hundred and sixty pounds of our present money.

These horses were bought in order to enable him successfully to prosecute a
war against Scotland, and to prepare for a splendid tournament which he was
about to hold.

Entire horses were alone used for this mimic contest, and generally so
in the duties and dangers of the field. It was rarely the custom to castrate
the colts; and the introduction of the female among so many perfect horses
might occasionally be productive of confusion. The mare was at this
period comparatively despised. It was deemed disgraceful for any one above
the common rank to ride her, and she was employed only in the most servile
offices. This feeling and practice was then prevalent in every part of the
world. When, however, it began to be the custom to castrate the young horses,
the worth and value of the mare was soon appreciated ; and it is now acknow-
ledged that, usually, she is not much, if at all, inferior to the perfect horse in
many respects, while she has far more strength, proportionate courage, and
endurance than the gelding *.

This monarch had many running-horses. The precise meaning of the term
is not, however, clear. ‘They might be light and speedy animals in opposition
to those destined for the cavalry service, or horses that were literally used for
the purpose of racing. The average price of these running-horses was
twenty marks, or three pounds six shillings and eightpence.

 

* The author of this work does not feel dis-
posed to pass over another circumstance con-
nected with the purchase of these horses, al-
though not very creditable to his profession at
that period. In the accounts of the charges
for the education of the horse, there was usu-
ally one termed Troynelli. This is monkish
Latin, and not to be found in our modern dic-
tionarics. It referred to certain instruments
which the ferrarii or solearii—blacksmithsand
shoeing-smiths—used in order that the horses
might be taught a short namby-pamby pace,
designated ambling. They consisted of strong
yarn or iron-chains, by which the fore-feet

were connected together, and only a certain
degree of liberty allowed them, while a shoo
with a long toe was placed on the hinder feet.
Perhaps these artificers were scarcely worthy
of better employment at that time; and yet it
was poor work to teach the noble war-horse to
amble, and to spoil him for the field of dan-
ger, in order to please the ladies who graced
the front seatsat the tournament. The war-
rior ambling !
“She shall make him amble on a gossip’s
message,
- And take the distaff with a hand as patient
As e’er did Hercules !’’— Rowe.
HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH HORSE. 59

Edward was devoted to the sports of the turf and the field, or he began to sce
the propricty of crossing our stately and heavy breed with those of a lighter
structure and greater speed. There was, however, one impediment to this,
which was not for a very long period removed. The soldier was cased in heavy
armour, and the knight, with all his accoutrements, often rode more than
twenty-five stones. No little bulk and strength were required in the animal
destined to carry this back-breaking weight. When the musket was substi-
tuted for the cross-bow and battle-axe, and this iron defence, cumbrous to the
wearer and destructive to the horse, became useless, and was laid aside, the
improvement of the British horse in reality commenced,

While Edward was thus eager to avail himself of foreign blood, he, with the
too frequent selfishness of the sportsman, would let no neighbour share in the
advantage. The exportation of horses was forbidden under heavy penalties.
One case in which he relaxed from his severity is recorded. He permitted a
German merchant to re-export some Flanders horses which he had brought on
speculation ; but he strictly forbade him to send them to Scotland. Nay, so
jealous were these -sister-kingdoms of each other's prosperity, that so late as
the time of Elizabeth, it was deemed felony to export horses from England to
Scotland.

The English horse was advancing, although slowly, to an equality with, or
even superiority over those of neighbouring countries. His value began to be
more generally and highly estimated, and his price rapidly increased—so much
so, that the breeders and the dealers, then, as now, skilful in imposing on the
inexperienced, obtained from many of the young grandees enormous prices for
their cattle. This evil increased to such an extent, that Richard II. (1386)
interfered to regulate and determine the price. The proclamation which he
issued is interesting, not only as proving the increased value of the horse, but
showing what were, four hundred and fifty years ago, the chief breeding districts,
as they still continue to be. It was ordered to be published in the counties of
Lincoln and Cambridge, and the East and North Ridings of Yorkshire ; and
the price of the horse was restricted to that which had been determined by
former monarchs. A more enlightened policy has at length banished all such
absurd interferences with agriculture and commerce.

We can now collect but little of the history of the horse until the reign of
Henry VII., at the close of the fifteenth century. He continued to prohibit the
exportation of stallions, but allowed that of mares when more than two years
old, and under the value of six shillings and eightpence. This regulation was,
however, easily evaded ; for if a mare could be found worth more than six
shillings and eightpence, she might be freely exported on the payment of that
sum.

The intention of this was to put an end to the exportation of perfect horses ;
for it is recited in the preamble “ that not only a smaller number of good horses
were left within the realm for the defence thereof, but also that great and good
plenty of the same were in parts beyond the sea, which in times past were wont
to be within this land, whereby the price of horses was greatly enhanced,” &c.
The exception of the mare, and the small sum for which she might be exported,
shows the unjust contempt in which she was held. Another act of the same
monarch, however unwillingly on his part, restored her to her proper rank
among her kind.

It had been the custom to keep large herds of horses in the pastures and
common fields, and when the harvest was gathered in, the cattle of a great many
owners fed promiscuously together. The consequence of this was that the
progeny presented a strange admixture, and there was often a great deterioration
of the favourite and best breed. On this account an act was passed prohibiting
60 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH HORSE.

stallions from being turned out into any common pasture. This, at no great
distance of time, necessarily led to the castrating of all but avery few of the best
stallions, and then, on comparing the powers and work of the mare with that of
the gelding, she soon began to be accounted more valuable—more service was
exacted from her—she was taken more care of, and the general breed of horses
was materially improved.

Polydore Virgil, who flourished in this reign, confirms the statements already
made, that “the English horses were seldom accustomed to trot, but excelled in
the softer pace of the amble.”

Henry VII. was an arbitrary monarch and seemed to be too fond of prohibi-
tory acts of parliament; but so far as the horse was concerned they were most of
them politic, although tyrannical.

Succeeding monarchs acted on the same principle, and by prohibiting exporta-
tion, and encouraging a numerous and good breed of horses, by public rewards
and recompences, every necessary incitement was afforded rapidly to improve
the breed.

Henry VIJI., a tyrannical and cruel prince, but fond of show and splendour,
was very anxious to produce a valuable breed of horses ; and the means which
he adopted were perfectly in unison with his arbitrary disposition, although
certainly calculated to effect his object. He affixed a certain standard, below
which no horse should be kept. The lowest height for the stallion was fifteen
hands, and for the mare thirteen hands. Those whose local interests were injured
loudly complained of this arbitrary proceeding. The small breed of Cornish
horses was in a manner extinguished. The dwarfish but active and useful
inhabitants of the Welsh mountains rapidly diminished, the Exmoors and the
Dartmoors were compelled to add an inch to their stature, and a more uniformly
stout and useful breed of horses was produced.

The monarch was determined to effect and to secure his object. At “ Michael-
mastide” the neighbouring magistrates were ordered to “drive” all forests and
commons, and not only destroy such stallions, but all “unlikely tits,” whether
mares, or geldings, or foals, which they might deem not calculated to produce a
valuable breed.

By a singular coincidence, the year of his reign, 1540, which found him thus
arbitrarily employed in the domestic improvement of his people, or rather in
the accomplishment of his favourite objects—the splendour of his tournaments
and the magnificence of his pageantries—was that in which he accomplished
another tyrannical, but master-stroke of policy,—the suppression of the
monasteries*.

He next had recourse to a sumptuary law in order more fully to accomplish
his object, and, appealing to the pride of those who were concerned, he had no
difficulty in this matter. Every archbishop and duke was compelled, under
certain penalties, to keep seven trotting stallions for the saddle, each of which
was to be fourteen hands high at the age of three years.

There were very minute directions with regard to the number of the same
kind of horses to be kept by the other ranks of the clergy and nobility, and the
statute concludes by enacting, that every person having benefices to the amount
of one hundred pounds yearly, and “every layman, whose wife shall wear any
French hood or bonnet of velvet,” shall keep one such ¢rotting stallion for the
saddle.

These enactments, tyrannical as they appear to us, were quietly submitted to

* There is a singular entry in the Journals est billa educationi equorum procerioris
of the House of Lords, which shows how much stature, et communi omnium consensu, nea
they had this horse business at heart:— ‘mine discrepante, expedita.”

“ Hodie (15th Junii, 1540) tandem lecta
HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH HORSE. 61

in those days, and produced the kind of horse which was then alone compara-
tively useful, and whose strength and noble bearing and good action were the
foundation of something better in after days.

The civil dissensions were at an end, there was no fear of foreign invasions—
no numerous cavalry were needed—the labours of agriculture were performed
chiefly by oxen, or by the smaller and inferior breeds of horses,—races were not
established—the chase had not begun to be pursued with the ardour and speed
of modern days—nothing, in fact, was now wanted or sought for, but an animal
more for occasional exhibition than for sterling use, or if useful, principally or
solely with reference to the heavy carriages and bad roads and tedious travelling
through the country. If this is rightly considered, it-will be acknowledged that.
with all his faults, and with the confession that he was ever more actuated by
the determinations of his own ungovernable passions than the advantage of his
people or of posterity, we still owe him thanks for the preservation of that breed
of horses from which in after times sprung those that were the glory of our
country and the envy of every other.

The following extract from a manuscript dated 1512, in the third year of the
reign of Henry VIII., and entitled the Regulations and Establishment of the
household of Algernon Percy, the fifth Earl of Northumberland, may give the
reader a sufficient knowledge of the different kinds of horses then in use.

“This is the ordre of the chequir roul of the nombre of all the horsys of my
lordis and my ladys that are apoynted to be in the charge of the hous yerely, as
to say, gentil hors*, palfreyst, ‘hobys}, naggis §, cloth-sek hors ||, male-
hors J. First, gentil-hors, to stand in my lordis stable, six. Item. Palfreys of
my lady’s, to wit, one for my lady, and two for her gentil-women, and oone for
her chamberer. Four hobys and naggis for my lordis oone saddill, viz., oone for
my lorde to ride, oone to lede for my lorde, and oone to stay at home for my
lorde. Jtem. Chariot hors to stond in my lorde’s stable yerely. Seven great
trottynge hors to draw in the chariott**, and a nagg for the chariott-man to
ride; eight. Again, hors for lorde Percy, his lordship’s son and heir. A grete
doble trottynge horse t+, for my lorde Percy to travel on in winter. Item.

 

* The gentil horse was one of superior
breed, in distinction from the ordinary race.
The same term is at present applied to Italian
horses of the best breeds.

+ Palfreys were smaller horses of an inferior
breed. The best of them, distinguished for
their gentleness and pleasant paces, were set
apart for the females of the family :—‘‘ The
bard that tells of padfried dames.”’ Others
of inferior value were ridden by the domestics
or servants of every kind. Thus Dryden says,
“The smiths and armourers on palfreys ride.”

+ Hobys.—Hobbies were strong and active
horaes of rather small size, and said to have
been originally of Irish extraction, Thus
Davies, in his account of Ireland, says :—
“For twenty hobblers armed—Irish horee-
soldiers—so called because they served on
hobbies ; they had 6d. per diem.”

§ The naggis, or nags, so called from their
supposed propensity to neigh, knegga. They
were small, and not much valued, but active
horses :—‘‘ Thy nags,’’ says Prior,

“ The leanest things alive,
So very hard thou lov’st to drive.”

|| The cloth-sek was the horse that carried

the cloak-bag.

9 Male, or mail, was equivalent to port-
manteau. Thus, in Chaucer, “I have relics
and pardons in my male.”

** The chariot or car was the vehicle in
various forms, but far inferior to the chariot
or coach in common use, in which the furni-
ture or moveables were conveyed, or, per-
chance, the inferior females of the family.
The lord and the lady usually rode on horse-
back, They were slow-paced, heavy horses,
perhaps not much unlike the carriage-horses
acentury ago, which ploughed all the week,
and took the family to church on Sunday. It
must not be forgotten, as marking the charac-
ter of the vehicle and its contents, that the
chariot-man, or coachman, rode by the side
of the horses, and so conducted them and the
carriage.

++ ‘A grete doble or double trottynge horse,’
means a large and broad-backed horse, the de-
pression along whose back gives almost the
appearance of two horses joined together.
Thus the French speak of le double bidet; and
Virgil, referring to the horse, says, “ At duplex
agitur per Jumbos spina” (Georg. III.)
62 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH HORSE.

A grete doble trottynge hors, called a curtal *, for his lordship to ride on out
of townes. Another trottynge gambaldynge t hors, for his lordship to ride
upon when he comes into townes. An ambling hors for his lordship to jour-
ney on dayly. A proper amblyng little nagg fur his lordship when he goeth on
hunting or hawking. A gret amblynge gelding or trottynge gelding to carry his
male.”

Sir Thomas Chaloner, who wrote in the early part of the reign of Elizabeth,
and whose praise of the departed monarch may be supposed to be sincere,
speaks in the highest terms of his labour to introduce into his kingdom every
variety of breed, and his selection of the finest animals which Turkey, or
Naples, or Spain, or Flanders, could produce. Sir Thomas was now ambassa~
dor at the court of Spain, and had an opportunity of seeing the valuable horses
which that country could produce; and he says that “‘ England could furnish
more beautiful and useful breeds than any which foreign kingdoms could
supply.” The fact was, that except for pageantry or war, and the slow travel-
ling of those times, there was no motive to cultivate any new or valuable breed.
The most powerful stimulus had not yet been appliedt.

Berenger, who would be good authority in such a case, provided experienced
and skilful persons to preside in his stables, and to spread by these means the
rules and elements of horsemanship through the nation. He invited two
Italians, pupils of Pignatelli the riding-master of Naples, and placed them in his
service ; and he likewise had an Italian farrier named Hannibale, who, Beren-
ger, quaintly remarks, “did not discover any great mysteries to his English
brethren, but yet taught them more than they knew before.”

There is nothing worthy of remark in the short reign of Edward VI., except
the constituting the stealing of horses a felony without benefit of clergy.

In the twenty-second year of Elizabeth, the use of coaches was introduced.
It has been already remarked that the heads of noble houses travelled almost
from one end of the kingdom to the other on horseback, unless occasionally
they took refuge in the cars that were generally appropriated to. their household.
Even the Queen rode behind her master of the horse when she went in state to
St. Paul's. The convenience of this new mode of carriage caused it to be
immediately adopted by all who had the means; and the horses were so rapidly
bought up for this purpose, and became so exorbitantly dear, that it was
agitated in parliament whether the use of carriages should not be confined to
the higher classes.

This fashion would have produced an injurious effect on the character of
the English horse. It would have too much encouraged the breed of the
heavy and slow horse, to the comparative or almost total neglect of the
lighter framed and speedy one; but, gunpowder having been invented, and
heavy armour beginning to be disused, or, at this period, having fallen into
almost perfect neglect, a lighter kind of horse was necessary in order to give
effect to many of the manoeuvres of the cavalry. Hence arose the light cavalry
—light compared with the horsemen of former days—heavy compared with
those of modern times; and hence, too, arose the lighter horse, which, except
for a few particular purposes, gradually superseded the old heavy war and_
draught horse.

An account has already been given of the occasional races at Smithfield.

* A curtal horse is one with adocked tail. of horse on which a nobleman could best show
Thus, Ben Jonson :—“ Hold my stirrup, my himself off when he entered a town. —Beren-
one lacquey, and look to wy curtal the other.” ger on Horsemanship, vol. ii. p. 178, to

+ Gambaldynge.—Gambald was the old whom the author acknowledges much obliga-
word for gambol, and it means a horse that was tion here, and on other occasions.
fond of playing and prancing about—the kind t De Republica Anglorum instauranda,
HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH HORSE, 63

They were mostly accidental trials of strength and speed, and there were no
running-horses, properly speaking—none that were kept for the purpose of
displaying their speed, and dedicated to this particular purpose alone. Regular
races, however, were now established in various parts of England, first at
Garterly in Yorkshire, then at Croydon, at Theobald’s on Enfield- chase, and at
Stamford*. There was no acknowledged system as now—no breed of racing-
horses; but hackneys and hunters mingled together, and no description of"
horse was excluded.

There was at first no course marked out for the race, but the contest gene-
rally consisted in the running of train-scent across the country, and sometimes
the most difficult and dangerous part of the country was selected for the
exhibition. Occasionally our present steeple-chase was adopted with all its
dangers, and more than its present barbarity ; for persons were appointed
cruelly to flog along the jaded and exhausted horse t.

By degrees, however, certain horses were devoted to these exhibitions, and
were prepared for the race, as far as the mystery of the training stable could
then be explored, somewhat in the same way as at present. The weight of the
rider, however, was not always adjusted to the age or performances of the
horse ; but no rider could start who weighed less than 10 st.

The races of that period were not disgraced by the system of gambling and
fraud which in later times seems to have become almost inseparable from the
amusements of the turf. No heavy stakes were run for; and no betting
system had been established. The prize was usually a wooden bell adorned
with flowers. This was afterwards exchanged for a silver bell, and “ given to
him who should run the best and farthest on horseback, and especially on
Shrove Tuesday.” Hence the common phrase of “ bearing away the bell.”

Horse-racing became gradually more cultivated; but it was not until the
last year of the reign of James 1. that rules were promulgated and generally
subscribed to for their regulation. That prince was fond of field-sports. He
had encouraged, if he did not establish, horse-racing in Scotland, and he
brought with him to England his predilection for it; but his races were often
matches against time, or trials of speed and bottom for absurdly and cruelly
long distances. His favourite courses were at Croydon and on Enfield-chase.

Although the Turkish and Barbary horses had been freely used to produce
with the English mare the breed that was best suited to this exercise, little
improvement had been effected. James, with great judgment, determined to
try the Arab breed. Probably he had not forgotten the story of the Arabian
that had been presented to one of his Scottish churches, five centuries before.
He purchased from a merchant, named Markham, a celebrated Arabian horse,
for which he gave the extravagant sum of five hundred pounds. Kings, how-
ever, like their subjects, are often thwarted and governed by their servants, and
the Duke of Newcastle took a dislike to this foreign animal. He wrote a
book, and a very good one, on horsemanship ; but he described this Arabian as

 

* Boucher, in his History of Stamford, tain distance of him, as twice or thrice his

says, that the first valuable public prize was
run for at that place in the time of Charles I.
It wasa silver-gilt cup and cover, of the value
of £8, provided by the corporation.

+ This perhaps requires a little explanation.
A match was formed called the ‘* Wild-Goose
Chase,” between two horses, and a tolerably
sure trial it was of the speed and hunting pro-
perties of the horse. Whichever horse obtained
the lead at twelve score yards from the starting
post, the other was compelled to follow him
wherever ho went, and to keep within a cer-

length, or else to be ‘‘ beaten up,’” whipped

- up to the mark by the judges who rode to see

fair play. If one horse got before the other
twelve score yards, or any certain distance,
according as the match was made, he was ac-
counted to be beaten. If the horse which at
the beginning was behind, cuuld get before him
that first led, then the other was bound to follow,
and so on, until one got 240 yards, the eighth
part of a mile, beforo the other, or refused
some break-neck leap which the other had
taken.—Berenger, vol. ii. p. 188,
64 HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH HORSE.

a little bony horse, of ordinary shape; setting him down as almost worthless,
because, after being regularly trained, he seemed to be deficient in speed.
The opinion of the duke, probably altogether erroneous, had for nearly a cen-
tury great weight; and the Arabian horse lost its reputation among the
English breeders.

A south-eastern horse was afterwards brought into England, and purchased
by James, of Mr. Place, who afterwards became stud-master or groom to Oliver
Cromwell. This beautiful animal was called the White Turk; and his name
and that of his keeper will long be remembered. Shortly after this appeared
the Helmsley Turk, introduced by Villiers, the first duke of Buckingham.
He was followed by Fairfax’s Morocco barb. These horses speedily effected
a considerable change in the character of our breed, so that Lord Harleigh, one
of the old school, complained that the great horse was fast disappearing, and
that horses were now bred light and fine for the sake of speed only.

Charles I., however, ardently pursued this favourite object of English gentle-
men ; and, a little before his rupture with the parliament, established races in
Hyde Park and at Newmarket.

We owe to Charles I. the introduction of the bit into universal use in the
cavalry service, and generally out of it. The invention of the bit has been
traced to as early as the time of the Roman emperors, but for some inexplicable
reason it had not been adopted by the English. Charles I., however, in the
third year of his reign, issued a proclamation stating that such horses as are
employed in the service, being more easily managed by means of the bit than
the snaffle, he strictly charged and commanded that, except in times of disport
—racing and hunting—no person engaged in the cavalry service should, in
riding, use any snaffies, but bits only.

It was feared by some that the love of hunting and racing was making some-
what too rapid progress; for there is on record a memorial presented to Charles,
* touching the state of the kingdom, and the deficiency of good and stout horses
for its defence, on account of the strong addiction which the nation had to racing
and hunting horses, which, for the sake of swiftness, were of a lighter and
weaker mould.”

The civil wars somewhat suspended the inquiry into this, and also the
improvement of the breed; yet the advantage which was derived by both
parties from a light and active cavalry sufficiently proved the importance of
the change that had been effected. Cromwell, perceiving with his wonted
sagacity how much these pursuits were connected with the prosperity of the
country, had his stud of race-horses.

At the Restoration a new impulse was given to the cultivation of the horse
by the inclination of the court to patronise gaiety and dissipation. The races
at Newmarket, which had been for a while suspended, were restored ; and, as
an additional spur to emulation, royal plates were given at each of the principal
courses. Charles II. sent his master of the horse to the Levant, to purchase
brood mares and stallions. These were principally Barbs and Turks.

James II. lived in too unquiet a period to be enabled to bestow much time
on the sports of the turf or the field. He has, however, been represented as
being exceedingly fond of hunting, and showing so decided a preference for the
English horse as, after his abdication, to have several of them in his stables in
France. Berenger speaks of this with much feeling: —‘ He expressed a pecu-
liar satisfaction in having them, and that at a time, and in a situation in which
it is natural to think that they were rather likely to have given him uneasiness
and mortification than to have afforded him pleasure.”

William JII., and Anne, principally at the instigation of her consort,
George, Prince of Denmark, were zealous patrons of the turf, and the system
HISTORY OF THE ENGLISH HORSE, 65

of improvement was zealously pursued; every variety of Eastern blood was
occasionally engrafted on our own, and the superiority of the newly-introduced
breed above the best of the original stock began to be evident.

Some persons imagined that this speed and stoutness might possibly be further
inercased ; and Mr. Darley, in the latter part of the reign of Queen Anne, had
recourse to the discarded and despised Arabian. He had much prejudice to
contend with, and it was some time before the horse which he selected, and
which was afterwards known by the name of the Darley Arabian, attracted
much notice. At length the value of his produce began to be recognised, and
to him we are mainly indebted for a breed of horses of unequalled beauty,
speed, and strength.

The last improvement furnished aJl that could be desired : nor was this true
only of the thorough-bred or turf horse—it was to a very material degree the
case with every description of horse. By a judicious admixture and proportion
of blood, we have rendered our hunters, our hackneys, our coach—nay, even our
cart-horses, stronger, more active, avd more enduring, than they were before
the introduction of the race-horse, :

The history of the horse in England is a very interesting one. The original
breed—that of which mention is first made in history—seems to have been a
valuable one. The Conqueror carried away many specimens of it, and they
were long held in repute in every country subjugated by the Romans, The
insular situation of Britain, and its comparatively little need of the war-
horse, led, under several monarchs, to a culpable degree of negligence ; and
although, perhaps, on the whole, the English were not far behind their Conti-
nental neighbours, yet at no period, until within the last century and a half, has
Great Britain been at all distinguished on this account : but from that time, and
especially during the latter part of it, the British horse has been sought after
in every part of the world. There is nothing in our climate that can account
for this—nothing in our soil, or this superior excellence would have been acknow-
ledged long ago. “The grand first cause,” says Mr. Wm. Percivall, in his
introductory lecture at University College, in 1834, ““—that, by the steady prose-
cution and scientific management of which this success has been brought about,
appears to me to be breeding ; by which I do not only mean the procuration of
original stock of a good description, but the continual progressive cultivation of
that stock in the progeny by the greatest care in rearing and feeding, and by
the most careful selection. On these two circumstances, and particularly on
the latter, a great deal more depends than on the original characters or attri-
butes of the parents. By these means we have progressed from good to better
losing sight of no subsidiary help, until we have attained a perfection in horse-
flesh unknown in the whele world beside*.”

The love of the turf, and the anxious desire to possess horses of unrivalled
excellence, have within the last twenty years spread over the European conti-
nent. Everywhere stud-houses have been built and periodical races estab-
lished, and sporting societies formed of persons of the greatest weight in the
community, and, everywhere, zealous attempts have been made to improve the
native stock. The coursers of the East might have been easily procured—a
new supply of Arabian blood might have been obtained from the native
country of the Barb: but French, and Italians, Germans, Russians, and Fle-
mings, have flocked to the British Isles. ‘The pure blood of the present Barb
and Arabian has been postponed, and all have deeply drawn from that of
the thorough-bred English horse. This is a circumstance with regard to
which there is no dispute. It isa matter of history—and it is highly creditable

 

* Veterinarian, vol. vii. p. 3.

F
66 THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

to our sporting men and breeders. Mr. Percivall has rightly stated the cause,
but there are some circumstances connected with this pre-eminence that may
give occasion for serious reflection, and which will be best considered as the
respective breeds of horses pass in review.

CHAPTER IV.
THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

—~-—

THE RACE-HORSE.

 

THE COLONEL,

THERE was much dispute with regard to the origin of the thorough-bred horse.

By some he was traced through both sire and dam to F R ; whi

others believed him to be the native horse, improved en
crossing with the Barb, the Turk, or the Arabian. “The Stud. Bere” which
is an authority acknowledged by every English breeder, traces all the eld racers
to some Eastern origin, or at least until the pedigree is lost in the uncertaint

of an early period of breeding. If the pedigree of a racer of the resent day
is required, it is traced back to a certain extent, and ends with a erie

racer ; or if an earlier derivation is required, th: . :
at ends either with 7
1 ) 7 T it]
horse or in obscurity. an Eastern
TIIE RACE-HORSE. 67

It is now admitted that the present English thorough-bred horse is of foreign
extraction, improved and perfected by the influence of climate and diligent
cultivation. There are some exceptions, as in the cases of Sampson and Bay
Malton, in each of which, although the best horses of their day, there was a
cross of vulgar blood ; but they are only deviations from a general rule. In our
best racing-stables this is an acknowledged principle ; and it is not, when pro-
perly considered, in the slightest degree derogatory to the credit of our country.
The British climate and British skill made the thorough-bred horse what he is.

The beautiful tales of Eastern countries and somewhat rernote days may lead
us to imagine that the Arabian horse possesses marvellous powers: but it cannot
udmit of a doubt that the English-trained horse is more beautiful aud far swifter
and stouter than the justly-famed coursers of the desert. In the burning plains
of the East and the frozen climate of Russia, he has invariably beaten every anta-
gonist on his native ground. It has been already stated that, a few years ago,
Recruit, an English horse of moderate reputation, easily beat Pyramus, the
best Arabian on the Bengal side of India.

It must not be objected that the number of Eastern horses imported is far too
small to produce so numerous a progeny. It will be recollected that the thou-
sands of wild horses on the plains of South America descended from only two
stallions and four mares, which the early Spanish adventurers left behind them.

Whatever may be the truth as to the origin of the race-horse, the strictest
attention has for the last fifty years been paid to his pedigree. In the desccnt of
almost every modern racer, not the slightest flaw can be discovered: or when,
with the splendid exceptions of Sampson and Bay Malton, one drop of common
blood has mingled with the pure stream, it has been immediately detected in
the inferiority of form and deficiency of stamina, and it has required two or
three generations to wipe away the stain and get rid of its consequences.

 

FLYING CHILDERS,

The racer is generally distinguished by his beautiful Arabian head ; tapering
and fincly-set-on neck ; oblique, lengthened shoulders ; well-bent hinder legs ;

re?
68 THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

ample, muscular quarters ; flat legs, rather short from the knee downward,
although not always so deep as they should be ; and his long and elastic pastern.
These will be separately considered when the structure of the horse is
treated of.

The Darley Arabian was the parent of our best racing stock. He was pur-
chased by Mr. Darley’s brother at Aleppo, and was bred in the neighbouring
desert of Palmyra. His figure contained every point, without much show,
that could be desired in a turf-horse.

The immediate descendants of this invaluable horse were the Devonshire or
Flying Childers; the Bleeding or Bartlett's Childers, who was never trained ;
Almanzor, and others.

The two Childers were the means through which the blood and fame of their
sire were widely circulated ; and from them descended another Childers, Blaze,

Snap, Sampson, Eclipse, and a host of excellent horses.

The Devonshire or Flying Childers, so called from the name of his breeder,
Mr. Childers, of Carr House, and the sale of him to the Duke of Devonshire,
was the fleetest horse of his day. He was at first trained as a hunter, but the
superior speed and courage which he discovered caused him to be soon trans-
ferred to the turf. Common report affirms that he could run a mile in a
minute ; but there is no authentic record of this. Childers ran over the round
course at Newmarket (three miles, six furlongs, and ninety-three yards) in six
minutes and forty seconds, and the Beacon course (four miles, one furlong, and
one hundred and thirty-eight yards) in seven minutes and thirty seconds. In
1772, a mile was run by Firetail in one minute and four seconds.

In 1755, Bay Malton, the property of the Marquis of Rockingham, ran the
four-mile course at York in seven minutes and forty-three seconds, this being
seven seconds less time than it had ever been accomplished in before. Some of
these old ones could run fast as wellas stoutly. ‘Twenty years afterwards there
was a beautiful horse, the son of Eclipse, and inheriting a great portion of his
speed without his stoutness. He won almost every mile-race for which he ran,
but he never could accomplish a four-mile one. He broke down, in 1779, run-
ning over the Beacon course.

One of the most really severe races that ever was run took place at Carlisle
in 1761. There were no less than six heats, and two of them dead heats.
Each of the six was honestly contested by the winning horse ; therefore he ran
in good earnest twenty-four miles: yet there was no breaking down, nor any
account of the slightest injury received.

The following are some additional instances of the mingled speed and endur-
ance of these horses, and deserve to be placed on record :—

In October 1741, at the Curragh meeting in Ireland, Mr. Wilde engaged to
ride one hundred and twenty-seven miles in nine hours. He performed it in
six hours and twenty-one minutes. He employed ten horses, and, allowing for
mounting and dismounting, and a moment for refreshment, he rode during
six hours at the rate of twenty miles an hour.

Mr. Thornhill, in 1745, exceeded this ; for he rode from Stilton to London
and back, and again to London, being two hundred and thirteen miles, in eleven
hours and thirty-four minutes. This amounts, after allowing the least possible
time for changing horses, to twenty miles an hour for eleven hours, and on the
turnpike-road and uneven ground.

Mr. Shaftoe, in 1762, with ten horses, and five of them ridden twice, accom-
plished fifty miles and a quarter in one hour and forty-nine minutes. In 1763,
he won a still more extraordinary match. He engaged to procure a person to
ride one hundred miles a day for twenty-nine days, having any number of
horses not exceeding twenty-nine from which to make his selection, Hé
THE RACE-HORSE, 65

accomplished it on fourteen horses; but on one day he was compelled to ride
« hundred and sixty miles, on account of the tiring of his first horse.

Mr. Hull’s Quibbler, however, afforded the most extraordinary instance on
record, of the stoutness as well as speed of the race-horso. In December 1786,
he ran twenty-three miles round the flat at Newmarket, in fifty-seven minutes
and ten seconds

 

ECLIPS&R,

Eclipse was got by Marsk, a grandson of Bartlett’s Childers*. He
was bred by the Duke of Cumberland, and sold at his death to Mr.

 

* The pedigree of Eclipse affords a singular illustration of the descent of our thorough-bred
horses from pure Eastern blood :—
Darley Arabian

Bartlett's Childers ae Leeds caren soon Barb Mare.

Squirt . . ister Tur

Dam of Snake . . .5 Daughter 7 Hauth D'Arcey White Turk.
Caroline and Shock ise of Hautboy §24tPOY) Royal Mare.

jaughter |
Marsk of Hautboy . } Hautboy.
Hutton’s Bay Turk.
Hutton’s Black Legs: Coneyskins 4 Lister Turk.
Daughter of
Daughter of Hautboy.

Clumsy . .4 Hautboy.

Daughter of { Leeds Arabian.
Coneyskins Lister Turk,
Daughter off Hutton’s Grey Barb

Daughter of

Betis Fox cub}
Daughter of

Daughter ot)

§ Godolphin Arabian

Regulus . Bald Gallowa;
o Daughter of: ‘ Snake{ Lister Turk.

Spiletta Daughter of:
Old Wilkes, by Hautboy.
Smith's Son of Snake

Mother Western §
Old Montague {Daughter of Hautboy.

The pedigree of Eckipse will likewise afford Cumberland’s stud for a mere trifle, and was
another curious illustration of the uncer- suffered to run almost wild on the New
tainty which attends thorough-bred horses. Forest. He was afterwards purchased for one
Marsk was sold at the sale of the Duke of thousand guineas, and before his death covered
70 THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

Wildman, a sheep salesman, for seventy-five guineas. Colonel O'Kelly pur-
chased a share of him from Wildman. In the spring of the following year,
when the reputation of this wonderful animal was at its height, O’Kelly wished
to become sole owner of him, and bought the remaining share for eleven hun-
dred guineas.

Eclipse was what was termed a thick-winded horse, and puffed and roared
so as to be heard at a considerable distance. For this or some other cause, he
was not brought on the turf until he was five ycars old.

O'Kelly, aware of his horse’s powers, had backed him freely on his first race,
in May 1769. This excited curiosity, or, perhaps, roused suspicion, and some
persons attempted to watch one of his trials. Mr. John Lawrence says, that
“they were a little too late ; but they found an old woman who gave them all
the information they wanted. On inquiring whether she had seen a race, she
replied she could not tell whether it was a race or not, but that she had just
seen a horse with a white leg running away at a monstrous rate, and another
horse a great way behind, trying to run after him; but she was sure he never
would catch the white-legged horse if he ran to the world’s end.”

The first heat was easily won, when O’Kelly, observing that the rider had
been pulling at Eclipse during the whole of the race, offered a wager that he
placed the horses in the next heat. This seemed a thing so highly improbable,
that he immediately had bets toalarge amount. Being called on to declare, he
replied, ‘¢ Eclipse first, and the rest nowhere!” The event justified his predic-
tion, for all the others were distanced by Eclipse with the greatest ease, and thus,
in the language of the turf, they had no place.

In the spring of the following year, he beat Mr. Wentworth’s Bucephalus,
who had never before met with his equal. Two days afterwards he distanced
Mr. Strode’s Pensioner, a very good horse ; and in the August of the same year,
he won the great subscription at York. No horse daring to enter against him,
he closed his short career, of seventeen months, by walking over the Newmarket
course for the king’s plate, on October the 18th, 1770. He was never beaten,
nor ever paid forfeit, and won for his owner more than twenty-five thousand
pounds.

Eclipse was afterwards employed asa stallion, and produced the extraordi-
nary nuinber of three hundred and thirty-four winners, and these netted to their
owners more than 160,000/. exclusive of plates and cups*.

The profit brought to the owner of this extraordinary animal by his services
as a stallion must have been immense. It is said that ten years after he was
withdrawn from the turf, O’Kelly was asked at what price he would sell him.
At first he peremptorily refused to sell him at any price ; but after some reflec-
tion, he said that he would take 25,000/., with an annuity of 5004. a year on his
own life, and the annual privilege of sending six mares tohim. The seeming
extravagance of the sum excited considerable remark ; but O’Kelly declared that
he had already cleared more than 25,000/. by him, and that he was young enough
still to earn double that sum. In fact he did live nearly ten years afterwards,
covering at 50 guineas a mare, for some part of the time; but his feet having
been strangely and cruclly neglected, he became foundered. His feet now

for onc hundred guineas. Squirt, when the
property of Sir Harry Harpur, was ordered
to be shot; and while he was actually lead-
ing to the dog-kennel, he was spared at the
intercession of one of Sir Harry’s grooms,
Neither Bartlett’s Childers, nor Snake, was
ever trained. On the side of the dam, Spiletta
never started but once, and was beaten; and
the Godolphin Arabian was purchased from

a water-cart in Paris.—Smith’s Breeding
Sor the Turf, p. 5.

* The produce of King Herod, a de-
scendant of Flying Childers, was even moro
numerous. He got no less than four hun-
dred and ninety-seven winners, who gained
for their proprietors upwards of two hundred
thousand pounds. Highflyer was a son of
King Herod,
THE RACE-HORSE. 71

rapidly grew worse and worse until he was a very uncertain foal-getter, and the
value of his progeny was more than suspected. He died in February 1789, at
the age of twenty-five years. Of the beauty and yet the peculiarity of his form
there has been much dispute. His lowness before was evident enough, and was
a matter of objection and reproach among those who could not see how abun-
dantly this was redeemed by the extent and obliquity of the shoulder, the broad-
ness of the loins, the ample and finely-proportioned quarters, and the swelling
and the extent—the sloping and the power of the muscles of the fore-arm, and of
the thighs.

A little before the death of Eclipse, M. St. Bel, the founder of the Veterinary
College in St. Pancras, had arrived from France. In teaching the French
pupils the general conformation of the horse, and the just proportions of his
various parts, it had been necessary that reference should be made to some
horse of acknowledged excellence. It occurred to St. Bel that this extraor-
dinary and unbeaten horse would be the proper standard to which the English
student might be referred for a similar purpose, and with considerable trouble
he formed an accurate scale of the proportions of this noble animal. The
reader is presented with it in the sujoined note *.

 

* PROPORTIONS OF ECLIPSE.

Although it is perfectly true, as stated by Mr. Blaine, in his “ Outlines of the Veterinary
Art,’? that “for racing, we require that the greatest possible quantity of bone, and
muscle, and sinew, should be got into the smallest bulk, and that, in addition to great flexi-
bility and some length, the limbs must be strongly united, the chest deep and capacious,
and the hinder extremities furnished with powerful muscles; for hunting, we must have a
similar yet somewhat bulkier horse, with powerful loins, and more powerful quarters, and for
the hackney, while we undervalue not the strength of the loins and the quarters, we iook
more to the elevated withers, and the deep and muscular shoulders, and the straight and
well-formed leg; yet there is a nearer and a truer proportion between the several parts of
these kindred animals than many persons are disposed to allow; and this sketch of them in
Eclipse will not only be interesting, but useful, to the general horseman.

The length of the head of the horse is supposed to be divided into twenty-two equal parts,

which are the common measure for every part of the body.

Three heads and thirteen parts will give the height of the horse from the foretop to the ground.

Three heads from the withers to the ground.

Three heads from the rump to the ground,

Three heads and three parts the whole length of the body, from the most prominent part of
the chest to the extremity of the buttocks.

Two heads and twenty parts the height of the body, through the middle of the centre of

vity.

Two ene aad seven parts, the height of the highest part of the chest from the ground.

Two heads and five parts, the height of the perpendicular line which falls from the articulation
of the arm with the shoulder, directly to the hoof.

One head and twenty parts, the height of the perpendicular line which falls from the top of
the fore-leg, dividing equally all its parts to the fetlock.

One head and nineteen parts, the height of the perpendicular line from the elbow to the

ound.

One fread and nineteen parts, the distance from the top of the withers to the stifle. The samo
measure also gives the distance from the top of the rump to the elbow.

One and a half head, the length of the neck from the withers to the top of the head. The
same measure also gives the length of the neck from the top of the head to its insertion
into the chest.

One head, the width of the neck atits union with the chest.

Twelve parts of a head, the width of the neck in its narrowest part.

The same measure gives the breadth of the head taken below the eyes. :

One head and four parts, the thickness of the body from tho middle of the back to the middle
of the belly.

The same measure gives the breadth of the body.

Also the rump from its summit to the extremity of the buttocks. Alsc
72 THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

More than twenty years after the Darley Arabian, and when the value of the
Arabian blood was fully established, Lord Godolphin possessed a beautiful but
singularly-shaped horse which he called an Arabian, but which was really a
Barb. His crest, lofty and arched almost to a fault, will distinguish him from
every other horse.

It will likewise be seen from the cut, (p. 18,) that he had asinking behind
his shoulders, almost as peculiar, and a corresponding elevation of the spine
towards the loins. His muzzle was uncommonly fine, his head beautifully set
on, his shoulders capacious, and his quarters well spread out. He was bought
in France, where he was actually employed in drawing a cart; and when he
was afterwards presented to Lord Godolphin, he was in that nobleman’s stud a
considerable time before his value was discovered. It was not until the birth of
Lath, one of the first horses of that period, that his excellence began to be
appreciated, He was then styled an Arabian, and became, in even a greater
degree than the Darley, the founder of the modern thorough-bred horses. He
died in 1753, at the age of twenty-nine.

An intimate friendship subsisted between him and a cat, which either sat on
his back when he was in the stable, or nestled as closely to him as she could.
At his death, she began to refuse her food, and pined away, and died.—Mr.
Holeroft gives a similar relation of the attachment between a race-horse and a
cat, which the courser would take in his mouth and place in his manger and
upon his back without hurting her. Chillaby, called from his great ferocity
the Mad Arabian, whom one only of the grooms dared to approach, and who
savagely tore to pieces the image of a man that was purposely placed in his
way, had his peculiar attachment to a lamb, who used to employ himself for
many an hour in butting away the flies from his friend.

Another foreign horse, was the Wellesley Arabian ; the very picture of a
beautiful wild horse of the desert. His precise country was never determined.
He is evidently neither a perfect Barb, nora perfect Arabian, but from some
neighbouring province, where both the Barb and Arabian would expand toa
more perfect fulness of form. This horse has been erroneously selected as the
pattern of a superior Arabian, and therefore we have introduced him: few, how-
ever, of his produce were trained who can add much to his reputation. f

 

Also the distance from the root of the tail to the stifle.

Also the length from the stifle to the hock.

Also the height from the extremity of the hoof to the hock.

Twenty parts of a head, the distance from the extremity of the buttocks to the stifle.
Also the breadth of the rump or croup.

Ten parts of a head, the breadth of the fore-legs from their anterior part to the elbow.
Ten parts of a head, the breadth of one of the hind-legs taken beneath the fold of the buttocks.
Eight parts of a head, the breadth of the ham taken from the bend.

Also the breadth of the head above the nostrils.

Seven parts of a head, the distance of the eyes from one great angle to the other.
Also the distance between the fore-legs. :

Five parts of a head, the thickness of the knees,

Also the breadth of the fore-legs above the knees.

Also the thickness of the hams.

Four parts ofa head, the breadth of the pastern, or fetlock joint.

Also the thickness of the coronet. :

Four and a half parts of the head, the breadth of the coronet.

Three parts of a head, the thickness of the legs at their narrowest part.

Also the breadth of the hinder legs or shanks.

Two and three-quarter parts of a head, the thickness of the hind-pasterns.

Also the breadth of the shanks of the fore-legs.

Two and a quarter parts of a head, the thickness of the fore-pasterns.

Also the breadth of the hind-pasterns,

One and three-quarter parts of a head, the thickness of the fore and hind shanke.
THE RACE-HORSE, 73,

“At the commencement of the last century, when public races had been
established in the neighbourhood of almost every large town, and when many
of them were especially patronised by royalty, although there was sufficient
opportunity given for the value of the young stock to be exhibited, or at least
guessed at, the contest principally lay among the adults.—The kind of contest
which was best calculated to try the real worth of the horse, and to promote
the actual improvement of the breed, was one of mingled speed and endur-
ance. They were mostly heats for distances of three or four miles. Occa-
sionally they were for greater lengths, even extending to six or cight miles ;
and in one case, when the Duke of Queensberry’s Dash beat Lord Barrymore's
Highlander, twelve miles, This, however, was cruel and absurd, and never
established itself among the best supporters of the turf.

Four miles constituted the average distance, not only for king’s plates, but
for simple matches; and the horses did not sleep on their way. There were
occasionally as extraordinary bursts of speed as are now witnessed in our mile-
and-a-half races.

Did the horses of those days come to any extraordinary harm? Did they ruin
themselves by the exertion of one day, and appear no more? The anonymous
writer of a most interesting and valuable work—“ A Comparative View of the
English Racer and Saddle Horse during the Last and Present Centuries”—men-
tions a horse called Exotic, that was on the turf eleven years. ‘“ We do not
know,” says our author, “ how many times he started during this period, but in
the course of it he won eighteen times. In his seventh year on the turf he won
arace at Peterborough consisting of four heats of four miles each.”

“Four horses were handicapped by Dr. Bellyse at Newcastle-under- Lyne—
Sir John Egerton’s Astbury, Mr. Milton’s Handel, Sir W. Wynne’s Tarragon,
and Sir Thomas Stanley’s Cedric. The following was the result :—Of the first
three heats there was no winner, Tarragon and Handel being each time nose and
nose, and, although Astbury was stated to have been third in the first heat, yet
he was so nearly on a level with the others, that there was a difficulty in placing
him as such. After the second heat, the steward requested two other gentlemen
to look with him steadily as they came, to try to decide in favour of one of
them, but it was impossible to do so. In the third dead heat Tarragon and
Handel had struggled with each other until they reeled about as if they were
drunk, and could scarcely carry their riders to the scales. Astbury, who had
lain by after the first heat, then came out and won. The annals of the turf
cannot produce another such contest, founded on a thorough knowledge of the
horses, their ages, and their previous running*.”

“Tn 1737, Black Chance, at five years old, won a plate at Durham, carrying
10 st. With the same weight he won the Ladies’ plate at York, in that year.
In 1788, he won the King’s plate at Guildford, beating several horses. He
won the plate also at Salisbury, at Winchester, at Lewes, and at Lincoln—five
King’s plates in one season, and every race four miles and contested. The
same horse was in the field in 1744, and he walked over for the annual plate at
Farnden.t”

What are our racers now? They are spegdier. That it would be folly to deny.

They are longer, lighter, but still muscular, although shorn of much of their
pride in this respect. They are as beautiful creatures as the eye would wish to
gaze on, but the greater part of them give in before half the race is run; and out

 

* Nimrod on the Chase, the Road, and the of many of the best running horses of that
Turf, p. 169. day. It was said, that, in all probability, he

+ About the year 1748, Mr. Fenwick’s gained to his owner more money than any
Match’em was in his glory. He was not only horse in the world. He ultimately died at
celebrated as a racer himself, but he was father thirty-three years of age.
74 THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

of a field of fifteen, or even twenty, not more than two or three of them live, in
the exertion of their best energies, far within the ropes.

And what becomes of them when the struggle is over? After the severe racing,
as it is now called, of former times, the horse came again to the starting-post
with not a single power impaired ; and year after year he was ready to meet any
andevery rival. Asingle race, however, like that of the Derby, now occasionally
disables the winner from ever running again ; yet the distance is only a mile and
ahalf. The St. Leger is more destructive to the winner, although the distance
is less than two miles*. The race of the day has been run ; some heavy stakes
have been won by the owner; the animal by whose exertions they were

 

* An account of the lengths of the principal race-courses may be acceptable to tho
reader :—

MILES. FUR. YARDS.
The Beacon Course is é . ‘ a # 1 138
The Round Course is . . * ‘ . 3 4 178
Last three miles of Beacon Course . . » 3 0 45
Ditch in “i S . F . x 2 9 97
The last mile and a distance of Beacon Course » 1 156
Ancaster mile x és * * i alk 0 18
From the turn of the lands in é ‘ - 0 5 184
Clermont Course, from the Ditch to the Duke’s Stand 1 5 217
Audley End Course, from the starting-post of the
T.Y.C. to the end of the Beacon Courso rae | 6 0
Across the flat z 6 i ‘2 ee 2 24
Rowley mile . . . ~ 1 0 1
Ditch mile. @ . : : . 0 7 178
Abingdon mile ‘ ‘ . . » 0 7 211
Two middle miles of Beacon Course . . aT 7 125
Two-years-old Course (on the flat) . . » 0 5 136
New ditto (part of the Banbury mile) . . - 0 5 136
Yearling Course. . is - 0 2 47
Banbury mile < s ‘ . . 0 7 248

‘Previously to 1753 there were only two meetings in the year at Newmarket for the pur-
pose of running horses, one in the Spring and another in October. At present there are seven—
The Craven, instituted in 1771, in compliment to the late Earl Craven, and commencing on
Easter Monday; the First Spring, on the Monday fortnight following, and being the original
Spring Meeting; the Second Spring, a fortnight after that, and instituted in 1753; the July,
commonly early in that month, instituted also in 1753; the First October, on the first Mon-
day in that month, being the original October meeting ; the Second October, on the Monday
fortnight following—instituted in 1762; and the Third October, or Houghton, a fortnigh'
after that, and instituted 1770. With the last-mentioned meeting, which, weather permitting,
generally lasts a week, and at which there is a great deal of racing, the sports of the Turf close
for the year, with the exception of T’arporley, a very old hunt-meeting in Cheshire, now nearly
abandoned ; and a Worcester autumn meeting, chiefly for hunters and horses of the gentlemen
and farmers within the hunt.”—Nimrod—The Turf, 152.

ASCOT HEATH.
The two-mile course is a circular one, of which the last half is called the old mile. The
new mile is straight and up-hill all the way. The T.Y.C. is five furlongs and 136 yards.

EPSOM.

The old course, now seldom used except for the cup, is two miles of an irregular circular
form, the first mile up-hill, The new Derby course is exactly a mile and a half, and some-
what in the form of a horse-shoe: the first three-quarters of a mile may be considered as
straight running, the bend in the course being very trifling, and the width very great ; the next
quarter of a mile is in a gradual turn, and the last half-mile straight ; the first half-mile is on
the ascent, the next third of a mile level, and the remainder is on the descent, till within the
distance, where the ground again rises.

. The new T.Y.C. is six furlongs; the old T.Y.C., or Woodcot course, is somewhat less than
four.

The Craver course is one mile and a quarter.

DONCASTER

Ie a circular and nearly flat course of about one mile, seven furlongs, and seventy yards
The shortor courses are portions of this circle.
THE RACE-HORSE. 75

gained is lcd away, his flanks cut with the whip, his sides streaming with gore,
and every sinew strained ; and it is sometimes an even chance whether he is ever
heard of, or, perhaps, thought of again. He has answered the purpose for which
he was bred, and he has passed away.

And by what witchery has all this been accomplished? How came it that
skilful and honourable men should have conspired together to deteriorate the
character of the racer, and with him that of the English horse generally ?
Why, there was no conspiracy in the matter. It was the natural course of
things. The race-horses of the beginning, and even of the middle of the last
century were fine powerful animals; they had almost as much fleetness as could
be desired, and they had strength that would never tire. He who bred for the
turf might in his moments of reflection be pleased by the conviction that, while
he was accomplishing his own purpose, he was breeding an animal valuable to
his country. He might be gratified by this reflection, yet it would not influence
the system which he pursued. He would breed to win ; and he would naturally
try to add a little more speed to the acknowledged power. Thence came the
Mambrino and the Sweet Briar, and others who had lost but little of their
compactness of form—who had got rid of a portion of that which an enemy
might call coarseness, but none of the capacity of the chest, or the substance or
the power of the muscular system—whose speed was certainly increased, and
whose vigour was not impaired.

It is not in human nature to be satisfied even with perfection; and it was
tried whether a little more fleetness could not be obtained. It was so—and, some
thought, with a slight impairment of stoutness. There were those, and they
were not altogether wrong, who saw in Shark and in Gimerack an evident
increase of speed and little diminution of strength.

It was easy to imagine what would now be the result. The-grand principle
was speed. It was taken for granted that stoutness would follow—or rather, in
the selection of the stock, stoutness was a minor consideration. The result of
this was a horse with an elongated frame—as beautiful as his predecessors,
or more so, but to the eye of the scientific man displaying diminished muscles
and Jess prominent sinews, and sharper and less powerful withers. The fleet-
ness was all that heart could desire, but the endurance was fearfully diminished.
Tiresistible proof was soon given of this. They could not run the distances that
their predecessors did with ease. Heats became unfashionable—they were

 

LIVERPOOL.
The new course, now used for both meetings, is flat, a mile anda half round, and witha
straight run-in of nearly three quarters of a mile, and a very gradual rise.

MANCHESTER
Is one mile, rather oval, with a hill, and a fine run-in.

A Distance is the length of two hundred and forty yards from the winning post. In the
gallery of the winning post, and in a little gallery at the distance post, are placed two men
holding crimson flags. As soon as the first horse has passed the winning post, the man drops
his flag ; the other at the distance post drops his at the same moment, and the horse which has
not then passed that post is said to be distanced, and cannot start again for the same plate or
prize.

A Featurr-wricut is the lightest weight that can be put on the back of a horse.

A Give anv Take Prate is where horses carry weight according to their height. Fourteen
hands are taken as the standard height, and the horse must carry nine stone (the horseman’s
stone is fourteen pounds). Seven pounds are taken from the weight for every inch below
fourteen hands, and seven pounds added for every inch above fourtcen hands. A few pounds
additional weight is so serious an evil, that it is said, seven pounds in a mile-race are equiva-
lent to a distance.

A Posr Marcn is for horscs of a certain age, and the parties possess the privilege of bringing
any horse of that age to the post.

A Propuce Marcu is that between the produce of certain mares in foal at the time of the
match, and to be decided when they arrive at a certain age specificd.
76 THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

esteemed, and with too much truth, severe and cruel. We might refer to the
disgraceful exhibitions of Chateau Margaux, and Mortgage, and Lamplighter.
The necessary consequence was that the ground run over in the ordinary
matches was lessened a full half.

And was not this sufficient to convince the man of the turf—the breeder of
horses for his own use—was not this sufficient to convince him of the error
which he had committed? Perhaps it was, with regard to those who would give
themselves the trouble to think. But the error had been committed. The
all-important question was, how could it be repaired? Were they to breed
back again to their former stoutness ? There were individuals stout and speedy,
but the breed was gone. Beside, the short race had become fashionable. It was
determined in two or three minutes. There was not the lengthened suspense of
seven or eight rotations of the second-hand of the watch ; and who could resist
the omnipotence of fashion? Some harsh expressions have been used with
regard to the leading sporting characters of that time; but what power had
they of resistance? . They had bred for speed. They had obtained it. They
had obtained that kind of race that would be popular, for it was short. They
had no alternative, except with regard to the king’s plates. There they should
have made a stand. The interests and honour of the country should not have
been sacrificed because they had erred. There should have been something left
to encourage the continuance of the old and unrivalled blood—something to fall
back upon when the fashionable leaders of the sporting world had discovered
their error. This battle, however, must yet be fought. Additional reasons for
it will appear when the present state of the hunter and the road-horse are
considered.

There is one circumstance connected with these short races which perhaps
has not been sufficiently appreciated. On the old system, the trueness and the
stoutness of the horse would generally insure the prize to him that best deserved
it; but with the present young horses and short courses, the actual race being
sometimes little more than two or three hundred yards, a great deal depends
on the rider. If the cattle are tolerably fairly matched, al/ depends on him.
If he has confidence in the stoutness of his horse, he may distance all his com-
petitors; or he may nurse the fleet but weedy thing to almost the last stride,
and dart by the winning post before his rival has been able to gather himself
up for the last effort.

One thing cannot be denied, that the consciousness in the jockeys of their
power, and the account which they will probably be called upon to render of
the manner in which they have used it, has led to far more cruelty in the
management of these races than ever disgraced the records of former times.
Habit had given to the older horses of those days a principle of emulation
and of obedience. When the race in reality began, the horse understood the
meaning of his rider, and it seldom required any cruel application of the whip
or the spur to bring him through if he could win.

Forrester will afford sufficient illustration of this. He had won many
hardly-contested races ; but on an unfortunate day he was matched against an
extraordinary horse, Elephant, belonging to Sir Jennison Shaftoe. It was a
four-mile heat over the straight course. They passed the flat—they ascended
the hill as far as the distance post—they were nose to nose. Between this and
the chair, Elephant got a little ahead. Forrester made every possible effort to
recover this lost ground, until, finding all his efforts ineffectual, he made one
desperate plunge—he seized his antagonist by the jaw to hold him back, and
could scarcely be forced to quit his hold. In like manner, a horse belonging
to Mr. Quin, in 1758, finding his adversary gradually passing him, seized him
by the leg ; and both riders were obliged to dismount, in order to separate the
animals.
THE RACE-HORSE, 77

The youngsters may not have felt all this emulation, nor be disposed pain-
fully to exert their energies to the very utmost; and it may be necessary —
necessary, in order to accomplish the purpose of the owner by winning the race
—that the poor animal should be brutally urged on, until the powers of nature
fail, and he retires from the course a cripple for life.

This is a necessary part of the system. It is accounted the duty of the rider
—it is a duty on the skilful discharge of which a few of them plume them-
selves: but it is that which should not be tolerated, and the system of which
it is a necessary part should undergo a speedy and an effectual reformation*,

We have been enabled to place at the head of our chapter a portrait of
“The Colonel,” taken for this work, by Mr. Harvey; and Mr. Goodwin,
veterinary surgeon to the Queen, has kindly furnished us with a considerable
part of the following account of him and of Fleur-de-Lis :—

He was a chesnut horse, fifteen hands three inches high, with good substance,
capital legs and feet, and true action, bred by Mr. Petre in 1825. He was
got by Whisker out of a Delphini mare—her dam, Tipple Cider, by King
Fergus—the grandam was Sylvia, by Young Marsk, out of Ferret, by a
brother to Sylvio-Regulus, &c.

He came out in 1827, when he won the two-years stakes, beating Kitty, a
colt by Trump, and a black colt by Whisker.

In the same year he carried off the two-years old stakes at Pontefract, beating
Vanish ; and the Champagne stakes at Doncaster, beating a filly by Blackleg.

In 1828 he ran a dead heat with Cadland for the Derby, beating Zingaree
and twelve others, but he lost the second heat. He won however the St. Leger
at Doncaster, beating Belinda, Velocipede, and seventeen others; and walked
over for the 200 sovereigns stakes at the same placet.

In 1829 he was beaten at the York Spring Meeting, by Bessy Bedlam, in
amatch for 800 sovereigns each—the St. Leger course. He started, but was
not placed, for the gold cup at Ascot, being beaten by Zingaree and Mameluke.

In 1830 he won the Craven stakes of ten sovereigns each, beating Harold,
Clio, and eight others. He ran second for the gold cup at Ascot, being beaten
by Loretta, but beating Greenmantle and Zingaree. In the same year he
won a sweepstake at Stockbridge ; and ran third for the gold cup at Goodwood,
but was beaten by Fleur-de-Lis and Zingaree.

In 1831 he won the Craven stakes at Epsom; and ran a dead heat with
Mouch for the Oatlands at Ascot; but running the second heat with her, he

 

* In a former edition of this work, the
protest of the author was entered against the
barbarous and useless punishment to which
some horses were subjected. He has great
pleasure in recording the following confirma-
tion of his opinion :—‘ There are many
jockeys employed by the inferior black-leg
species of sportsmen, and even some of a
higher class, who will not be convinced that
a rider has acted honestly, unless his horse is
nearly dissected alive ; but, in the strongest
probability, every drop of blood drawn is
utterly unnecessary, as it is barbarous and
contrary to the very idea of sport, in which
even the horse himself ought to share. Such
an opinion was given from the heart, as well
as from the mature judgment of the late Sir
Thomas Charles Bunbury, within a few months
of his decease, after five-and-fifty years of
experience on the most extensive scale. Al-
though the stout and game horse will run to

the whip, the excess of it must necessarily
shorten his stride, and, in course, detract
from his speed. Many a race has been lost
by a foul cut, or a brutal use of the spur—
either by damping the spirit and enfeebling
the nerve of the horse, or inducing a sullen
disgust and desperation. An example much
talked of at the time, and through which a
vast sum of money was lost, occurred in the
case of a horse of old Duke William, which
was nearly home and winning. He received
a foul cut with the whip on a tender part, and
instantly hung back and lost the race. With
respect to the hot-spirited and washy horses,
if they cannot win without the aid of the whip,
they will seldom win with it.”’—Nimrod.

+ At the latter end of 1828 he was sold
by Mr. Petre to George 1V. for 4000 guineas.
He continued, however, on the turf, and won
many races.
78 THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

broke down—the suspensory ligaments failing in both legs. He did not con-
tinue lame; but the enlargement of the fetlock, and the traces of ae iron,
plainly indicated that he could no longer be depended upon as a racer”. :
We are also gratified in being enabled to present our readers with a portrait
of that beautiful and almost unrivalled mare Fleur-de-Lis, by the same artist

 

PLEUR-DE-LIS.

She was bred by Sir M. W. Ridley, in 1822, and was got by Bourbon, the
son of Sorcerer, out of Lady Rachel, by Stamford—her dam, Young Rachel, by
Volunteer, out of Rachel, sister to Maid of All Work, and by both the sire and
the dam was descended from Highflyer. Bourbon started twenty-three times,
out of which he was successful seventeen times; and carried off two classes of
the Newmarket October Oatland stakes, the Claret, the Craven, and the Trial,
beside 4130 guineas ia specie.

She was the finest mare in form and size ever produced in England. She
stood fully sixteen hands, and had extraordinary good legs, and feet that
never failed. Her speed was good, but her forte was distance. Independent
of her being so fine a mare in every other respect, her chest was one of
extraordinary capacity in an animal or such unusual depth in the girthing
place.

She first appeared on the turf at three years old, at Newcastle-upon-Tyne,
for the twenty-five guineas sweepstakes—one mile—and beat her four com-
petitors.

 

* He then covered at the Royal Stud,
Hampton Court, until that establishment
was sold at the death of William IV. He
was purchased by Mr. Tattersall, at the sale,
for 1550 guineas, who sent him to his present
owners, a stud company in Russia.

He possessed great specd ; but his progeny,

like himself, were deficient in that stoutness
so essential to a real good horse. D*Egville,
Posthaste, Toothill, znd The Drummer were
some of the most successful of his stock. On
the whole, he could not be considered as hav-
ing always realised the expectations of those
who put mares to him,
THE RACE-HORSE. 79

On September 8, she won a sweepstake of twenty guineas, and twenty added
—six subscribers—at Pontefract.

On the 20th of the same month, she started for the Great St. Leger, and would
probably have won it had she not been thrown down in the running by Actzon,
as she beat Mammon afterwards, and all the best horses of that description.
On the 23d of September, however, she won a sweepstake of twenty sovereigns
each, with twenty added —nineteen subscribers.

On May 20, 1826, she was in the sweepstakes of twenty sovereigns each—
two miles—seven subscribers, at the York Spring Mecting. Lottery, Actzon,
and Catterick were among her opponents. After the first 100 yards, Lottery
got in front, closely followed by the others at strong running. He kept ahead
until nearly the distance post, when Fleur-de-Lis shot ahead, Acteon and
Catterick letting loose at the same time. The filly, however, kept in front,
and won in gallant style by half a length.

On the next day she won the gold cup, opposed again by Actzon, and also
by the Alderman and six others. The betting was seven to four on the Alder-
man, and four to one against the winner. The Alderman took the lead, and
made all the running up to the distance post. They were in a cluster at the
stand, when Acton and Fleur-de-Lis came out. A severe struggle took place,
the mare winning by a length.

July 6, she won the gold cup at Newcastle-upon-Tyne—ten subscribers.
The betting was fifteen to eight in favour of the winner.

On the next day she won the first heat for the town-plate, and walked over
the course for the second heat.

On September 19, she won the Doncaster stakes of ten sovereigns each, with
twenty added by the corporation—twenty-nine subscribers. She was opposed
by Acton, Lottery, Jerry, and others; but the bets were five to four on
Fleur-de-Lis.

On the 21st, she won the gold cup, beating Mulatto, Helenus, and others.
The betting was five to four on her.

On the 29th she won the gold cup at Lincoln, walking over the course.

May the 12th, 1827, she won the Constitution stakes at the York Spring
Meeting—fifteen subscribers, at twenty guineas each, among which were Jerry,
Humphrey Clinker, and Sirius; the betting six to five against Fleur-de- Lis.
During most of the way, Fleur-de-Lis was in front, Jerry second, Humphrey
Clinker third, and Sirius fourth. When between the rails, Jerry looked as ir
he would win; but suddenly swerving, Fleur-de-Lis won easily by two lengths.

On the 27th, she ran at Manchester, for a tureen, value 100 guineas, with
twenty-four subscribers of ten sovereigns each: betting, five to four on her.
On making the last turn she slipped, and nearly came on her side. She,
however, recovered ; but, after a severely-contested race, lost by half a head.

On July the 18th, she won the gold cup, and sweepstakes of ten guineas
each, at Preston; twenty subscribers. The course was three miles and a
distance. It was doubted whether any horse could be found to compete with
Fleur-de-Lis; but at length Mr. Milton’s old grey horse Euphrates and Sir
W. Wynn’s Signorina entered the lists. ‘The old horse looked as well and
appeared as gay as ever, and Signorina was ever a well-known good mare; but
the odds were three to one on Fleur-de-Lis. After the usual preparations, the
competitors were brought to the post, and away they went. Euphrates made
play, dashing off at score, and at about half a mile had got so far ahead, that
Fleur-de-Lis, who evidently was waiting on Signorina, found it necessary to
creep rather nearer, lest the old gelding should steal the race. Euphrates kept
the lead, and seemed determined to do so as long as he could ; and he was
allowed to do this until within about a distance from home, when both the
80 THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

mares shot ahead, and the gallant old horse gave it up. The contest now
became highly interesting. Signorina ran well in, and was beaten only by
a neck,

She likewise won a Goodwood cup, beating the Colonel and Zinganee, both
out of the same stables with herself, and nearly distancing a field of others.

This is a continuance of success that is scarcely equalled in the annals of the
turf. The loss of the Manchester cup was solely attributable to the accident
that occurred while she was running. She likewise failed in the St. Leger ;
but there she was thrown down by another horse during the race. She was
never beaten in a fair struggle. Her owner, however, was perhaps justified in
selling her, as he did, for 1500 guineas, when he knew that he was consigning
her to the royal stud; for he thus rendered it impossible that the laurels that
she had won could ever be torn from her.

She possessed the points and form of a racer to a degree of perfection which
has been rarely met with. It is true that she stood nearly sixteen hands; but
the depth of her chest, her length, her quarters, her pasterns, marked her as
equally framed for motion and for endurance. Her colour was bay, with black
legs and feet, and a small stroke on the forehead. The slouched ear has been
found fault with by some; others, and perhaps with more truth, have con-
sidered it as an indication of pure blood. It has been hereditary in some of our
stables, as in the Orville family.

She was bought of Sir M. W. Ridley, for George IV., for 1500 guineas.

fler produce, after having been put into the stud, was eagerly sought after
by foreigners, and sent out of the country. Fleur-de-Lis is now (1842) in the
possession of Monsieur Lupin, in France, who bought her at the Hampton
Court sale for the inadequate sum of 550 guineas. ‘The valuable mare Wings,
the dam of Caravan, was sold to the same person for 600 guineas; and Young
Mouse, the dam of Rat Trap, for 360 guineas.

THE HUNTER.

There are few agriculturists who have not a little liking for the sports of the
field, and who do not fancy rich music in the cry of the hounds. To what
extent it may be prudent for them to indulge in these sports circumstances must
decide, and they deserve the most serious consideration. Few can, or, if they
could, ought to keep a hunter. There are temptations to expense in the field,
and to expense after the chase, which it may be difficult to withstand. The
hunter, however, or the hunting horse,—i. e. the horse on which a farmer, if he
is not a professed sportsman, may occasicnally with pleasure, and without dis-
grace, follow the hounds,—is in value and beauty next to the racer.

Fashion and an improved state of the agriculture of the country have mate.
rially increased the speed of the chase. The altered character of the fox-hounds,
and the additional speed which they have lately acquired, compel the farmer
to ride a better horse, or he will not live among his companions after the first
burst. Stoutness is still required, but blood has become an essential quality.

In strong, thickly-inclosed countries, the half-bred horse may get tolerably
well along ; but for general use the hunter should be at least three-quarters,
or perhaps seven-eighths bred. When he can be obtained with bone enough, a
thorough-bred horse will form the best of all hunters; especially if he has
been taught to carry himself sufficiently high to be aware of and to clear his
fences.

He should seldom be under fifteen or more than sixteen hands high ; below
this standard he cannot always measure the object before him, and above it
he is apt to be leggy and awkward at his work.
THE HUNTER, al

The first property of a good hunter is, that he should be light in hand. For
this purpose his head must be small; his neck thin and especially thin
beneath ; his crest firm and arched, and his jaws wide. ‘The head will then be
well set on. It will form that angle with the neck which gives a light and
pleasant mouth.

 

THE HUNTER,

The forehand should be loftier than that of the racer. A turf horse may be
forgiven if his hind quarters rise an inch or even two above his fore ones. His
principal power is wanted from behind, and the very lowness of the forehand
may throw more weight in front, and cause the whole machine to be more easily
and speedily moved. A, lofty forehand, however, is indispensable in the hunter ;
and a shoulder as extensive as in the racer and as oblique, and somewhat thicker.
The saddle will then be in its proper place, and will continue so, however long
may be the run.

The barrel should be rounder, in order to give greater room for the heart and
lungs to play, and to send more and purer blood to the larger frame of this horse,
especially when the run continues unchecked for a time that begins to be
distressing. A broad chest is always an excellence in a hunter. In the violent
and long-continued exertion of the chase the respiration is exceedingly
qnickened, and abundantly more blood is hurried through the lungs in a given
time than when the animal is at rest. There must be sufficient room for this,
or he will not only be distressed, but possibly destroyed. The majority of the
horses that perish in the field are narrow-chested.

The arm should be as muscular as that of the racer, or even more 60, for
both strength and endurance are wanted. :

The leg should be deeper than that of the race-horse—broader as we stand

@
82 THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

at the side of the horse—and especially beneath the knee. In proportion to the
distance of the tendon from the cannon or shank-bone, and more particularly
a little below the knee, is the mechanical advantage with which it acts. :

The leg should be shorter. Higher action is required than in the racer, in
order that the legs may be clearly and safely lifted over many an obstacle, and,
particularly, that they may be well doubled up in the leap. - :

The pastern should be shorter, and less slanting, yet retaining considerable
obliquity. The long pastern is useful, by the yielding resistance which its
elasticity affords to break the concussion with which the race-horse from his
immense stride and speed must come on the ground: and the oblique direction
of the different bones beautifully contributes to effect the same purpose. With
this elasticity, however, a considerable degree of weakness is necessarily con-
nected, and the race-horse occasionally breaks down in the middle of his course.
The hunter, from his different action, takes not this length of stride, and there-
fore wants not all this elastic mechanism. He more needs strength to support
his own heavier carcase, and the greater weight of his rider, and to undergo the
fatigue of a long day. Some obliquity, however, he requires, otherwise the
concussion even of his shorter gallop, and more particularly of his frequently
tremendous leaps, would inevitably lame him.

The foot of the hunter is a most material point. The narrow contracted
foot is the curse of much of the racing blood. The work of the racer, however,
is all performed on the turf; but the foot of the hunter is battered over many
a flinty road and stony field, and, if not particularly good, will soon be disabled
and ruined.

The position of the feet in the hunter requires some attention. They should
if possible stand straight. If they turn a little outward, there is no sericus
objection ; but if they turn inward, his action cannot be safe, particularly when
he is fatigued or over-weighted.

The body should be short and compact, compared with that of the race-
horse, that he may not in his gallop take too extended astride. This would
be a serious disadvantage in a long day and with a heavy rider, from the stress
on the pasterns; and more serious when going over clayey poached ground
during the winter months. The compact short-strided horse will almost skim
the surface, while the feet of the longer-reached animal will sink deep, and he
will wear himself out by efforts to disengage himself.

Every sporting man knows how much more enduring isa short-bodied horse in
climbing hills, although perhaps not quite so much in descending them. This
is the secret of suiting the race-horse to his course ; and unfolds the apparent
mystery of a horse decidedly superior on a flat and straight course, being often
beaten by a little horse with far shorter stride, on uneven ground and with
several turnings.

The loins should be broad ;—the quarters long ;—the thighs muscular ;—the
hocks well bent, and well under the horse.

The reader needs not to be told how essential temper and courage are. A
hot irritable brute is a perfect nuisance, and the coward that will scarcely face
the slightest fence exposes his owner to ridicule *,

* The grey hunter, a portrait of which

Piccadilly for a considerable sum, and by him
is given in page 81, possesses a very high

sold to Mr. Claggett in 1832. He became

character in the Croydon hunt. He was
bred in Warwickshire, and there his edu-
cation commenced. The country being a
severe one, the powers of this noble animal
were fully developed, and he left Warwick-
shire in high repute.

He was purchased by Mr. Anderson of

the favourite hunter of that gentleman, and
under his guidance performed many gallant
feats in various parts of Surrey. In 1835 he
was purchased by Sir Edmund Antrobus at a
heavy sum; and for five seasons was the wor-
thy Baronet carried at his ease by this noble
animal over bill, ridge, and brook, and many
THE HUNTER. 83

The principle of preparing both the race-horse and the hunter for their work
js the same, and can have no mystery about it. It consists in getting rid of all
superfluous flesh and fat by physic and exercise, yet without too much lowering
the animal; and, particularly in bringing him by dint of exercise into good
wind, and accustoming him to the full trial of his powers without overstraining
or injuring him. Two or three doses of physic as the season approaches, and
these not too strong ; plenty of good hard meat ; and a daily gallop of a couple
of miles—at a pace not too quick, will be nearly all that can be required.
Physic must not indeed be omitted ; but the three words, air, exercise, food,
contain the grand secret and art of training.

The old hunter may be fairly ridden twice, or, if not with any very hard
days, three times in the week ; but, after a thoroughly trying day, and evident
distress, three or four days’ rest should be allowed. They who are merciful to
their horses, allow about thirty days’ work in the course of the season, with
gentle exercise on each of the intermediate days, and particularly a sweat on
the day before hunting. There is an account, however, of one horse who
followed the fox-hounds seventy-five times in one season. This feat has never
been exceeded.

We recollect to have seen the last Duke of Richmond but one, although an
old man, and when he had the gout in his hands so severely that he was obliged
to be lifted on horseback, and, both arms being passed through the reins, were
crossed on his breast, galloping down the steepest part of Bow Hill, in the
neighbourhood of Goodwood, almost as abrupt as the ridge of an ordinary house,
and cheering on the hounds with ali the ardour of a youth *.

The difference in the pace, and the consequent difference in the breed of the
horse, have effected a strange alteration in the usage of the hunter. It is the
almost invariable practice for each sportsman to have two, or sometimes three
horses in the field, and after a moderate day’s sport the horse has his three or four
days’ rest, and no fewer than five or six after a severe run. Whena little more

 

of those ugly yawns, with which this part of
Surrey abounds. The author’s friend, Mr.
Thomas Turner of Croydon, kindly procured
him permission to have a portrait of this noble
animal taken by Mr. Harvey ; and says in one
of his letters, “I never heard of a blot on the
old borse’s escutcheon.”’

© Sir John Malcolm {in his Sketches of
Persia) gives an amusing account of the im-
pression which a fox-hunt in the English style
niade on an Arab. :

“I was entertained by listening to an Arab
peasant, who, with animated gestures, was
narrating to a group of his countrymen all he
had seen of this noble hunt. ‘ There came
the fox,’ said he, pointing with a crooked stick
to a clump of date-trees, ‘ there he came at a
great rate. I hallooed, but nobody heard me,
and I thought he must get away; but when
he got quite out of sight, up came a large spot-
ted dog, and then another and another. They
all had their noses to the ground, ard gave
tongue—whow, whow, whow, so loud, I was
frightened. Away went these devils, who
soon found the poor animal. After them gal-
loped the Foringees (a corruption of Frank,
the name given to a European over all Acia),
shouting and trying to make a noise louder
than the dogs. No wonder they killed the
fox among them.’”

The Treasurer Burleigh, the sage councillor
of Queen Elizabeth, could not enter into the
pleasures of the chase. Old Andrew Fuller
relates a quaint story of him :—

When some noblemen had gotten William
Cecil, Lord Burleigh, to ride with them a
hunting, and the sport began to be cold,
‘What call you this?’ said the treasurer.
‘Oh! now the dogs are at fault,’ was the reply.
* Yea,’ quoth the treasurer, ‘ take me again in
such a fault, and I’l) give you leave to punish
me.’ ”

In former times it was the fashion for women
to hunt almost as often and as keenly as the.
men, Queen Elizabeth was extremely fond
of the chase. Rowland Whyte, in a letter to
Sir Robert Sidney, says, “Her Majesty is
well, and excellently disposed to hunting; for
every second day she is on horseback, and
continues the sport long.”

This custom soon afterwards began to
decline, and the jokes and sarcasms of the
witty court of Charles II. contributed to dis-
countenance it.

It is a curious circumstance, that the first
work on hunting that proceeded from the press
was from the pen of a female, Juliana Barnes,
or Berners, the sister of Lord Berners, and
prioress of the nunnery of Sopewell, about the
year 1481. :

e 2
84 THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

speed was introduced into the turf horse, the half-bred or three-parts-bred horse,
which constituted the racer of thirty years ago, soon acquired a portion of the
increase of speed, and in consequence of this began to be inconveniently or
annoyingly close to the hounds.—A change then took place in the breed of the
hound. This, however, as might be expected, was carried a little too far, and
they soon began to run at a rate to which the far greater proportion of the half-
breds were altogether unequal, The thorough-bred horse then began to find
his way into the field. The prejudice was strong against him at first. It was
said that he could not take his leaps like the old hunter: but, after a little
training, he became equal in this respect to the very best of his predecessors,
and superior to the greater part of them. This is well treated of by Nimrod
in his work on ‘¢ The Chase.”

The horse fully shares in the enthusiasm of his rider. It is beautiful to watch
the old hunter who, after many a winter's hard work, is turned into the park
to enjoy himself for life. His attitude and his countenance when, perchance,
he hears the distant cry of the dogs, are a study. If he can, he will break his
fence, and, over hedge, and lane, and brook, follow the chase, and come in first
at the death.

A horse that had, a short time before, been severely fired on three legs, and
was placed in a loose box, with the door, four feet high, closed, and an aper-
ture over it little more than three feet square, and standing himself nearly
sixteen hands, and master of fifteen stone, hearing the cheering of the huntsman
and the cry of the dogs at no great distance, sprung through the aperture with-
out leaving a single mark on the bottom, the top, or the sides.

Then, if the horse is thus ready to exert himself for our pleasure—and
pleasure alone is here the object—it is indefensible and brutal to urge him
beyond his own natural ardour so severely as we sometimes do, and even until
nature is quite exhausted. We do not often hearof a “hard day,” without
being likewise informed, that one or more horses either died in the field, or
scarcely reached home before they expired. Some riders have been thoughtless
and cruel enough to kill two horses in one day. One of the severest chases on
record was by the king’s stag-hounds. There was an uninterrupted burst of four
hours and twenty minutes. One horse dropped dead in the field; another
died before he could reach the stable; and seven more, within the week
ensuing.

It is very conceivable, and does dccasionally happen, that, entering as fully as
his master into the sports of the day, the horse disdains to yield to fatigue, and
voluntarily presses on, until, nature being exhausted, he falls and dies: but
much oftener, the poor animal has, intelligibly enough, hinted his distress ;
unwilling to give in, yet painfully and falteringly holding on, while the merciless
rider, occasionally, rather than give up one hour’s enjoyment, tortures him with
whip and spur, until he drops and dies.

Although the hunter may not willingly relinquish the chase, he who “ is
merciful to his beast,” will soon recognise the symptoms of excessive and dan-
gerous distress. To the drooping pace and staggering gait, and heaving flank,
and heavy bearing on the hand, will be added a very peculiar sound. The
inexperienced person will fancy it to be the beating of the heart; but that has
almost ceased to pulsate, and the lungs are becoming gorged with blood. It is
the convulsive motion of the diaphragm, called into violent action to assist in
the now laborious office of breathing. The man who proceeds a single step
after this, ought to suffer the punishment he is inflicting*.

 

* We should almost rejoice if the abused were to inflict on his rider the punishment
quadruped, cruelly urged beyond his powers, which a Spanish ruffian received when merci-
THE HUNTER Shy

Let the rider instantly dismount. If he has 4 lancet and skill to use, it let
him subtract five or six quarts of blood ; or, if he has no lancet, let him deapiy
cut the bars of the palate with a knife. ‘The lungs will be thus relieved, and the
horse may be able to crawl home. ‘Then, or before, if possible. let some
powerful cordial be administered. Cordials are, generally speaking, the disgrace
and bane of the stable ; but here, and almost here alone, they are truly valuable.
They may rouse the exhausted powers of nature. They mnay prevent what the
medical man would call the re-action of inflammation, although they are the
veriest poison when inflammation has commenced.

A favourite hunter fell after a long burst, and lay stretched out, convulsed
and apparently dying. His master procured a bottle of good sherry from the
house of a neighbouring friend, and poured it down the animal’s throat. The
patient immediately began to revive: soon afterwards, he got up, walked home
and gradually recovered. The sportsman may not always be able to get this,
but he may obtain a cordial-ball from the nearest veterinary surgeon ; or, such aid
not being at hand, he may beg a little ginger from some good honsewife, and
mix it with warm ale; or he may give the ale alone, or even strengthened with a
little ardent spirit. When he gets home, or if he stops at the first stable he finds,
let the horse be put into che coolest place, and then well clothed, and diligently
rubbed about the legs and belly. ‘The practice of putting the animal, thus dis-
tressed, into “a comfortable warm stable,” and excluding every breath of air,
has destroyed many valuable horses.

We are now describing the very earliest treatment to be adopted, and before
it may be possible to call in an experienced practitioner. This stimulating plan
would be fatal twelve hours afterwards. It will, however, be the wisest course
to commit the animal, the first moment it is practicable, to the care of the vete-
rinary surgeon, if such a one resides in the neighbourhood and in whom con-
fidence can be placed.

The labours and the pleasures of the hunting season being passed, the farmer
makes little or no difference in the management of his untrained horse ; but the
wealthier sportsman is somewhat at a loss what to do with his. It used to be
thought, that when the animal had so long contributed, sometimes voluntarily,
and sometimes with a little compulsion, to the enjoyment of his owner, he
ought, for a few months, to be permitted to seek his own amusement, in his
own way ; and he was turned out for a summer's run at grass, Fashion, which
governs everything, and now and then most cruelly and absurdly, has exercised
her tyranny in the case of the hunter. His field, where he could wander and
gambol as he liked, is changed to a loose box; and the liberty in which he
so evidently exulted, to an hour’s walking exercise daily. He is allowed
vetches, or grass occasionally ; but from his box he stirs not, except for his dull
morning’s round, until he is taken into training for the next winter's business.

In this, however, as in most other things, there isa medium. There are few
horses who have not materially suffered in their legs and feet, before the close

of the hunting season.

There is nothing so refreshing to their feet as the damp

 

lessly torturing, in a similar way, a poor Indian
slave, who was carrying him on his back over
the mountains. It is thus related by Captain
Cochrane ( Colombia, ii. 357).—‘‘ Shortly after
passing this stream, we arrived at an abrupt
precipice which went perpendicularly down
about fifteen hundred feet, to a mountain tor-
rent below. There Lieutenant Ortegas nar-
rated to me the following anecdote of the
cruelty and punishment of a Spanish officer:—
This inhuman wretch having fastened on an
immense pair of mule spurs, was incessantly
darting the rowcls into the bare ficsh of the

tortured sillero, who in vain remonstrated with
his persecutor, and assured him he could not
quicken his pace. The officer only plied his
spurs the more in proportion to the murmurs
of the sillero. At last the man, roused to
the highest pitch of infuriated excitement and
resentment, from the relentless attacks of the
officer, on reaching this place, jerked him from
his chair into the immense depth of the tor-
rent below, where he was killed, and his body
could not be recovered. The sillero dashed
off at full speed, escaped into the mountain,
and was never after heard of.”
86 {THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

coolness of the grass into which they are turned in April or May ; and nothing
so calculated to remove every enlargement and sprain, as the gentle exercise
which the animal voluntarily takes while his legs are exposed to the cooling
process of evaporation that is taking place from the herbage on which he treads.
‘The experience of ages has shown, that it is superior to all the embrocations
and bandages of the most skilful veterinarian. It is the renovating process of
nature, where the art of man fails.

The spring grass is the best physic that can possibly be administered to the
horse. To a degree, which no artificial aperient or diuretic can reach, it car-
ries off every humour that may be lurking about the animal. It fines down
the roundness of the legs; and, except there is some bony enlargement, re-
stores them almost to their original form and strength. When, however, the
summer has thoroughly set in, the grass ceases to be succulent, aperient, or
medicinal. The ground is no longer cool and moist, at least during the day ;
and a host of tormentors, in the shape of flies, are, from sunrise to sunset, per-
secuting the poor animal. Running and stamping to rid himself of his plagues,
his feet are battered by the hard ground, and he newly, and perhaps more
severely, injures his legs. Kept in a constant state of irritation and fever, he
rapidly loses his condition, and sometimes comes up in August little better than
a skeleton.

Let the horse be turned out as soon as possible after the hunting season is
over. Let him have the whole of May, and the greater part, or possibly the
whole of June ; but when the grass fails, and the ground gets hard, and the flies
torment, let him be taken up. All the benefits of turning out, and that which
a loose box and artificial physic can never give, will have been obtained, without
the inconvenience and injury that attend an injudiciously protracted run at
grass, and which, arguing against the use of a thing from the abuse of it, have
been improperly urged against turning out at all.

The Steeple Chase is a relic of ancient foolhardiness and cruelty. It was the
form under which the horse-race, at its first establishment, was frequently
decided. Itis a race across the country, of two, or four, or even a greater
number of miles, and it is generally contrived that there shall be some deep
lane, or wide brook, and many astiff and dangerous fence between. It is ridden
at the evident hazard of the life of the sportsman ; and it likewise puts to hazard
the life or enjoyment of the horse. Many serious accidents have happened both
to the horse and his rider, and the practice must ere long get into disuse ; for,
while it can have no possible recommendation but its foolhardiness, it has op
many occasions been disgraced by barefaced dishonesty.

THE HACKNEY.

The perfect Hackney is more difficult to find than even the hunter or the
evurser. There are several faults that may be overlooked in the hunter, but
which the road-horse must not have. The former may start ; may be awkward
in his walk, or even his trot ; he may have thrushes or corns; but if he can go
a good slapping pace, and has wind and bottom, we can put up with him and
prize him: but the hackney, if he is worth having, must have good fore-legs,
and good hinder ones too; he must be sound on his feet; even-tempered ; no
starter ; quiet, in whatever situation he may be placed; not heavy in hand ;
and never disposed to fall on his knees,

If there is one thing more than any other, in which the possessor, and, in his
own estimation at least, the tolerable judge of the horse, is in error, it is the
action of the road-horse : “ Let him lift his legs well,” it is said, “and he will
never come down.” ,

In proportion, however, as he lifts his legs well, will be the foree with which
he puts them down again ; the jar and concussion to the rider ; and the battcr-
THE HACKNEY. 87

ing and wear and tear of the feet. A horse with too great “ knee action” will
not always be speedy ; he will rarely be pleasant to ride, and he will not, in the
long-run, be safer than others. The careless daisy-cutter, however pleasant on
the turf, should indeed be avoided ; but it is a rule, not often understood, and.
sometimes disputed, but which experience will fully confirm,—that the safety
of the horse depends a great deal more on the manner in which he puts his feet.
down, than on that in which he lifts them up :—more on the foot being placed
at once flat on the ground, or perhaps the heel coming first in contact with it,
than on the highest and most splendid action.

When the toe first touches the ground, it may be readily supposed that the
horse will occasionally be in danger. An unexpected obstacle will throw the
centre of gravity forward. If the toe digs into the ground before the foot is
firmly placed, a little thing will cause a trip and a fall.

For pleasant riding and for safety also, a hackney should not carry his legs
too high. His going a little too near to the ground isnot always to be considered
asan insuperable objection. The question is, does he dig his toe into the
ground ?

He should be mounted and put to the test. Let his feet be taken up and
examined. If the shoe, after having been on a week, ora fortnight, is not
unnecessarily worn at the toe, and he is felt to put his foot flat on the ground,
he may be bought without scruple, although he may not have the lofty action
which some have erroneously thought so important.

Every horse, however, is liable to fall; and hence comes the golden rule of
riding, “ Never trust to your horse,” but always feel his mouth lightly. He does
wrong who constantly pulls might and main; he will soon spoil the animal’s
mouth. He does worse who carelessly throws the reins on the neck of the
horse. Always feel the mouth lightly. The horse may thus have occasional and
immediate assistance before he is too much off the centre of gravity, and when
a little check will save him. By this constant gentle feeling he will likewise be
induced to carry his head well, than which few things are more conducive to
the easy, beautiful, and safe going of the horse.

The road-horse may, and should, like the hunter, possess different degrees of
breeding, according to the nature of the country, and the work required of him.
When approaching to thorough-bred, he may be a splendid animal, but he will
be scarcely fitted for his duty. His legs will be too slender ; his feet too small;
his stride too long ; and he will rarely be able to trot. Three parts of blood, or
even half, for the horse of all-work, will make a good and useful animal.

The hackney should be a hunter in miniature, with these exceptions. His
height should rarely exceed fifteen hands and an inch. He_will be sufficiently
strong and more pleasant for general work below that standard. Some will
imagine, and perhaps with justice, that the portrait which we give of the
road-horse represents him as somewhat too tall. He certainly should be of a
more compact form than the hunter, and have more bulk according to his
height ; for he has not merely to stand an occasional and perhaps severe burst
in the field, but a great deal of every-day work.

It is of essential consequence that the bones beneath the knee should be deep
and flat, and the tendon not tied in.

The pastern should be short, and although oblique or slanting, yet far less so
than that of the race-horse or the hunter. ‘There should be obliquity enough
to give pleasant action, but not to render the horse incapable of the wear and
tear of constant, and, sometimes, hard work.

The foot is a matter of the greatest consequence in a hackney. It should be
of a size corresponding with the bulk of the animal, neither too hollow nor too
flat ; open at the heels; and frce from corns and thrushes,
388 THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

The fore-legs should be perfectly straight. There needs not a moment's con-
sideration to be convinced that a horse with his knees bent will, from a slight
cise, and especially if he is overweighted, come down.

The back should be straight and short, yet sufficiently long to leave comfort-
able room for the saddle between the shoulders and the huck without pressing on
either. Some persons prefer a hollow-backed horse. He is generally an easy
one to go. He will canter well with a lady ; but he will not carry a heavy weight,
nor stand much hard work. Z

The rcad-horse should be high in the forehand; round in the barrel ; and
deep in the chest : the saddle will not then press too forward, but the girths will
remain, without crupper, firmly fixed in their proper place.

A hackney is far more valuable for the pleasantness of his paces, and his safety,
good temper, and endurance, than for his speed. We rarely want to go more
than eight or ten miles in an hour; and, on a journey, not more than six or
seven. The fast horses, and especially the fast trotters, are not often easy in
their paces, and although they may perform very extraordinary feats, are dis-
abled and worthless when the slower horse is in his prime.

 

THE UWACKNEY,

The above is the portrait of one that belonged to an old fri

He was no beauty, and yet he was full of cue points, oe ae
temper—he never stumbled—he never showed that he was tired — most
certainly was never off his feed—but, being a strange fellow to eat, he one
day, although the groom had a thousand times been cautioned gorged himself,
and was immediately taken out by his owner, ignorant of this in order to
be ridden somewhat far and fast. At about the middle of the int idee ones
he almost stopped ;--he would after this have gone on at his u
it was evident that something unusual was t
master stopped at the first convenient place.
two days afterward, he died.

ended journey
sual pace, but
he matter with him, and his
The stomach was ruptured, and,
THE HACKNEY. 89

Most of our readers probably are horsemen, ‘Their memories will supply
them with many instances of intelligence and fidelity in the horse, and par-.
ticularly in the hackney—the every-day companion of man. A friend
rode his horse thirty miles from home into a country that was perfectly new
tohim. The road was difficult to find, but by dint of inquiry he at length
reached the place he sought. Two years passed away, and he again had occasion
to take the same journey. No one rode this horse but himself, and he was
perfectly assured that the animal had not, since his first excursion, been in that
direction. Three or four miles before he reached his journey’s end, he was
benighted. He had to traverse moor and common, and he could scarcely see
his horse’s head. The rain began to pelt. “ Well,” thought he, “here I am,
apparently far from any house, and I know not nor can I see an inch of my
road. Ihave heard much of the memory of the horse,—it is my only hope
now,—so there,” throwing the reins on his horse’s neck, “go on.” In half an
hour he was safe at his friend’s gate.

The following anecdote, given on the authority of Professor Kruger of Halle,
proves both the sagacity and fidelity of the horse.—A friend of his, riding home
through a wood in a dark night, struck his head against the branch of a tree and
fell from his horse stunned. The steed immediately returned to the house
that they had lately left, and which was now closed, and the family in bed,
and he pawed at the door until some one rose and opened it. He turned about,
and the man wondering at the affair, followed him. The faithful and intelligent
animal led him to the place where his master lay senseless.

A few instances are selected of the speed and endurance of the hackney.

1793, May 13, a hackney named Sloven, walked twenty-two miles in three
hours and fifty-two minutes. In November 1791 she had beaten the then
celebrated pedestrian, James Cotterel, by walking twenty miles in three hours
and forty-one minutes. It had been previously imagined that no horse could,
in fair walking, contend with a man who had accustomed himself to this kind
of exercise.

As for the trotting performances of the hackney, they are so numerous, and
yet apparently so extraordinary, that some difficulty attends the selection.

In 1822, there was a match of nine miles between Mr. Bernard’s mare and
Captain Colston’s horse, near Gerrard’s- Cross, for 500 guineas. It was won
easily by the mare, who performed the distance in twenty-seven minutes and
forty-six seconds. The horse went the same distance in twenty-seven minutes,
forty-nine seconds—which is nearly at the rate of nineteen and a half miles an
hour.

This, however, had been equalled or excelled some years before. Sir Edward
Astley’s Phenomenon mare, when twelve years old, trotted seventeen miles in
fifty-six minutes, There being some difference about the fairness of the
trotting, she performed the same distance a month afterwards in less than fifty-
three minutes, which was rather more than nineteen miles an hour. Her
owner then offered to trot her nineteen and a half miles an hour ; but, it being
proved that in the last match she did one four miles in eleven minutes, or at
the rate of more than twenty-one and a half miles an hour, the betting men
would have nothing more to do with her. :

‘After this, with shame be it spoken, she lived a life of drudgery and starvation,
and, occasionally, of cruel exertion, until; at twenty-three years old, she became
so changed as to be offered for sale at 7/, Even in that state she trotted nine
miles in twenty-eight minutes and a half—being, as nearly as possible, nineteen
miles an hour. Within six months afterwards, it is said that she won four
extraordinary matches in one day, the particulars of which are not recorded.
Tn her twenty-sixth year she became the property of the late Sir R. C. Daniel,
90 THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

by whom she was well fed, and had no disgraceful tasks imposed upon her ; and in
a few months she looked as fresh and clean upon her legs as in her best days.
So far as speed was concerned, there was nothing in the annals of trotting com-
parable to her performances.

Of stoutness, whether confined to this pace, or the accomplishment of great
distances with little or no rest, there are too many instances; and the greater
number of them were accompanied by circumstances of disgraceful barbarity. .

Mr. Osbaldeston had a celebrated American trotting-horse, called Tom
Thumb. He matched him to trot 100 miles in ten hours and a half. It
seemed to be an amazing distance, and impossible to be accomplished: but the
horse had done wonders as a trotter; he was in the highest condition; the
vehicle did not weigh more than 100 lbs., nor the driver more than 10 st. 3 lbs.
He accomplished his task in ten hours and seven minutes; his stoppages to
bait, &c., occupied thirty-seven minutes—so that, in fact, the 100 miles were
done in nine hours and a half. He was not at any time distressed; and was
so fresh at the end of the ninetieth mile, that his owner offered to take six to
four that he did fourteen miles in the next hour.

An English-bred mare was afterwards matched to accomplish the same task.
She was one of those animals, rare to be met with, that could do almost any-
thing asa hack, a hunter, or inharness. On one occasion, after having, in fol-
lowing the hounds, and travelling to and from cover, gone through at least
sixty miles of country, she fairly ran away with her rider over several ploughed
fields. She accomplished the match in ten hours and fourteen minutes—or,
deducting thirteen minutes for stoppages, in ten hours and a minute’s actual
work ; and thus gained the victory. She was a little tired, and, being turned
into a loose box, lost no time in taking her rest. On the following day she was as
full of life and spirit as ever. These are matches which it is pleasant to record—
and particularly the latter ; for the owner had given positive orders to the driver
to stop at once, on her showing decided symptoms of distress, as he valued her
more than anything he could gain by her enduring actual suffering.

Others, however, are of a different character, and excite indignation and
disgust. Rattler, an American horse, was, in 1829, matched to trot ten miles
with a Welsh mare, giving her a minute's start. He completed the distance
in thirty minutes and forty seconds—being at the rate of rather more than
ninetecn miles an hour—and beating the mare by sixty yards. ll this is
fair; but when the same horse was, some time afterward, matched to trot thirty-
four miles against another, and is distressed, and dies in the following night—
when two hackneys are matched against each other, from London to York, 196
miles, and one of them runs 182 of these miles and dies, and the other accom-
plishes the dreadful feat in forty hours and thirty-five minutes, being kept
for more than half the distance under the influence of wine—when two brutes
in human shape match their horses, the one a tall and bony animal and the
other a mere pony, against each other fer a distance of sixty-two miles, and
both are run to a complete stand-stiH, the one at thirty and the other at eighty
yards from the winning point, and, both being still urged on, they drop down
and die—when we peruse records like these, we envy not the feelings of the
owners, if indeed they are not debased below all feeling. We should not have
felt satisfied in riding an animal, that had done much and good service,
seventy miles when he was thirty-six years old; nor can we sufficiently
reprobate the man, who, in 1827, could ride a small gelding from Dublin to
Nenagh, ninety-five miles, in company with the Limerick coach; or that
greater delinquent who started with the Exeter mail, on a galloway, under
fourteen hands high, and reached that city a quarter of an hour before the
mail, being 172 miles, and performed at the rate of rather more than seven
THE FARMER’S HORSE. 91

miles an hour. The author saw this pony, a few months afterward, strained,
ringboned, and foundered—a lamentable picture of the ingratitude of some
human brutes towards a willing and faithful servant.

THE FARMER’S HORSE.

The Farmer’s Honrss is an animal of all work ; to be ridden occasionally to
market or for pleasure, but to be principally employed for draught. He should
be higher than the road-horse. About fifteen hands and two inches may be
taken as the best standard. A horse with a shoulder thicker, lower, and less
slanting than would be chosen in a hackney, will better suit the collar j and
collar-work will be chiefly required of him. A stout compact animal should be
selected, yet not a heavy cloddy one. Some blood will be desirable; but the
half-bred horse will generally best suit the farmer’s purpose. He should have
weight enough to throw into the collar, and sufficient activity to get over the
ground.

Farmers are now beginning to be aware of the superiority of the moderately-
sized, strong, active horse, over the bulkier and slower animal of former days.
It is not only in harvest, and when a frosty morning must be ‘seized to cart
manure, that this is perceived, but in the every-day work of the farm the saving
of time, and the saving of provender too, will be very considerable in the course
of a year.

It has often been said, that a horse used much for draught is neither pleasant
nor safe for the saddle. The little farmer does not want a showy, complete
hackney. He should be content if he is tolerably well carried ; and—if he has
taken a little care in the choice of his horse—if he has selected one with sound
feet, shoulders not too thick, and legs not too much under him ; and if he keeps
him in good condition, and does not scandalously overweight him, the five
days’ carting or harrow work will not, to any material degree, unfit him for the
saddle; especially if the rider bears in mind, what we have termed the golden
rule of horsemanship, always a little to feel the mouth of the animal he is upon.

A farmer, and more particularly a small farmer, will prefer a mare toa
gelding, both for riding and driving. She will not cost him so much at first ;
and he will get a great deal more work out of her. There can be no doubt
that, taking bulk for bulk, a mare is stronger and more lasting than a gelding ;
and, in addition to this, the farmer has her to breed from. This, and the profit
which is attached to it, is well known in the breeding counties ; but why the
breeding of horses for sale should be almost exclusively confined to a few
northern districts, it is not easy to explain. Wherever there are good horses,
with convenience for rearing the colts, the farmer may start as a breeder with
a fair chance of success.

If he has a few useful cart-mares, and crosses them with a well-knit, half-
bred horse, he will certainly have colts useful for every purpose of agriculture,
and some of them sufficiently light for the van, post-chaise, or coach. If he
has a superior mare, one of the old Cleveland breed, and puts her to a bony,
three-fourths-bred horse, or, if he can find one stout and compact enough, a
seven-eighths or a thorough-bred one, he will have a fair chance to rear a colt
that will amply repay him as a hunter or carriage-horse.

The mare needs not to be idle while she is breeding. She may be worked
moderately almost to the period of her foaling, and with benefit rather than
otherwise; nor is there occasion that much of her time should be lost even
while she is suckling. If she is put to horse in June, the foaling-time will fall,
and the loss of labour will occur, in the most leisure time of the year.

There are two rocks on which the farmer often strikes—he pays little
attention to the kind of mare, and less to the proper nourishment of the foal.
92 THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

It may be laid down as a maxim in breeding, however general may be the
prejudice against it, that the value of the foal depends as much on the dam
as on the sire. ‘The Arabs go farther than this, for no price will buy from
them a likely mare of the highest blood; and they trace back the pedigree of
their horses, not through the sire, but the dam. The Greek sporting men held
the same opinion, long before the Arab horse was known. ‘ What chance of win-
ning have I?” inquired a youth whose horse was about to start on the Olympic
course. ‘ Ask the dam of your horse,” was the reply, founded on experience*,

The farmer, however, too frequently thinks that any mare will do to breed
from. If he can find a great prancing stallion, with a high-sounding name, and
loaded with fat, he reckons on having a valuable colt; and should he fail he
attributes the fault to the horse and not to his own want of judgment. Far
more depends on the mare than is dreamed of in his philosophy.

If he has an undersized, or a blemished, or unsound mare, let him continue
to use her on his farm. She probably did not cost him much, and she will beat
any gelding; but let him not think of breeding from her. A sound mare, with
some blood in her, and with most of the good points, will alone answer his
purpose. She may bear about het the marks of honest work (the fewer of
these, however, the better), but she must not have any disease. There is
scarcely a malady to which the horse is subject that is not hereditary. Con-
tracted fect, curb, spavin, roaring, thick wind, blindness, notoriously descend
from the sire or dam to the foal. Mr. Roberts, in “‘ The Veterinarian,” says :—
“ Last summer I was asked my opinion of a horse. I approved of his formation
with the exception of the hocks, where there happened to be two curbs. I was
then told his sister was in the same stable: she also had two curbs. Knowing
the sire to be free from these defects, I inquired about the dam: she likewise
had two confirmed curbs. She was at this time running with a foal of hers, two
years old, by another horse, and he also had two curbs.”

The foal should be well taken care of for the first two years. It is bad policy
to stint or half-starve the growing colt.

The colt, whether intended for a hunter or carriage-horse, may be early
handled, but should not be broken-in until three years old; and then, the very
best breaking-in for the carriage-horse is to make him earn a little of his living.
Let him be put to harrow or light plough. Going over the rough ground will
teach him to lift his feet well, and give him that high and showy action, excus-
able in a carriage-horse, but not in any other. In the succeeding winter he will
be perfectly ready for the town or country market.

THE CAVALRY HORSE,

This is the proper place to speak of the Cavalry Horse. That noble animal
whose varieties we are describing, and who is so admirably adapted to contri-
bute to our pleasure and our use, was, in the earliest period of which we have
any account of him, devoted to the destructive purposes of war ; and the cavalry
is, at the present day, an indispensable and a most effective branch of the service.

The cavalry horses contain a different proportion of blood, according to the
nature of the service required or the caprice of the commanding officer. Those
of the household troops are from half to three-fourths bred. Some of the

 

* Bishop Hall, who wrote in the time of James I., intimates that such was the opinion of
horsemen at that period. He asks, in one of his satires (Lib. iv.)
“

 

dost thou prize

Thy brute beasta’ worth by their dams’ qualities?
Say’st thou this colt shall prove a swift-pac’d steed
Onely because a Jennet did him breed ?

Or say’st thou this same horse shall win the prize,
Because his dam was swiftest Tranchefice P”?
THE COACH-HORSE, 93

lighter regiments have more blood in them. Our cavalry horses were formerly
large and heavy. ‘To their imposing size was added action as imposing. The
horse was trained to a peculiar, and grand, yet beautiful method of going ; but
he was often found deficient in real service, for this very action diminished his
speed, and added to his labour and fatigue.

A considerable change has taken place in the character of our troop
horses. This necessarily followed from the change that has occurred in the
thorough-bred horse. If he has lost much of his muscular form and actual
power of endurance, a similar alteration will take place in the offspring ; lightness
and activity will succeed to bulk and strength, and for skirmishing and sudden
attack the change will be an improvement. It is particularly found to be so in
long and rapid marches, which the lighter troops scarcely regard, while the
heavier horses, with their more than comparative additional weight to carry,
are knocked up. There is, however, danger of carrying this too far. It was
proved that in the engagements previous to and at the battle of Waterloo, our
heavy household troops alone were able to repulse the formidable charge of the
French guard,

There are few things that more imperiously demand the attention of govern-
ment. If from the habit of running short distances, and with light weights,
there is a deterioration in the strength and stoutness of our thorough- bred horses,
they will become every year less and less fitted for getting stock sufficiently
hardy and powerful to do credit to the courage and discipline of our cavalry.

The following anecdote of the memory and discipline of the troop horse is
related on good authority. The Tyrolese, in one of their insurrections in
1809, took fifteen Bavarian horses, and mounted them with so many of their
own men: but in a skirmish with a squadron of the same regiment, no sooner
did these horses hear the trumpet and recognise the uniform of their old
masters, than they set off at full gallop, and carried their riders, in spite of ail
their efforts, into the Bavarian ranks, where they were made prisoners.

‘The wounds of asoldier are honourable. The old war-horse can sometimes
exhibit his share of scars. One of them, twenty-seven years old, lately died at
Stangleton Lodge, near Bedford, that had belonged to one of the regiments of
lancers, and was in the battle of Waterloo, and the engagements of the two days
that preceded it. No fewer than eight musket-balls were discovered in him
after his death, and the scars of several wounds by the sabre and the lance*.

A horse died at Snowhill, near Gainsford, in 1753, that had been in General
Carpenter's regiment at the battle of Shirreff-Muir, in 1715, being at that time
seven years old. He was wounded by a bullet in his neck in that engagement,
and this bullet was extracted after his deatht.

THE COACH-HORSE f.

This animal in external appearance is as different from what he was fifty
years ago as it is possible to conceive. The clumsy-barrelled, cloddy-shouldered,
round-legged, black family horse—neither a coach nor a dray-horse, but some-
thing between both—as fat as an ox—but, with all his pride and prancing when
he first starts not equal to more than six miles an hour, and knocking-up with

 

and with him his mother, because she was
sick and weak, in a whirlicote;” and this is
described as an ugly vehicle of four boards pu

* Journal dea Haras, 1836-7, p. 61.
+ Gentleman’s Magazine, Feb. 1753.
t Wheel carriages, bearing any resemblance

to chariots, first came into use in the reign of
Richard 11. about the year 1381; they were called
»hirlicotes, and were little better than litters
or cotes (cots) placed on wheels, We are
told by Master John Stowe, that “ Richard II.
being threatened by the rebels of Kent, rode
from the Tower of London to the Miles End,

together in a clumsy manner.

In the following year he married Anne of
Luxembourg, who introduced the riding upon
side-saddles ; and so “ was the riding in those
whirlicotes forsaken, except at coronations and
such like spectacles.”’

Coaches were not used until the time of
94

THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

one hard day’s work, is no more seen; and we have, instead of him, an animal
as tall, deep-chested, rising in the withers, slanting in the shoulders, flat in the
legs, with far more strength, and with treble the speed. ;

There is a great deal of deception, however, even in the best of these improved

coach-horses.

They prance it nobly through the streets, and they have

more work in them than the old, clumsy, sluggish breed ; but they have not
the endurance that could be wished, and a pair of poor post-horses would, at
the end of the second day, beat them hollow.

The knee-action and high lifting of the feet in the carriage-horse is deemed
an excellence, because it adds to the grandeur of his appearance ; but, as has
already been stated, it is necessarily accompanied by much wear and tear of the
legs and feet, and this is very soon apparent.

The principal points in the coach-horse are, substance well-placed, a deep
and well-proportioned body, bone under the knee, and sound, open, tough feet,

(a

 

YHE COACH-HORSE,

The Crzvenanp Bay is the origin of the better kind of coach-horse, and
confined principally to Yorkshire and Durham, with, perhaps, Lincolnshire on

 

Elizabeth, when we are told (Stowe’s Survey
of London and Westminster, book i.) “ divers
great ladies made them coaches, and rode in
them up and down the countries, to the great
admiration of all the beholders.” The fashion
soon spread; and he adds, what is often too
true in the present day, ‘‘ the world runs on
wheels with many whose parents were glad to
go on foot.”

These coaches were heavy and unwieldy,
and probably bore some rough resemblance to
the state-coaches now used occasionally in
court. processions. :

The rete of travelling was as slow as the

clumsiness of the horses and vehicle would
naturally indicate. King George II. died
early on Saturday morning, Oct. 21, 1760:
the Duke of Devonshire, who was lord cham-
berlain, arrived in town from Chatsworth in
three days; but a fourth and a fifth day pass-
ing over, and the lord steward, the Duke of
Rutland, not making his appearance, although
he had not so far to travel by more than thirty:
miles, Mr. Speaker Onslow made this apology
for him, that “the Duke of Devonshire tra-
velled at a prodigious rate, not less than fifty
miles a day !”

To travel in the stage-coach from Londo
THE COACH-HORSE. 95

ore side, and Northumberland on the other, but difficult to find pure in either
eounty. The Cleveland mare is crossed by a three-fourth or thorough-bred
horse, of sufficient substance and height, and the produce is the coach-horse
most in repute, with his arched crest and high action. From the thorough-bred
of sufficient height, but not of so much substance, we obtain the four-in-hand
and superior curricle horse.

Professor Low, in his superb work “‘ Illustrations of the Breeds of the Domestic
Animals of the British Islands,” which should adorn the library of every sports-
man and agriculturist, gives the following account of the Cleveland Bay :—

“ It is the progressive mixture of the blood of horses of higher breeding with,
those of the common race, that has produced the variety of coach-horse usually
termed the Cleveland Bay ; so called from its colour and the fertile district of
that name in the North Riding of Yorkshire, on the banks of the Tees. About
the middle of the last century this district became known for the breeding of a
superior class of powerful horses, which, with the gradual disuse of the heavy
old coach-horse, became in request for coaches, chariots, and similar carriages.
The breed, however, is not confined to Cleveland, but is cultivated through all
the great breeding district of this part of England. It has been formed by the
progressive mixture of the blood of the race-horse with the original breeds of
thecountry. To rear this class of horses, the same principles of breeding should
be applied as to the rearing of the race-horse himself. A class of mares, as well
as stallions, should also be used having the properties sought for. The district
of Cleveland owes its superiority in the production of this beautiful race of
horses to the possession of a definite breed, formed not by accidental mixture
but by continued cultivation.

“ Although the Cleveland Bay appears to unite the blood of the finer with that
of the larger horses of the country, to combine action with strength, yet many
have sought a farther infusion of blood nearer to the race-horse. They are
accordingly crossed by hunters or thorough-bred horses, and thus another
variety of coach-horse is produced, of lighter form and higher breeding ; and
many of the superior Cleveland curricle and four-in-hand horses are now nearly
thorough-bred. The bay colour is in the most general estimation, but the grey
are not unfrequently used *.”

From less height and more substance we have the hunter and better sort of
hackney ; and, from the half-bred, we derive the machineer, the poster, and the

 

Cyrus the Great. It was adopted by the
Greeks and Romans. It was introduced into

to Epsom, sixteen miles, then took nearly the
whole day, and the passengers dined on the

road, The coach from Edinburgh to London
started once a month, and occupied sixteen
or eighteen days on the journey. A person
may now leave Edinburgh on Saturday eve-
ning, have two spare days in London, and be
back again at the Scotch metropolis to break-
fast on the next Saturday. Including short
stages, one thousand four hundred coaches a
little while ago set out from London every
day, the expense of each of whieh, with four
horses, could not be less than two shillings
and sixpence per mile.

Hackney-coaches first appeared in London
in 1625, the first year of the reign of Charles
I. Sedan-chairs had been introduced by tho
Duke of Buckingham six years before.

Among the numerous benefits arising from
the services of the horse, and the improvement
of public roads and carriages, is the speedy and
regular correspondence by post. The inven-
tion of this useful establishment is ascribed to

France by Louis XI. in 1462, and we first
read of it in English history about the year
1550, under Edward VI., when post-houses
were established, and horses provided at the
rate of one penny per mile. Under Elizabeth
a post-master was nominated by government,
and under Charles I., in 1634, the system
assumed its present form. The charge of post-
age was then fixed at two-pence, if under
eighty miles; four-pence between eighty and
one hundred and forty ; and six-pence if under
two hundred and forty miles ; but this charge
rapidly increased with tho increasing price of
horses, and the other expenses of conveyance,
and afterwards it was further raised by taxa-
tion, like almost everything else. It is now
diminished, with great public advantage, to a
general rate of one penny.

The recent introduction of railroads will
effect much change in the uso of the carriage
and road horse.

* Low’s Illustrations, p. 41.
96 THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

common carriage horse: indeed, Cleveland, and the Vale of Pickering in the
East Riding of Yorkshire, may be considered as the most decided breeding
countries in England for coach-horses, hunters, and hackneys. The coach-horse
is nothing more than a tall, strong, over-sized hunter. The hackney has many
of the qualities of the hunter on a small scale.

Whether we are carrying supposed improvement too far, and sacrificing
strength and usefulness to speed, is a question not difficult to resolve. The rage
for rapid travelling was introduced by the improvement in the speed of the racer,
and for a while it became the bane of the postmaster, the destruction of the
horse, and a disgrace to the English character.

The stages were then twelve, sixteen, or even twenty miles ; the horses stout
and true, but formed for, and habituated to, a much slower pace ; and the increase
of two, and even four, miles an hour, rendered every stage a scene of continuous
barbarity, and speedily thinned the stables of the post and stage master. The
post-horse has not to the present moment altogether escaped from the system of
barbarity to which he was subjected. He is not expressly bred for his work—
that work is irregular—the pace is irregular—the feeding and the time of rest
uncertain—and the horse himself, destined to be the victim of all these means of
annoyance and suffering and impairment of natural power, is not always or often
either speedy or stout. The coachmaster, on a large scale, has, however, learned,
and, generally speaking, follows up asystem at once conducing to his own profit,
and the health and comfort and prolonged labour of his horse. He buys a
good horse, “‘ one that has,” in the language of the highest authority in these
matters, “action, sound feet and legs, power and breeding equal to the nature and
length of the ground he will have to work upon, and good wind, without which
no other qualification will long avail in fast work*.” He fecds him well—he
works him but little more than one hour out of the four-and-twenty—he rests
him one day out of every five—he has everything comfortable about him in his
stable—and by these means, that which was once a life of torture is one of
comparative, or even positive enjoyment. This is now the case in large and
well-conducted concerns, and where the eye of the master or the confidential
manager overlooks and directs all.

In other establishments, and in too many of them, there is yet much animal
suffering. The public has to a very considerable extent the power to distin-
guish between the two, and to uphold the cause of humanity.

Reference has been made to the dreadful operations which the new system of
horse management has introduced. The cautery lesions are more numerous
and severe than they used to be, in too many of our establishments. The
injuries of the feet and legs are severe in proportion to the increased pace and
labour, for where the animal machine is urged beyond its power, and the
torture continues until the limb or the whole constitution utterly fails, the
lesions must be deep, and the torture must be dreadful, by means of which the
poor slave is rendered capable of returning to renewed exertion.

There is no truth so easily proved, or so painfully felt by the postmaster, at
least in his pocket, as that it is the pace that kills. A horse at a dead pull, or at
the beginning of his exertion, is enabled, by the force of his muscles, to throw a
certain weight into the collar. If he walks four milesin the hour, some part of
that muscular energy must be expended in the act of walking ; and, conse-
quently, the power of drawing must be proportionably diminished. If he trot
ten miles in the hour, more animal power is expended in the trot, and less
remains for the draught ; but the draught continues the same, and, to enable
him to accomplish his work, he must tax his energies to a serious degree. Skil-
ful breeding, and high health, and stimulating food, and a very limited time of

 

* Nimrod on the Chase, the Road, and the Turf, p. 98.
THE COACH HORSE. 97

work, can alone enable him to endure the labour long, on the supposition that
the system which has just been described is resorted to. But the coach pro-
prietor is not always sufficiently enlightened, or good-hearted, to see on which
side his interest lies ; and then the work is accomplished by the overstrained
exertion—the injury—the torture—the destruction of the team, That which
is true of the coach-horse is equally so of every other. Let the reader apply it
to his own animal, and act as humanity and interest dictate.

Many a horse used on the public roads is unable to throw all his natural
power or weight into the collar. He is tender-footed—lame 3 but he is bought
at little price, and he is worked on the brutal and abominable principle, that he
may be “whipped sound.” And so, apparently, he is. At first he sadly halts ;
but, urged by the torture of the lash, he acquires a peculiar habit of going. The
faulty limb appears to keep pace with the others, but no stress or labour is
thrown upon it, and he gradually contrives to make the sound limbs perform
among them all the duties of the unsound one; and thus he is barbarously
“whipped sound,” and cruelty is undeservedly rewarded.

After all, however, what has been done? Three legs are made to do that
which was almost too hard a task for four. Then they must be most inju-
tiously strained, and soon worn out, and the general power of the animal must
be rapidly exhausted, and, at no great distance of time, disease and death
release him from his merciless persecutors.

It is said, that between Glasgow and Edinburgh, a carrier in a single horse
cart, weighing about seven hundredweight, will take a load of a ton, and at the
rate of twenty-two miles in a day. The Normandy carriers travel with a tcam
of four horses, and from fourteen to twenty-two miles ina day, with a load of
ninety hundred weight.

An unparalleled instance of the power of a horse when assisted by art, was
shown near Croydon. The Surrey iron railway being completed, a wager was laid
between two gentlemen, that a moderate-sized horse could draw thirty-six tons
six miles along the road—that he should draw the weight from a dead pull, as
well as turn it round the occasional windings of the road. A numerous party of
gentlemen assembled near Merstham to see this extraordinary triumph of art.
Twelve waggons laden with stones, each waggon weighing above three tons,
were chained together, and a horse, taken promiscuously from the timber carts
of Mr. Harwood, was yoked to the train. He started from the Fox public-
house, near Merstham, and drew the immense chain of waggons, with apparent
ease, almost to the turnpike at Croydon, a distance of six miles, in one hour and
forty-one minutes, which is nearly at the rate of four miles an hour. In the
course of the journey he was stopped four times, to show that it was not by any
advantage of descent that this power was acquired; and after each stoppage he
again drew off the chain of waggons with perfect ease. Mr. Banks, who had
wagered on the power of the horse, then desired that four other loaded waggons
should he added to the cavalcade, with which the same horse again started and with
undiminished pace. Still further to show the effect of the railway in facilitating
motion, he directed the attending workmen, to the number of fifty, to mount on
the waggons, and the horse proceeded without the least distress ; and, in truth,
there appeared to be scarcely any limitation to the power of his draught. After
the trial the waggons were taken to the weighing-machine, and it appeared
that the whole weight was as follows :—

TON. CWT. QR.
Twelve Waggons first linked together . . 38 4 2
Four Ditto, afterwards attached . . sxe AS) 2 0
Supposed weight of fifty labourers 2 . . 4 0 0

55 6
93 THE DIFEERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

HEAVY DRAUGHT HORSES.

The Cleveland horses have been known to carry more than seven hundred
pounds sixty miles in twenty-four hours, and -to perform this journey four
times in a week ; and mill-horses have carried nine hundred and ten pounds two
or three miles. .

Horses for slower draught, and sometimes even for the carriage, are produced
from the SurrouK Puncu, so called on account of his round punchy form. Heis
descended from the Norman stallion and the Suffolk cart mare. The true Suffolk,

 

THE SUFFOLK PUNCH.

like the Cleveland, is now nearly extinct. It stood from fifteen to sixteen hands
high, of a sorrel colour; was large headed ; low shouldered, and thick on the
withers ; deep and round chested ; long backed ; high in the croup ; large and
strong in the quarters; full in the flanks; round in the legs; and short in the
pasterns. It was the very horse to throw his whole weight into the collar, with
sufficient activity to do it effectually and hardihood to stand a long day’s work.

The present breed possesses many of the peculiarities and good qualities of its
ancestors. It is more or less inclined to a sorrel colour; it is a taller horse ;
higher and finer in the shoulders; and is across with the Yorkshire half or
three-fourths bred.

The excellence, and a rare one, of the old Suffolk—the new breed has not
quite lost it—consisted in nimbleness of action, and the honesty and continuance
with which he would exert himself at a dead pull. Many a good draught-horse
inows well what he can effect ; and, after he has attempted it and failed, no
torture of the whip will induce him to strain his powers beyond their natural
extent. The Suffolk, however, would tug at a dead pull until he dropped. It
was beautiful to see a team of true Suffolks, at a signal from the driver, and
without the whip, down on their knees in a moment, and drag everything before
them. Brutal wagers were frequently laid as to their power in this respect, and
THE HEAVY DRAUGHT HORSE. 99

many a good team was injured and ruined. The immense power of the Suffolk
is accounted for by the low position of the shoulder, which enables him to throw
so much of his weight into the collar.

Although the Punch is not what he was, and the Suffolk and Norfolk farmer
can no longer boast of ploughing more land in a day than any one else, this is
undoubtedly a valuable breed.

The Duke of Richmond obtained many excellent carriage horses, with
strength, activity, and figure, by crossing the Suffolk with one of his best hunters.

The Suffolk breed is in great request in the neighbouring counties of Norfolk
and Essex. Mr. Wakefield, of Barnham in Essex, had a stallion for which he
was offered four hundred guineas.

The Crypespaxe is a good kind of draught horse, and particularly for
farming business and in a hilly country. It derives its name from the district
on the Clyde, in Scotland, where it is principally bred. The Clydesdale horse
owes its origin to one of the Dukes of Hamilton, who crossed some of the best
Lanark mares with stallions that he had brought from Flanders, The Clydes-
dale is larger than the Suffolk, and has a better head, a longer neck, a lighter
carcase, and deeper legs; he is strong, hardy, pulling true, and rarely restive.
The southern parts of Scotland are principally supplied from this district 3 and
many Clydesdales, not only for agricultural purposes, but for the coach and the
saddle, find their way to the central, and even southern counties of England.
Dealers from almost every part of the United Kingdom attend the markets of
Glasgow and Rutherglen.

Mr. Low says that “the Clydesdale horse as it is now bred is usually sixteen
hands high. The prevailing colour is black, but the brown or bay is common,
and is continually gaining upon the other, and the grey is not unfrequently
produced. ‘They are longer in the body than the English black horse, and less
weighty, compact and muscular, but they step out more freely,and have a more
useful action for ordinary labour. They draw steadily, and are usually free
from vice. The long stride, characteristic of the breed, is partly the result of
conformation, and partly of habit and training; but, however produced, it adds
greatly to the usefulness of the horse, both on the road and in the fields. No
such loads are known to be drawn, at the same pace, by any horses in the king-
dom, as in the single-horse carts of carriers and others in the West of Scotland*.”

In the opinion of this gentleman, “ the Clydesdale horses, although inferior in
weight and physical strength to the black horse, and in figure and showy action

to the better class of the draught horses of Northumberland and Durham, yet
possess properties which render them exceedingly valuable for all ordinary uses.
On the road they perform tasks that can scarcely be surpassed, and in the fields
they are found steady, docile, and safet.”

Tue Heavy Brack Honrss is the last variety it may be necessary to notice.
It is bred chiefly in the midland counties from Lincolnshire to Staffordshire.
Many are bought up by the Surrey and Berkshire farmers at two years old,—and,
being worked moderately until they are four, earning their keep all the while,
they are then sent to the London market, and sold at a profit of ten or twelve

er cent.
: It would not answer the breeder’s purpose to keep them until they are fit
for town work. He has plenty of fillies and mares on his farm for every purpose
that he can require ; he therefore sells them to a person nearer the metropolis,
by whom they are gradually trained and prepared. The traveller has probably
wondered to sce four of these enormous animals in a line before a plough, on no
very heavy soil, and where two lighter horses would have been quite sufficient.
The farmer is training them for their future destiny ; and he does right in not

* Low’s Ilustrations, p. 45. + Ib. p. 46.
H2
100 THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES,

requiring the exertion of all their strength, for their bones are not yet perfectly
formed, nor their joints knit; and were he to urge them too severely, he
would probably injure and deform them. By the gentle and constant exercise
of the plough, he is preparing them for that continued and equable pull at the
collar which is afterwards so necessary. These horses are adapted more for
parade and show, and to gratify the desire which one brewer has to outvie
his neighbour, than for any peculiar utility. They are certainly noble-looking
animals, with their round fat carcases, and their sleck coats, and the evident
pride which they take in themselves; but they eat a great deal of hay and
corn, and, at hard and long-continued work, they would be completely beaten by
a team of active muscular horses an inch and a half lower.

The only plea which can be urged in their favour, beside their noble appear-
ance, is, that as shaft-horses, over the badly-paved streets of the metropolis, and
with the immense loads they often have behind them, great bulk and weight
are necessary to stand the unavoidable battering and shaking. Weight must
be opposed to weight, or the horse would sometimes be quite thrown off his legs.
A large heavy horse must be in the shafts, and then little ones before him would
not look well.

Certainly no one has walked the streets of London without pitying the poor
thill-horse, jolted from side to side, and exposed to many a bruise, unless, with
admirable cleverness, he accommodates himself to every motion; but, at the
same time, it must be evident, that bulk and fat do not always constitute strength,
and that a compact muscular horse, approaching to sixteen hands high, would
acquit himself far better in such a situation. The dray-horse, in the mere act
of ascending from the wharf, may display a powerful effort, but he afterwards
makes little exertion, much of his force being expended in transporting his own
overgrown carcase. 2

This horse was selected from the noble stock of dray-horses belonging to
Messrs. Barclay, Perkins, and Co., London, by the author’s friend, Mr. E. Braby.

 
THE HEAVY DRAUGHT HORSE. 101

While he is a fine specimen of this breed, he affords a singular illustration
of the mode of breeding often practised with respect to these horses and
the education which they undergo. He was bred in Leicestershire—his grand-
sire was a Flanders-bred horse, and his grand-dam a Wiltshire mare,—his sire
was a Wiltshire horse, and his dam a Berkshire mare. At two and a halt
years old he was sold to a farmer and dealer in Berkshire, on whose grounds he
was worked until he was four and a half years old. He was then sold at
Abingdon fair to the dealer from whom Messrs. Barclay purchased him,

These heavy horses, however, are bred in the highest perfection, as to size, in
the fens of Lincolnshire, and few of them are less than seventeen hands high at
two and a half years old. Neither the soil, nor the produce of the soil, is better
than in other counties ; on the contrary, much of the lower part of Lincolnshire
is a cold, hungry clay. The true explanation of the matter is, that there are
certain situations better suited than others to different kinds of farming, and the
breeding of different animals ; and that not altogether depending on richness of
soil or pasture. The principal art of the farmer is, to find out what will best
suit his soil, and make the produce of it most valuable.

The Lincolnshire colts are also sold to the Wiltshire and Berkshire dealers,
as are those that are bred in Warwickshire and Berkshire, at two years, or
sometimes only one year old, and worked until the age of four or five years.

A dray-horse should have a broad breast, and thick and upright shoulders,
(the more upright the collar stands on him the better,) a low forehand, deep
and round barrel, loins broad and high, ample quarters, thick fore-arms and
thighs, short legs, round hoofs broad at the heels, and soles not too flat. The
great fault of the large dray-horse is his slowness. This is so much in the
breed, that even the discipline of the ploughman, who would be better pleased
to get through an additional rood in the day, cannot permanently quicken him.
Surely the breeder might obviate this. Let a dray-mare be selected, as perfect
as can be obtained. Let her be put to the strongest, largest, most compact,
thorough-bred horse. If the produce is a filly, let her be covered by a superior
dray-horse, and the result of this cross, if a colt, will be precisely the animal
required to breed from.

The largest of this heavy breed of black horses are used as dray-horses. The
next in size are sold as waggon-horses ; and asmaller variety, and with more
blood, constitutes a considerable part of our cavalry, and is likewise devoted to
undertakers’ work*.

All our heavy draught horses, and some even of the lighter kind, have been
lately much crossed by the Flanders breed, and with evident improvement.
Little has been lost in depth and bulk of carcase ; but the forehand has been
raised, the legs have been flattened and deepened, and very much has been gained
in activity. The slow heavy black, with his two miles and a half an hour, has
been changed into a lighter, but yet exceedingly powerful horse, that will
step four miles in the same time, with perfect ease, and has considerably more
endurance. ,

This is the very system, as already described, which has been adopted, and
with so much success, in the blood-horse, and has made the English racer
and hunter, and the English horse generally, what they are. As the racer is

 

* Mr. Bell, in his “History of British
Quadrupeds,” very truly observes, that “the
docility of this breed is as complete, although
not perhaps so showy, as that of the lighter and
more active kinds ; and few persons can have
long walked the streets of the nietropolis,
without witnessing the complete control which

the draymen exercise over their gigantic horses,
T have often watched the facility with which
one of them will back a waggon into a narrow
street or archway, but a few inches wider than
the vehicle itself, and guided only by the voice
of the carman, aided perhaps by a few slight
movements of his hand.’’
102 THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

principally or purely of Eastern origin, so has the English draught horse sprung
chiefly from Flemish blood, and to that blood the agriculturist has recourse
for the perfection of the breed. For the dray, the spirit waggon, and not too
heavy loads, and for road work generally, a cross with the Flanders will be
advantageous ; but if the enormous heavy horse must be used in the coal-
waggon, or the dray, we must leave our midland black, with all his unwieldy
bulk untouched.

As an ordinary beast of lighter draught, and particularly in the neighbour-
hood of London, the worn-out hackney and the refuse of the coach, and even of
the hackney-coach, is used. In the hay-markets of Whitechapel and Camden
Town are continually seen wretched teams, that would disgrace the poorest
district of the poorest country. The small farmer in the vicinity of the
metropolis, himself strangely inferior to the small farmer elsewhere, has too
easy access to that sink of cruelty, Smithfield, They who are unacquainted with
this part of the country, would scarcely think it possible, that on the forests and
commons within a few miles of London, as many ragged, wild, mongrel horses
are to be found, as in any district of the United Kingdom, and a good horse is
seavcely by any chance bred there.

GALLOWAYS AND PONIES.

A horse between thirteen and fourteen hands in height is called a Ganoway,
from a beautiful breed of little horses once found in the south of Scotland, on
the shore of the Solway Firth, but now sadly degenerated, and almost lost,
through the attempts of the farmer to obtain a larger kind, and better adapted
for the purposes of agriculture. There is a tradition in that country, that the
breed is of Spanish extraction, some horses having escaped from one of the
vessels of the Grand Armada, that was wrecked on the neighbouring coast.
This district, however, so early as the time of Edward I., supplied that monarch
with a great number of horses.

The pure galloway was said to be nearly fourteen hands high, and sometimes
more; of a bright bay, or brown, with black legs, small head and neck, and
peculiarly deep and clean legs. It qualities were speed, stoutncss, and sure-
footedness over a very rugged and mountainous country.

Some remains of the old galloways are still to be met with in the Isle of
Mull; but they are altogether neglected, and fast degenerating from admixture
with inferior breeds.

Dr. Anderson thus describes the galloway :—“ There was once a breed of
small elegant horses in Scotland, similar to those of Iceland and Sweden, and
which were known by the name of galloways; the best of which sometimes
reached the height of fourteen hands and a half. One of this description I
possessed, it having been bought for my use when a boy. In point of elegance
of shape it was a perfect picture ; and in disposition was gentle and compliant.
It moved almost with a wish, and never tired. I rode this little creature for
twenty-five years, and twice in that time I rode a hundred and fifty miles at
a stretch, without stopping, except to bait, and that not for above an hour at
atime. It came in at the last stage with as much ease and alacrity as it tra-
velled the first. JI could have undertaken to have performed on this beast,
when it was in its prime, sixty miles a day for a twelvemonth, running without
any extraordinary exertion.”

In 1754, Mr. Corker’s galloway went one hundred miles a day, for three
successive days, over the Newmarket course, and without the slightest distress.

A galloway, belonging to Mr. Sinclair, of Kirby-Lonsdale, performed at
Carlisle the extraordinary feat of a thousand miles in a thousand hours.
GALLOWAYS AND PONIES. 103

Many of the galloways now in use are procured either from Wales or the
New Forest ; but they have materially diminished in number.

Old Marsk, before his value was known, contributed to the improvement of
the Hampshire breed; and the Welsh ponies are said to be indebted to the
celebrated Merlin for much of their form and qualities,

The modern New-foresters, notwithstanding their Marsk blood, are generally
ill-made, large-headed, short-necked, and ragged-hipped; but hardy, safe, and
useful, with much of their ancient spirit and speed, and all their old paces. The
catching of these ponies is as great a trial of skill as the hunting of the wild

horse on the Pampas of South America, and a greater one of patience.
The Welsh pony is one of the most beautiful little animals that can be
imagined. He has a small head, high withers, deep yet round barrel, short

joints, flat legs, and good round fect.
tire *.

He will live on any fare, and will never

A great many ponies of little value used to be reared on the Wildmoor fens,

in the neighbourhood of Boston, in Lincolnshire.

They seldom reached thirteen

hands ; the head was large and the forehand low, the back straight, the leg
flat and good; but the foot, even for a Lincolnshire pony, unnaturally large.

 

* Pony-hunting used to be one of the fa-
vourite amusements of the Welsh farmers and
peasantry, a century and a half ago, and it has
not, even now, fallen altogether into disuse.
The following story of one of these expeditions
is founded on fact :—

“A farmer named Hugo Garonwy, lived in
the neighbourhood of Lilweyn Georie. Al-
though he handled the small tilt plough, and
other farming tools in their due season, yet
the catching of the merlyn, the fox, and
the hare, were more congenial pursuits ; and
the tumbles and thumps which he received,
and from which no pony-hunter was exempt,
served but to attach him to the sport. Rugged,
however, as the Merioneddshire coast and its
environs were, and abounding with precipices
and morasses, he sometimes experienced worse
mishaps—and so it happened with Garonwy.

‘« He set out one morning with his lasso
coiled round bis waist, and attended by two
hardy dependants and their greyhounds. ‘The
lasso was then familiar to the Welshman, and
as adroitly managed by him as by any guaco on
the plains of South America, As the hunters
climbed the mountain’s brow, the distant herd
of ponies took alarm—sometimes galloping
onwards, and then suddenly halting and wheel-
ing round, snorting as if in defiance of the in-
truders, and furiously pawing the ground.
Garonwy, with the assistance of his servants
and the greyhounds, contrived to coop them up
in a corner of the hills, where perpendicular
rocks prevented their escape.

“+ Already had he captured three of the most
beautiful little fellows in the world, which he
expected to sell for 4/. or 5/. each at the next
Bala fair—to him a considerable sum, and
amounting to a fourth of the annual rent
which he paid for his sheep-walk. There re-
mained, however, one most untameable crea-
ture, whose crested mane, and flowing tail, and
wild eye, and distended nostril, showed that he

was a perfect Bucephalus of the hills; nor, in-
deed, was it safe to attack him in the ordinary
way. Many of the three-year-olds had been
known to break the legs of their pursuers, and
some had been dismounted and trampled to
death.

‘‘Garonwy was determined to give the
noble fellow a chase over the hills, and so over-
cotne him by fatigue before the lasso was
flung. The dogs were unslipped, and off they
went, swift as the winds, Garonwy following,
and the two assistants posted on a neighbous-
ing eminence. Vain was the effort to tire the
merlyn. Hugo, naturally impatient, and
without waiting to ascertain that the cojis
were all clear, flung the lasso over the head
of the wild horse. The extremity of the cord
was twisted round his own body, and tighten-
ing as the animal struggled, the compression
became unsupportable, and, at length, in spite
of every effort to disengage himself, Garonwy
was dragged from his horse.

“The affrighted merlyn finding himself
manacled by the rope, darted off with all the
speed of which he was capable, dragging poor
Garouwy over the rocky ground and stunted
brushwood. This occurred at some distance
from the men. They called in their dogs that
the speed of the merlyn might not be in-
creased, but ere they could arrive at the spot
at which the accident happened, the horse and
the man had vanished. Whether the sufferings
of the hunter were protracted, or he was dashed
against some friendly rock at the commence.
ment of this horrible race, was never known ;
but the wild animal, frenzied and -blinded by
terror, rushed over a beetling cliff, at a consj-
derable distance, overhanging the sea-shore,
and the hunter and the horse were found at
the bottom, » mis-shapen semblance of what
they had been when living.” —Cambrian
Quarterly Magazine.
104 THE DIFFERENT BREEDS OF ENGLISH HORSES.

They were applied to very inferior purposes even on the fens, and were
unequal to hard and flinty and hilly roads. The breed became generally
neglected, and, at no very distant time, will be almost extinct.

The Eamoor ponies, although generally ugly enough, are hardy and useful.
A well-known sportsman says, that he rode one of them half-a-dozen miles,
and never felt such power and action in so small a compass before. To show
his accomplishments, he was turned over a gate at least eight inches higher
than his back ; and his owner, who rides fourteen stone, travelled on him from
Bristol to South Molton, eighty-six miles, beating the coach which runs the
same road.

The horses which are still used in Devonshire, and particularly in the
western and southern districts, under the denomination of Pack-Horsgs, arc
a larger variety of the Exmoor or Dartmoor breed. The saddle-horses of
Devoushire are mostly procured from the more eastern counties.

There are still some farms in the secluded districts in that beautiful part of
the kingdom on which there is not a pair of wheels. Hay, corn, straw, fuel,
stones, dung, lime, are carried on horseback ; and in harvest, sledges drawn by
oxen and horses are employed. This was probably, in early times, the mode of
conveyance throughout the kingdom ; but it is now rapidly getting into disuse
even in Devonshire.

There is on Dartmoor a race of ponies much in request in that vicinity,
being sure-footed and hardy, and admirably calculated to scramble over the
rough roads and dreary wilds of that mountainous district. The Dartmoor pony
is larger than the Exmoor, and, if possible, uglier. He exists there almost in a
stateofnature. The late Captain Colgrave, governor of the prison, had agreat desire
to possess one of them of somewhat superior figure to its fellows ; and, having
several men to assist him, they separated it from the herd. They drove it on
some rocks by the side of a tor (an abrupt pointed hill). A man followed on
horseback, while the captain stood below watching the chase. The little
animal being driven into a corner, leaped completely over the man and horse,
and escaped.

The Highland pony is far inferior to the galloway. The head is large; he
is low before, long in the back, short in the legs, upright in the pasterns, rather
slow in his paces, and not pleasant to ride, except in the canter. His habits
make him hardy; for he is rarely housed in the summer or the winter. The
Rev. Mr. Hall, in his “‘ Travels in Scotland,” says, “ that when these animals
come to any boggy piece of ground, they first put their nose to it, and then
pat on it in a peculiar way with one of their fore-feet; and from the sound
and feel of the ground, they know whether it will bear them. They do the
same with ice, and determine in a minute whether they will proceed.”

The Shetland pony, called in Scotland sheltie, an inhabitant of the extremest
northern Scottish Isles, is a very diminutive animal—sometimes not more than
seven hands and a half in height, and rarely exceeding nine and a half.

He is often exceedingly beautiful, with a small head, good-tempered coun-
tenance, a short neck, fine towards the throttle, shoulders low and thick—in so
little a creature far from being a blemish—back short, quarters expanded and
powerful, legs flat and fine, and pretty round feet. These ponies possess immense
strength for their size’; will fatten upon almost anything ; and are perfectly
docile. One of them, nine hands (or three feet) in height, carried a man of
twelve stone forty miles in one day.

A friend of the author was, not long ago, presented with one of these elegant
little animals. He was several miles from home, and puzzled how to convey
his newly-acquired property. The Shetlander was scarcely more than seven
hands high, and as docile as he was beautiful. “Can we not carry him in your
* THE [RISH HORSE. 105

chaise?” said his friend. ‘The strange experiment was tried The sheltie was
placed in the bottom of the gig, and covered up as well as could be managed
with the apron; a few bits of bread kept him quiet; and thus he was safely
conveyed away, and exhibited the curious spectacle of a horse viding in a gig.

 

Evans 4 as werd,

THE SHETLAND PONY.

In the southern parts of the kingdom the Shetlanders have a very pleasing
appearance harnessed to a light garden-chair, or carrying an almost baby-rider.
There are several of them now running in Windsor Park.

THE IRISH HORSE.

In some of the rich grazing counties, as Meath and Roscommon, a large, iong
blood-horse is reared, of considerable value. He seldom has the elegance of
the English horse; he is larger-headed, more leggy, ragged-hipped, angular,
yet with great power in the quarters, much depth beneath the knee, stout and
hardy, full of fire and courage, and an excellent leaper. It is not, however,
the leaping of the English horse, striding as it were over a low fence, and
stretched at his full length over a higher one: it is the proper jump of the
deer, beautiful to look at, difficult to sit, and, both in height and extent,
onequalled by the English horse.

The common Irish horse is generally smaller than the English. He is stinted
in his growth; for the poverty and custom of the country have imposed upon
him much hard work at a time when he is unfit for labour of any kind. He is
also deficient in speed.

There are very few horses in the agricultural districts of Ireland exclusively
devoted to draught. The minute division of the farms renders it impossible
for them to be kept. The occupier even of a good Irish farm wants a horse
that shall carry him to market, and draw his small car, and perform every
kind of drudgery—a horse of all-work; therefore the thorough draught-horse,
whether Leicester or Suffolk, is rarely found
106 THE ZOOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE HORSE.

If we look to the commerce of Ireland, there are few stage-waggons, or
drays with large cattle belonging to them, but almost everything is done by
one-horse carts. In the north of Ireland some stout horses are employed in
the carriage of linen; but the majority of the garrons used in agriculture or
commercial pursuits are miserable and half-starved animals, In the north it
is somewhat better. There is a native breed in Ulster, hardy, and sure-footed,
but with little pretension to beauty or speed*.

 

CHAPTER V.
THE ZOOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE HORSE.

ie

Tuere are so many thousand species of living beings, some so much resem-
bling each other, and others so strangely and altogether different, that it would
have been impossible to have arranged them in any order, or to have given any
description that could be understood, had not naturalists agreed on certain
peculiarities of form which should characterise certain classes, and other lesser
peculiarities again subdividing these classes.

The first division of animals is into vertebrated and invertebrated.

Vertebrated animals are those which have a cranium, or bony cavity contain-
ing the brain, and a succession of bones called the spine, and the divisions of it
named vertebre, proceeding from the cranium, and containing a prolongation of
the brain, denominated the spinal marrow.

Invertebrated animals are those which have no vertebra.

The horse, then, belongs to the division vertebrated, because he has a cranium
or skull, and a spine or range of vertebre proceeding from it.

The vertebrated animals are exceedingly numerous. ‘They include man,
quadrupeds of all kinds, birds, fishes, and many reptiles. We naturally look
for some subdivision, and a very simple line of distinction is soon presented.
Certain of these vertebrated animals have mamme or teats, with which the
females suckle their young. The human female has two, the mare has two,
the cow four, the bitch ten or twelve, and the sow more than twelve.

This class of vertebrated animals having mamme or teats is called mammalia;
and the horse belongs to the division vertebrata, and the class mammalia.

* Pinkerton, in the second volume of his

naturedly and well; but we were now come to
Travels, gives a curious account of the state of

a difficult part of the road, even the top of a

the Irish horses in the island of Raghery, on
the northern coast of Antrim, early in the last
century. A government survey of the coast
was taken at that time. ‘‘ You must know,”
says the writer, “that it was but the other
day that the people of Raghery recollected that
a road might be of some convenience to them,
so that in our excursion we were obliged to
follow the old custom of riding over precipices
that would not appear contemptible even to a
man that enjoyed the use of his legs. It
seems that my horse, though fifteen or sixteen
years old, bad never before felt a bridle in his
mouth. He had, however, borne it good-

very rugged precipice. He was evidently
frightened, and after many attempts to shake
off his fear, he refused to proceed another step.
The reasoning process in his mind was evident
enough, and often amused me afterwards :—
‘You may have your whim when you cannot
do either you or myself much harm, but I do
not choose to risk my neck for you or for any
one.’ The bridle was taken off, he selected
his own path, and the rider was carried over an
exceedingly dangerous heap of rocks, with 2
degree of caution which Mr. Pinkerton could
not help admiring in the midst of his terror.”
THE ZOOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION OF THE HORSE. 107

The class mammalia is still exceedingly large, and we must again subdivide
it. It is stated (Library of Entertaining Knowledge, vol. i. p. 18) that “this
poe of quadrupeds, or mammiferous quadrupeds, admits of a division into two

vibes.

“J. Those whose extremities are divided into fingers or toes, scientifically
called unguiculata, from the Latin word for nail; and II. "Those whose
extremities are hoofed, scientifically called ungulata, from the Latin word for
hoof. .

“The extremities of the first are armed with claws or nails, which enable
them to grasp, to climb, or to burrow. The extremities of the second tribe are
employed merely to support and move the body.”

The extremities of the horse are covered with a hoof by which the body is
supported, and with which he cannot grasp anything, and therefore he belongs
to the tribe ungulata or hoofed. e

But there isa great variety of hoofed animals. The elephant, the rhinoceros,
the hippopotamus, the swine, the horse, the sheep, the deer, and many others,
are ungulated or hoofed ; they admit, however, of an easy division. Some of
them masticate, or chew their food, and it is immediately received into the
stomach and digested ; but in others the food, previous to digestion, undergoes
avery singular process. It is returned to the mouth to be remasticated, or
chewed again. These are called ruminantia, or ruminants, from the food being
returned from one of the stomachs (for they have four), called the sumen cr
paunch, for the purpose of remastication.

The unguluta that do not ruminate are, somewhat improperly, called pachy-
dermata, from the thickness of their skins. The horse does not ruminate, and
therefore belongs to the order pachydermata.

The pachydermata who have only one toe belong to the family solipeda—
single-footed. Therefore the horse ranks under the division vertebrata—the
class mammalia—the tribe ungulata—the order pachydermata—and the family
solipeda.

The solipeda consist of several species, as the horse, the ass, the mule, and
the quagga.

First stands the Equus Casatuus, or Common Horss.

Animals are likewise distinguished according to the number, description, and
situation of their teeth. The horse has six incisors or cutting teeth in the
front of each jaw ; and one canine tooth or tusk.

On each side, above and below—at some distance from the incisors, and
behind the canines, and with some intervening space—are six molar teeth, or
grinders; and these molar teeth have flat crowns, with ridges of enamel, and
that enamel penetrating into the substance of the tooth.

The whole is thus represented by natural historians :—

Horse.—Incisors os canines i molar oe, Total, forty teeth.

To this short chapter we may properly append Tue SEELETON oF THE
House.
108 THE SKELETON OF THE HORSE.

 

A The Head.

a The posterior maxillary or under jaw. A

& The superior maxillary or upper jaw. A little lower down than the letter is a foramen,
through which pass the nerves and blood-vessels which chiefly supply the lower part
of the face.

c The orbit, or cavity containing the eye.

d The nasal boncs, or bones of the nose.

e The suture dividing the parietal bones below from the occipital bones above.

Ff The inferior maxillary bone, containing the upper incisor teeth.

B The Seven Cervical Vertebrze, or bones of the neck.

C The Eighteen Dorsal Vertebrz, or bones of the back.

D The Six Lumbar Vertebre, or bones of the loins.

E The Five Sacral Vertebre, or bones of the haunch.

F The Caudal Vertebra, or bones of the tail, generally about fifteen.

G The Scapula, or shoulder-blade.

H The Sternum, or fore-part of the chest.

I The Costz or ribs, seven or eight articulating with the sternum, and called the ¢rue ribs,
and ten or eleven united together by cartilage, called the false ribs.

J The Humerus, or upper bone of the arm.

K The Radius, or upper bone of the arm.

L The Ulna, or elbow. The point of the elbow is called the Olecranon.

M Tho Carpus or knee, consisting of seven bones.

N The metacarpal bones. The larger metacarpal or cannon or shank in front, and the smaller
metacarpal or splent bone behind.

g The fore pastern and foot, consisting of the Os Suffraginis, or the upper and larger pastern
bone, with the sesamoid bones behind, articulating with the cannon and greater
pastern ; the Os Coronz, or lesser pastern; the Os Pedis or coffin bone 3 and the Os
Naviculare, or navicular, or shuttle-bone, not seen, and articulating with the smaller
pastern and coffin bones.

h The corresponding bones of the hind-teet.

O The Haunch, consisting of three portions, the Ilium, the Ischium, and the Pubis.

P The Femur or thigh.

Q The stifle joint with the Patella.

R The Tibia or proper leg bone—behind is a small bone called the fibula,

S The Tarsus or hock, composed of six bones. The prominent part ie the Os Calcis, or point
of the hock.

T The Metatarsals of the hind leg
THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION. 109

CHAPTER VI.
THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION.

—-e—

Beavtirur as is the horse, and identified so much with our pleasure and our
profit, he has been the object of almost universal regard; and there are few
persons who do not pretend to be somewhat competent judges of his form
qualities, and worth. From the nobleman, with his numerous and valuable
stud, to the meanest helper in the stable, there is scarcely a man who would
not be offended if he were thought altogether ignorant of horse-flesh. There is
no subject on which he is so positive ; there is no subject on which, generally
speaking, he is so deficient ; and there are few horses on some points of which
these pretended and self-sufficient judges would not give a totally opposite
opinion.

The truth is, that this supposed knowledge is rarely founded on principle, or
the result of the slightest acquaintance with the actual structure of the animal
—the form and connexion of parts on which strength, or fleetness, or stoutness,
must necessarily depend.

In speaking of the structure of this animal, and the points which guide the
opinion of real judges of him, we shall, as briefly and as simply as we are able,
explain those fundamental principles on which his usefulness and beauty must
depend. We require one kind of horse for slow and heavy draught, and another
for lighter and quicker work ; one as a pleasant and safe roadster—another, with
more speed and equal continuance, as a hunter—and another still is wanted for
the race-course. What is the peculiarity of structure—what are the particular
points that will fit each for his proper business, and, to a certain degree, unfit
him for everything else? The farmer will require a horse of all-work, that can
carry him to market and take him round his farm—on which he can occasion-
ally ride for pleasure, and which he must sometimes degrade to the dung-cart
or the harrow. What combination of powers will enable the animal to discharge
most of these duties well, and all of them to a certain extent profitably ?

Much time spent among horses, an acquired love of them, and a little, some-
times possibly too dearly-bought, experience, may give the agriculturist some
insight into these matters. We will try whether we cannot assist him in this
affair—whether we cannot explain to him the reason why certain points must
be good, and why a horse without them must of necessity be good for nothing.
Perhaps some useful rules may thus be more deeply impressed upon his memory,
or some common but dangerous prejudices may be discarded, and a considerable
degree of error, disappointment, and expense avoided.

If we treat of this at considerable length, let it be remembered that the horse
is our noblest servant, and that, in describing the structure and economy of his
frame, we are in a great measure describing that of other domestic quadrupeds,
and shall hereafter have to speak only of points of difference required by the
different services and uses for which they were destined. And further, let it
be remembered, that it is only by being well acquainted with the structure and
anatomy of the horse that we can appreciate his shape and uses, or understand
the different diseases to which he is liable. It is from the want of this that
much of the mass of ignorance and prejudice which exists as to the diseases
to which he is subject is to be referred.

The nervous system will first pass in review, for it is the moving power of
the whole machine. It consists of the brain, to which all sensation is referred
or carried, and from which all voluntary motion is derived—the spinal cord,
110 THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION.

a prolongation of the brain, and thus connected with sensation and voluntary
motion, governing all the involuntary motions of the frame, and by power from
which the heart beats, and the lungs heave, and the stomach digests; and one
other system of nerves—the ganglionic—presiding over the functions of secretion
and of nutrition, and the repair and the welfare of the frame generally.

The following cut represents the head of the horse divided into the numerous
bones of which it is composed, and the boundaries of each bone clearly marked
by the sutures which connect it with those around.

The upper and broadest part is the cranium or skull in which the brain is
contained and by which it is protected. It is composed of nine bones: the two
frontals, a a; the two parietals, ec; the two temporals, dd; the occipital, g,
and ‘the ethmoid and sphenoid, which will be found delineated at figs. & and J,
and which will be better seen in the cut in the next page.

aa_ The frontal bones, or bones of the forehead.

66 The supra-orbital foramina or holes above the orbit, through
which the nerves and blood-vessels supplying the fore-
head pass out. The small hole beneath receives the
vessels which dip into and supply the bone.

ce The parietal bones, or walls of the skull.

dd _ The temporal bones, or bones of the temples.

ee The zygomatic, or yoke-shaped arch.

Sf f The temporal fossa, or pit above the eye.

gg The occipital bone, or bone of the hinder part of the head.

hh The orbits containing and defending the eye.

i i The lachrymal bones belonging to the conveyance of the
tears from the eyes.

j 7 The nasal bones, or bones of the nose.

kk The malar, or cheek-bones.

¢ ¢ The superior maxillary, or that portion of the upper jaw
containing the molar teeth or grinders.

mm The infra-orbital foramen—a hole below the orbit, through
which pass branches of nerves and blood-vessels to sup-
ply the lower part of the face.

nn The inferior maxillary, the lower part of the upper jaw-
bone—a separate bone in quadrupeds, containing the
incisor or cutting teeth, and the upper tushes at the
point of union between the superior and inferior max-
illaries.

0 The upper incisor or cutting teeth.

p The openings into the nose, with the bones forming the
palate.

 

 

There is an evident intention in this division of the head into so many bones.
When the foetus—the unborn foal—first begins to have life, that which after-
wards becomes bone, is a mere jelly-like substance. This is gradually changed
into a harder material—cartilage ; and, before the birth of the animal, much
of the cartilage is taken away by vessels called absorbents, and bone deposited
in its stead. In flat bones, like those of the head, this deposit takes place in
the centre, and rays or radiations of bone extend thence in every direction.
Then, by having so many bones, there are so many centres of radiation 3 and,
consequently, the formation of bone is carried on so much the more rapidly,
and perfected at the time when the necessities of the animal require it. At the
period of birth, however, this process is not completed, but the edges of the
bones remain somewhat soft and pliant, and therefore, in parturition, they
yield a little and overlap each other, and thus, by rendering the birth more
easy, they save the mother much pain, and contribute to the safety of the foal.

The first of these bones, or the first pair of them, occupying the broad expanse
of the forehead, are called the frontal bones, aa. They are united together by

a most curious and intricate dove-tailing, to defend from injury the brain which
< THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION, 111

lies beneath the upper part of them. Lower down, and where the cavity of the
nose is to be defended, their union is sufficient, but far less complicated. Thus,
at first starting, there is an evident proof of design, an illustration of that
adaptation to circumstances which will again and again present itself in the
most interesting points of view. Peculiar strength of union is given where a
most important organ is to be defended—the suture is there intricate and laboured.
Where less important parts are covered, it is of a far simpler character.

Few things more clearly indicate the breed or blood of the horse than the
form of the frontal bones. Who has not remarked the broad angular forehead
of the blood horse, giving him a beautiful expression of intelligence and fire,
and the face gradually tapering from the forehead to the muzzle, contrasted
with the large face of the cart or dray-horse, and the forehead scarcely wider
than the face ? :

At f, between the frontal bones, is the pit or cavity above the eye, and by the
depth of which we form some idea of the age of the horse. There is placed at
the back of the eye, a considerable quantity of fatty substance, on which it may
revolve easily and without friction. In aged horses, and in diseases attended
with general loss of condition, much of this disappears; the eye becomes
sunken, and the pit above it deepens. It is said that some of the lower class of
horse-dealers puncture the skin, and, with a tobacco pipe or small tube blow
into the orifice, until the depression is almost filled up. This, with the aid of a
bishopped tooth, may give a false appearance of youth, that will remain during
some hours, and may deceive the unwary, but the trickery may easily be
detected by pressing on the part.

These bones, however, are not solid, but a considerable portion of them is
composed of two plates receding from each other, and leaving numerous and
large vacuities or cells. These vacuities are called the frontul sinuses. They
are shown in the following cut.

SECTION OF THE HEAD.

 

a The nasal bone, or bone af the nose. i
6 The frontal Gane: The cavitics or cells beneath are called the frontal sinuses.
c The crest or ridge of the parietal bones,

te
112 THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION. .

2 The tentorium or bony separation-between the cerebrum and cerebellum.

e The occipital bone.

f The ligament of the neck, or pack-waa, by which the head is chiefly supported.

g Theatlas, sustaining or carrying. the first bone of the neck.

Ah The dentata, tooth-like, or second bone of the neck.

i The cuneiform, or wedge-shaped process, or base of the occipital bone. Between it and
the other portion of the occipital bone ¢, lies the great foramen 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,

< The ethmoid, sieve-like, 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.

o A portion of the central medullary, marrow-like, substance of the brain, and the prolonga-

tion of it under the name of the crus cerebri, Jeg 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 centre 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.

s The same cut off at the lower part, to show the spongy turbinated, ‘urban-shaped, bones
filling the cavity of the nostril.

t The palate.

uw The molar teeth, or grinders.

v_ The inforior maxillary bone, containing the incisor teeth or uippers. The canine tooth or
tush, is concealed by the tongue.

w The posterior maxillary, or lower jaw with its incisors.

« Tho lips.

y The tongue.

z A portion of the os hyoides, or bone of the tongue, like a Greek u, v.

1 The thyroid, helmet-shaped, cartilage, inclosing and shielding the neigibouring parts.

2 The epiglottis, or covering of the glottis, or aperture of the wind-pipe.

3 The arytenoid, funnel-shaped, cartilages, having between them the aperture leading into
the trachea or wind-pipe.

4 One of the chordew vocales, cords or ligaments concerned in the formation of the voice.

5 The sacculus laryngis, sac or ventricle of the larynx, or throat, to modulate the voice.

6 The trachea or wind-pipe, with its different rings.

7 The soft palate at the back of the mouth, so constructed as almost to prevent the possibility
of vomiting.

8 The opening from the back part of the mouth into the nostril.

9 The cartilage covering the entrance into the eustachian tube, or communication between

the mouth and internal part of the ear.
10 The esophagus, or gullet,
11 The cricoid, ring-like, cartilage, below and behind the thyroid.
12 Muscle of the neck, covered by the membrane of the back part of the mouth.

The sinus on the different sides of the forehead do not communicate with
each other, but with other sinuses in the ethmoid, and sphenoid, and upper
jaw-bones, and also with the cavities of the nose on their respective sides.
These sinuses afford a somewhat increased protection to the brain beneath ;
and by the continuous and slightly projecting line which they form, they give
beauty to the forehead ; but their principal use probably is, like the windings
of the French horn, to increase the clearness and loudness of the neighing. It
will be remarked that they are very irregular in depth, which at one place is
an inch or more.

In the sheep, and occasionally in the ox—rarely in the horse—the larve of
maggots produced by certain species of flies, crawl up the nose, lodge themselves
in these sinuses, and produce intolerable pain.

Veterinary surgeons have availed themselves of these sinuses, to detect the
existence of glanders, that disease so infectious and so fatal. They may sus-
THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION. 11a

pect that a horse respecting which they are consulted is glandered. It is of
great consequence to be sure about this, The safety of the whole team may
depend upon it. It may be a puzzling case. There may be no ulceration of the
nose within sight. The glands under the jaw may not be close to and seemingly
sticking to the bone, which isa common symptom, yet for a considerable time
there may have been a discharge from the nostril, and the horse is out of condi-
tion. On the other hand, some slight ulceration may be detected in the nostril,
but the horse eats well, works well, and is in good plight. Itis possible that
from the closest examination of the animal, no horseman or veterinary surgeon
can give a decided opinion.

If, however, the horse is glandered, there will probably be considerable
ulceration in the upper part of the cavity of the nose, and a collection of matter
there. To ascertain this the veterinary surgeon sometimes makes an opening into
these sinuses. He may do it with perfect safety. On that part of the frontal
bone, which lies between the eye and the pit above it, and above the inner
comer of the eye, there is, on either side, a small depression or hole (see fig. 6,
cut, page 110), which may he easily felt in the living horse. It is what anatumists
call a foramen—the supra-orbital foramen. It gives passage to the blood-vessels
and nerves of the forehead.

Supposing a line to be drawn across the forehead, from one of these depressions
to the other on that line, and about half an inch from the centre of it—it mat-
ters not on which side—the frontal sinuses will be found an inch in depth
(compare fig, 6, pp. 110 and 111). There a perforation may be easily and safely
made. A little way above, the brain would be endangered, and a little below
this line, the cavity of the nose would be pierced. Some warm water may be
injected into this hole, with a common squirt, and it will run out at the nose.
If there is matter in the frontal sinuses, or any part of the cavity of the nose,
below the indirect opening from the sinus into the nose under the superior tur-
binated tone, it will appear mixed with the water, and the owner may be assured
that the horse is glandered ; but if the water flows uncoloured, or simply mixed
with blood or mucus, the horse may be considered as free from this disease.
The thick creamy consistence of pus, its sinking in water, and its capability of
being perfectly, although not readily, mixed with water, will distinguish it suf-
ficiently from the natural discharge from the nose, which is ropy, lighter than
water, and, when mixed with it, still preserves a kind of stringiness.

It was formerly the practice to inject various liquids into the nostrils in this
way for the cure of glanders. Some of them were harmless enough, but others
were cruelly acrid. This practice is now, however, abandoned by the scientific
practitioner ; for it would only be a portion of the cells of the head, and a por-
tion only of the cavity of the nose, and that least likely to be diseased, with
which the fluid could be brought into contact.

As the frontal sinuses are lined by a continuation of the membrane of the
nose, they will sympathise with many of the affections of that cavity ; but the
membrane of the sinuses is susceptible of an inflammation peculiar to itself. The
disease is rare and the cause of it has not been fully ascertained. It is oftenest
metastasis of inflammation of the brain,—shifting of inflammation from the
brain to the membrane of the sinus, or communication of inflammation from the
brain by proximity of situation. :

The attack is usually sudden—the horse is dull, lethargic, and almost as
comatose as in stomach-staggers. The first thing that excites suspicion of the
actual character of the disease, is heat in the situation of the frontal sinus, when
the hand is placed on the forehead. The lethargy soon passes over, and a state
of the highest excitation succeeds. The conjunctiva and the membrane of the
nose are injected —the pulse is quick and hard—the horse becomes violent and

1
>
114 THE SENSORIAL FONCTION.

dangerous; he kicks, plunges, and, half conscious and half unconscious, he
endeavours to do all the mischief that he can. ‘he disease is now evidently
combined with, or is essentially, inflammation of the brain. It is distinguished
from madness by this half-consciousness, and also by his being more disposed
to bite than he is in pure phrenitis.

The disease is usually fatal. It rarely lasts more than eight-and-forty hours.

The post-mortem appearances are, great inflammation of the brain with fre-
quent effusions of blood. The sinuses are sometimes filled with coagulated
blood. The brain seems to be affected just in proportion to the violence which
the animal has exhibited.

The treatment should consist of copious bleeding, application of ice to the
head, blistering the head, and physic. The trephine is scarcely admissible, from
the danger of producing greater irritation.

Sometimes the disease assumes a more chronic form. There is ulceration of
the membrane, but not cerebral affection. A purulent discharge then appears
from the nose, evidently not of a glanderous character, and none of the sub-
maxillary glands are enlarged. In both the acute and chronic form it is usually
confined to one sinus, We are indebted to the late Mr. John Field for the
principal knowledge that we have of this disease*. The inner plate of the
frontal bone covers a considerable portion of the anterior part of the brain, and
it is studded with depressions corresponding with irregularities on the surface
of the brain.

Immediately above the frontal, and extending from the frontal to the poll,
are the parietal bones. They are two, united together by a suture when
the animal is young, but that suture soon becoming obliterated. They have the
occipital, g, p. 110, above, the frontals, a a, below, and the temporals, d d, on
either side. They are of a closer and harder texture than the frontals, because
they are more exposed to injury, and more concerned in defending the brain.

A very sinall portion only of the parietals is naked, and that is composed of
bone even harder than the other part, and with an additional layer of bone rising
in the form of a crest or ridge externally. Every other part of these bones is
covered by a thick mass of muscle, the temporal muscle, which is principally
concerned in chewing the food, but which likewise, by its yielding resistance,
speedily and effectually breaks the force of the most violent blow. A wool-
pack hung over the wall of a fortress, when the enemy is battering to effect a
breach, renders the heaviest artillery almost harmless. So the yielding resist-
ance of the temporal muscle affords a sure defence to the brain, however sudden
or violent may be the blow which falls on the parietal. These benevolent pro-
visions will not be disregarded by the reflecting mind.

On the side of the head, and under the parietals (d d, p. 110) are the tempo-
ral-bones, one on each side, f f. These again are divided into two parts, or consist
of two distinct bones; the petrous portion, so called from its great or stony hard-
ness, and containing the wonderful mechanism of the ear, and the squamous portion
from the appearance of its union with the parietal, overlapping it like a great scale.

From the latter there projects a portion of bone, e, which unites with the frontal,
and forms a strong arch—the zygomatic—distinctly to be felt at the side of the
head immediately above the eye. This arch is designed to protect the upper part
of the lower jaw, the motion of which may very plainly be seen beneath it when
the horse is feeding. It is very strong, and it ought to be, for if it were depressed
or forced inward, the horse would starve. There is one species of violence
which causes this arch to require no common strength; and that is, the brutal
manner in which the collar is often forced over the head.

 

* The Veterinarian, vol. iv., p. 198.
THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION, 115

At the base of the arch isan important cavity not visible in the cut, receiving
into it, and forming a joint with, the head of the lower jaw—it will be presently
described. ‘

Having reached the base of the temporal bone, it is found united to the parie-
tal, not by a simple suture, as the lower part of the frontals, or the bones of the
nose (see fig. a and j, p. 110), nor by a dove-tailed suture, as the upper part of
the frontals (see the same cut), but it is spread over the parietal in the form of
a large scale, and hence, as before observed, called the squamous portion of the
temporal bone. In fact, there are two plates of bone instead of one. Was
there design in this? Yes, evidently so. In the first place to increase the
strength of the base of the zygomatic arch. This extensive union between the
temporal and parietal bones resembles the buttress or mass of masonry attached
to the base of every arch, in order to counteract its lateral pressure. The con-
cussion, likewise, which might be communicated By a blow on the top of the
arch, is thus spread over a large surface, and consequently weakened and ren-
dered comparatively harmless; and that surface is composed of the union of
two bones of dissimilar construction, The hard stony structure of the parietal
is very different from the tougher material of the temporal; and thus, as a
finger acts on a sounding glass, the vibration communicated to the temporal is
at once stopped, and the brain receives no injury.

There is another proof of admirable design. Where is this squamous portion
of the temporal bone situated? On the side of the head. And what is the
figure of the cranium or skull, and principally that part of it which contains
the cerebrum or brain? It is an elliptical or oval arch (see fig. m, n, 0, p.111).
If pressure is made on the crown of that arch—if a blow is received on the
suture between the parietals sufficient to cause the elastic materials of: which
the skull is composed to yield—the seat of danger and injury is at the side.
If a man receives a violent blow on the crown or back part of the head, the
fracture, if there is any, is generally about the temple, and the extravasation of
blood is oftenest found there. The following figure will explain this :—

Let the line A B C represent an elliptical
arch, composed of elastic materials. Some
force shall be applied at B sufficient to cause
it to yield. We cannot compress it into
smaller compass; but just in proportion as
it yields at B will it spur or bulge out at D,
and give way sometimes as represented at E.
In a dome the weight of the materials con-
stantly acting may be considered as repre-
senting the force applied at B ; and so great
is the lateral pressure, or tendency to bulge out (wide D and E), that it is
necessary either to dove-tail the materials into one another, or to pass strong
iron chains round them. For want of sufficient attention to this, “the dome
of St. Sophia, in Constantinople, built in the time of the Emperor Justinian,
fell three times during its erection; and the dome of the cathedral of Florence

_Stood unfinished an hundred and twenty years, for want of an architect.”

Nature, in the construction of the horse’s head, has taken away the pressure,
or removed the probability of injury, by giving an additional layer of bone, or
a mass of muscle, where alone there was danger, and has dove-tailed all the
materials. Farther than this, in order to make assurance doubly sure, she has
placed this effectual girder at the base, in the overlapping of the squamous
portion of the temporal bone. is

Above the parietals, and separated from them by a suture (fig. g, p. 110,
and fig. e, p. 111), is the occipital bone. Superiorly it covers and protects

12

 
116 THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION.

the smaller portion of the brain, the cerebellum ; and as it there constitutes the
summit or crest of the head, and is particularly exposed to danger, and not
protected by muscles, it is interesting to see what thickness it assumes. The
head of the horse does not, like that of the human being, ride upright on the
neck, with all its weight supported by the spinal column, and the only office of
the muscles of the neck being to move the head forward, or backward, or hori-

zontally on its pivot; but it hangs in a slanting position from the extremity oj

the neck, and the neck itself projects a considerable distance from the chest,
and thus the whole weight of the head and neck are suspended from the chest,
and require very great power in order to support them. In addition to the simple
weight of the head and neck, the latter projecting from the chest, and the head
hanging from the extremity of the neck, act with enormous mechanical force,
and increase more than a hundred-fold the power necessary to support them.

The head and neck of the horse, and particularly of some horses of a coarse
breed, are of no little bulk and weight. It will hereafter be shown in what breeds
and for what purposes a light or heavy head and neck are advantageous; but it
may be safely affirmed, that, projecting so far from the chest, and being conse-
quently at so great a distance from the fulcrum or support, the lightest head
will act or bear upon the joint between the last bone of the neck and the first
rib with a force equal to many thousand pounds.

How is this weight to be supported? Is muscular power equal to the task ?
The muscles of the animal frame can act for a certain time with extraordinary
force; but as the exertion of this power is attended with the consumption of
vital energy, the period soon arrives when their action is remitted or altogether
suspended. A provision, however, is made for the purpose, simple and com-
plete.

From the back of the occipital bone (fig. f, p. 111), and immediately below
the crest, proceeds a round cord of considerable bulk, and composed of a liga-
mentous substance, which reaches down and is securely attached to the spines
of the vertebree, or bones of the back ; and by this ligament—the ligamentum
colli, ligament of the neck, commonly called the pack-wax—the head is
supported.

There are, however, some admirable contrivances connected with this liga-
ment. As it proceeds from the head, it isin the form of a round cord. It
passes over the atlas, or first bone of the neck, without touching it, and then,
attaching itself strongly to the second bone, principally supports the head by
its union with this bone. The mechanical disadvantage is increased; but the
head is turned more freely on the first and second bones. The principal stress
is on the dentata or second bone, so much so, that, in poll-evil, this ligament
may be divided without serious inconvenience to the horse. It then suddenly
sinks deeper, and communicates with all the other vertebra. Each of these
communications becomes a separate point of support, and as they approach
nearer to the base, the mechanical disadvantage, or the force with which the
weight of the head and neck presses and acts, is materially lessened.

The head, then, while the animal is in a state of rest, is supported by this
ligament, without any aid from muscular energy. ,

There is, however, something yet wanting. The head must not be always
elevated. The animal has his food to seek. In a state of nature this food lies
principally on the ground, and the head must be lowered to enable the horse
to get at it. How is this effected? This ligament, as it has been called,
because it resembles in appearance the other ligaments of the body, possesses
a property which they have not, and which they must not have, or they would
be useless. No well-knit joint could exist if it had this property. It is elastic.
It will yield to a force impressed upon it and will resume its natural dimensions
THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION. 117

when that force is removed. It sustains perfectly the weight of the head.
That portion of tenacity or strength is given to it which will not give way to the
simple weight of the head, but which will yield to a very little additional
weight. Its resisting power is so admirably adjusted to that which it has to
sustain, that when certain muscles, whose action is to depress or lower the head,
begin to act, and add their power to the previous weight it had to bear, the
ligament stretches, and when the horse is browsing it is full two inches longer
than when the head is erect. /

When the animal has satisfied himself, these depressing muscles cease to act,
and other muscles which are designed to assist in raising the head, begin to
exert themselves ; and by their aid—but more by the inherent elasticity of the
ligament—the head is once more elevated, and remains so without.the slightest
exertion of muscular power. This is one of the many applications of the prin-
ciple of elasticity which will be discovered and admired in the construction of
the animal frame.

The ligament of the neck is inserted into the centre of the back part of the
occipital bone, and immediately below the vertex or crest of that bone; and
therefore the bone is so thick at this part (see fig. e, p. 111).

Many large and powerful muscles are necessary to turn the head in various
directions, as well as to assist in raising it when depressed. The occipital bone,
as will be seen in the cut, presents a spine running down the centre, B, anda
large roughened surface for the attachment of these muscles C, C.

Lower down, and still at the back of the
occipital bone, are two rounded protuberances
D D, by which the head is connected with the
atlas, or upper or first vertebra, or bone of
the neck; and these are called the condyloid,
cup-shaped, processes of the occipital bone. All
the motions of the head are partly, and many
of them wholly, performed by this joint.

Between them is a large hole, the foramen
magnum, or great aperture, E, through which
the continuation of the brain, termed the
spinal cord or marrow, passes out of the skull.

As an additional contrivance to support the
enormous weight of the head, are two other projections of the occipital bone, pe-
culiar to animals whose heads are set on in a slanting direction, and into which
powerful muscles are inserted. They are called the coracoid, beak-like, processes
or prolongations, F, F, of the occipital bone.

Running forward, and forming outwardly a part of the base, and inwardly
a portion of the floor of the skull, is what, from its wedge-like shape, is called
the cuneiform process of the occipital bone (fig. i, p.111). It is thick, strong,
and solid, and placed at the bottom of the skull, not only to be a proper founda-
tion for, and to give additional strength to, the arch on either side, but speedily
to stop all vibration and concussion.

At the base of the skull, and anterior to or below the occipital, lies the
aphenoid, wedge-like bone (fig. k, p. 111). Its body, likewise called the ewnei-
form or wedge-shaped process, is a continuation of the same process of the
occipital, and, like it, is thick and solid, and for the same important purpose.
This bone branches out into four irregular bodies or plates, two of which are
called the wings, and two running to the palate, the legs. They could not be
represented in the cut, and there is nothing important belonging to them, so far
as this work is concerned. Internally (fig. #), the sphenoid forms a portion of
the cavity of the skull.

 
118 THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION.

Of the ethmoid—sieve-like—bone, little can be seen outwardly. A small
portion is found in the back part of the orbit and in the cavity of the cranium ;
but the most important part of it is that which is composed of a great number
of thin plates, forming numerous cavities or cells (fig. J, p. 111), lined with the
membrane of the nose, and entering into its cavity. The upper portion is called
the cribriform or sieve-shaped plate, from its being perforated by a multitude of
little holes, through which the nerve connected with smelling passes and spreads
over the nose.

Altogether these bones form a cavity of an irregular oval shape, but the
tentorium penetrating into it, gives it the appearance of being divided into two

d, p- 111).

‘The ane of the skull may be said to be arched all round. The builder
knows the strength which is connected with the form of an arch. If properly
constructed, it is equal to a solid mass of masonry. ‘The arch of the horse’s
skull has not much weight to support, but it is exposed to many injuries from
the brutality of those by whom he should be protected, and from accidental
causes.

The roof of the skull is composed of two plates of bone: the outer one hard
and tough, and the different parts dove-tailed together, so as not to be easily
fractured ; the inner plate being elastic. By the union of these two substances
of different construction, the vibration is damped or. destroyed, so far as safety
requires,

‘On raising any part of the skull of the horse, the dense and strong mem-
brane which is at once the lining of the cranium and the covering of the brain
—the dura mater—presents itself. tis united to the membranes below by
numerous little cords or prolongations of its substance, conveying blood and
communicating strength to the parts beneath. Between this membrane, com-
mon to the cranium and the brain, and the proper investing tunic of that organ,
is found that delicate gossamers’ web, appropriately called the arachnoid—
the spider's membrane—and which is seen in other animals, designed either
to secrete the fluid which is interposed, for the purpose of obviating injurious
concussion, or, perhaps, to prevent the brain from readily sympathising with any
inflammatory action produced by injury of the skull.

Beneath is the proper investing membrane of the brain—the pia mater—
which not only covers the external surface of the brain, but penetrates inte
every depression, lines every ventricle, and clothes every irregularity and part
and portion of the brain.

We now arrive at the brain itself. The brain of the horse corresponds with
the cavity in which it is placed (m, p.111). It isa flattened oval. It is
divided into two parts, one much larger than the other—the cerebrum or brain,
and the cerebellum or little brain (n, p.111). In the human being the cerebrum
is above the cerebellum, in the quadruped it is below; and yet in both they
retain the same relative situation. The cerebellum is nearer to the foramen
through which the brain passes out of the skull (n, p. 111), and the continuation
of the cerebrum passes under the cerebellum (p, p. 111), in order to arrive at
this foramen. In the human head this foramen is at the base of the skull;
but in the quadruped, in whom the head is placed slanting, it is necessarily
elevated.

He who for the first time examines the brain of the horse will be struck with
its comparative 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 not have been of half the bulk of that of the horse. If the
THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION. iad

dog had been the subject, it would have been very considerably larger, compar=
ing the general bulk of each animal. This is singular. The human brain
largest in comparative bulk; then the brain of the dog, the horse, the ox. Thus
would they be classed in the scale of intelligence.

If the brain is more closely examined, it will be found that there is none of
the roundness and the broadness of that in the human being; it is comparatively
tame and flat. There is some irregularity of surface, some small projections and
depressions ; but they, too, are comparatively diminutive and inexpressive. Were
the brain of the beaver, of the hare, or the rabbit, or of almost any bird, sub-
stituted for it, there would be no convolutions or irregularities at all.

These irregularities are not so bold and so deep in the ox as in the horse, nor
in the horse as in the dog. We do not know enough of the functions of any
part of the brain to associate these convolutions with any particular powers of
mind, or good or bad propensities, although some persons, who are wise above that
which is written, have pretended to do so. It would occupy too great a por-
tion of this volume to enter into these questions; but there are some diseases
to which the horse is subject, and a very uscful operation—the division of
some of the nerves for certain purposes, and which could not be understood with-
out a previous slight account of this important organ.

When the brain is cut, it is found to be composed of two substances very
unlike in appearance (m, p. 111) ; one, principally on the outside, grey, or ash-
coloured, and therefore called the cortical (bark-like) from its situation, and
cineritious (ashen) from its colour ; and the other, lying deeper in the brain,
and from its pulpy nature called the medullary substance. Although placed in
apposition with each other, and seemingly mingling, they never run into the
same mass, or change by degrees into one another, but are essentially distinct in
construction as well as in function.

The medullary portion is connected with the nervous system. 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 differently constituted.
Some have supposed, and with much appearance of truth, that it is the residence
of the mind—receiving the 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
composed of cineritious matter; and how different is the character of these
animals ?—the sluggish, stupid ox, and the intelligent horse; the silly sheep,
and the intellectual companionable dog!

In a work like this, it would be somewhat out of place to enter deeply into
any metaphysical speculation ; but the connexion between the cineritious part
of the brain and the intellectual principle, and that between the medullary
portion and the mere animal principle, do seem highly probable. The latter
is the medium through which the impression is conveyed, or the motion is
effected; the former is the substance to which that impression is referred—
where it is received, registered, and compared, and by which the operation of
the motor nerves is influenced and governed.

The cortical substance is small in the quadruped; for in their wild state
120 THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION.

brutes have no concern and no idea beyond their food and reproduction ; and
in their domesticated state they are destined to be the servants of man. The
acuteness of their senses, and the preponderance of animal power, qualify them
for this purpose ; but were proportionate intellectual capacity added to this—
were they made conscious of their strength, they would burst their bonds, and
man would, in his turn, be the victim and the slave. The cortical part is found
in each in the proportion in which it would seem to be needed for our purposes,
in crder that intelligence should be added to animal power. Almost every
mental faculty, and almost every virtue, too, may be traced in the brute. The
difference is in degree, and not in kind. The one being improved by circum-
stances and the other contaminated, the quadruped is decidedly the superior.

From the medullary substance—as already stated—proceed certain cords or
prolongations, termed nerves, by which the animal is enabled to reccive impres-
sions from surrounding objects, and to connect himself with them; and also to
possess 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; anda third goes to the
internal structure of the ear, and ihe 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 (h, p. 111) springing from a prolongation of the
brain, and yet within the skull, wanders to different parts of the frame, for im-
portant purposes connected with respiration or breathing. The act of breathing
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 q—
a farther prolongation of the brain, and running through a cavity in the bones
of the neck, back, and loins, and extending to the very tip of the tail—other
nerves are given off at certain intervals. This cut delineates a pair of them.
The spinal cord
a, is combined of
six distinct ce-
lumns or rods,
running through
its whole length
—three on either
side. The two
upper columns
—the portion of
spinal marrow re-
presented in our
cut, is supposed to
be placed with its inner or lower surface toward us—proceed from those tracks of
the brain devoted to sensation. Numerous distinct fibres spring abruptly from
the column, and which collect together, and, passing through a little ganglion or
enlargement, d—an enlargement of a nervous cord is called a ganglion—become a
nerve of sensation. From the lower or inner side,—a prolongation of the track
devoted to motion,—proceed other fibres, which also collect gradually together,
and forn: a nervous cord, ¢, giving the power of motion. Beyond the ganglion the
two unite, and form a perfect spinal nerve, 6, possessing the power both of
sensation and motion; and the fibres of the two columns proceed to their
destination, enveloped in the same sheath, and apparently one nerve, Each
portion, however, continues to be wrapped in its own membrane. They are
united, yct distinct ; they constitute one nerve, yet neither their substance nor

 
THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION. lal

their office is confounded. Our cut, closely examined, will give at 6 some idea
of the manner in which these distinct fibres are continued ;—each covered by
its own membrane, but all enveloped in a common envelope.

All these nerves are organs of sensation and motion alone; but there ara
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 ganglion 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 round 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.

The reader, we trust, will now comprehend this wonderful, yet simple
machinery, and be able, by and by, to refer to it the explanation of several
diseases, and particularly of the operation to which we have referred.

Two of the senses have their residence in the cavity of the cranium—those of
hearing and sight.

They who know anything of the horse pay much attention to the size, setting
on, and motion of the ear. Lars rather small than large—placed not too far
apart—erect and quick in motion, indicate both breeding and spirit ; and if
a horse is frequently in the habit of carrying one ear forward, and the other
backward, and especially if he does so on a journey, he will generally possess
both spirit and continuance. ‘The stretching of the ears in contrary directions
shows that he is attentive to every thing that is taking place around him, and,
while he is doing this, he cannot be much fatigued, or likely soon to become so.
It has been remarked that few horses sleep without pointing one ear forward
and the other backward, in order that they may receive notice of the approach
of objects in every direction*.

The ear of the horse is one of the most beautiful parts about him, and by few
things is the temper more surely indicated than by its motion. The ear is
more intelligible even than the eye, and a person accustomed to the horse, and
an observer of him, can tell by the expressive motion of that organ almost all that
he thinks or means. It is a common saying that when a horse lays his ears
flat back upon his neck, and keeps them so, he most assuredly is meditating
mischief, and the stander by should beware of his heels or his teeth. In play,
the ears will be laid back, but not so decidedly, or so long. A quick change
in their position, and more particularly the expression of the eye at the time,
will distinguish between playfulness and vice.

The external ear is formed by a cartilage of an oval or cone-like shape,
flexible, yet firm, and terminating in a point. It has, directed towards the side,
yet somewhat pointing forward, a large opening extending from the top to the
bottom. The intention of this is to collect the sound, and convey it to the
interior part of the ear.

The hearing of the horse is remarkably acute. A thousand vibrations of the
air, too slight to make any impression on the human ear, are readily perceived
by him. It is well-known to every hunting-man, that the cry of the hounds
will be recognised by the horse, and his ears will be erect, and he will be all
spirit and impatience, a considerable time before the rider is conscious of the
least sound. Need anything more be said to expose the absurdity of cropping ?

 

* ‘ When horses or mules march in com- terally or acrosa; the whole troop seeming
pany at night, those in front direct their ears thus to be actuated by one fecling, which
forwards; those in the rear direct them back- watches the general safety.’—Arnott’s Ele:
ward; and those in the centre turn them la. ments of Physic, vol. i. p. 478.
122 THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION.

This custom of cutting the ears of the horse originated, to its shame, in Great
Britain, and for many years was a practice cruel to the animal, depriving him of
much of his beauty ; and so obstinately pursued, that at length the deformity be-
came in some hereditary, and a breed of horses born without ears was produced.
Fortunately for this too-often abused animal, cropping is not now the fashion,
Some thoughtless or unfeeling young men endeavoured, a little while ago, again
to introduce it, but the voice of reason and humanity prevailed*.

This cartilage, the conch or shell, is attached to the head by ligaments, and
sustained by muscles, on which its action depends. It rests upon another carti-
lage, round without, and irregular within, called the annular, ring-like, cartilage,
and conducting to the interior of the ear ; and it is likewise supported and moved
by a third small cartilage, placed at the fore part of the base of the conch, and
into which several muscles arc inserted.

The ear is covered by skin thinner than in most other parts of the body, and
altogether destitute of fut, in order that it may not be too bulky and heavy, and
may be more easily moved. Under the skin lining the inside of the cartilage are
numerous glands that secrete or throw out a scaly white greasy matter, which
may be rubbed off with the finger and is destined to supple this part of the ear
and to keep it soft and smooth. Below this are other glands which pour out a
peculiar, sticky, bitter fluid—the wax—probably displeasing to insects, and
therefore deterring them from crawling down the ear and annoying the animal,
or by its stickiness arresting their progress.

The internal part of the conch is covered with long hair which stands- across
the passage in every direction. This likewise is to protect the ear from insects,
that can with difficulty penetrate through this thick defence. The cold air
is likewise prevented from reaching the interior of the ear, and the sound is
moderated, not arrested—penetrating readily but not violently—and not striking
injuriously on the membrane covering the drum of the ear. Can these purposes
be accomplished, when it is the custom of so many carters and grooms to éut
out the hair of the ear so closely and industriously as they do? The groom
who singes it to the root with a candle must either be very ignorant or very
brutal. It can scarcely be accomplished without singeing the ear as well as the
hair. Many a troublesome sore is occasioned by this ; and many a horse, that was
perfectly quiet before, rendered difficult to handle or to halter, and even disposed
to be otherwise vicious, from a recollection of the pain which he suffered during
the absurd and barbarous operation.

The sound collected by the outer ear, passes through the lower or annular
ring-shaped, cartilage, and through irregularities which, while they break and
modify it, convey it on to another canal, partly cartilaginous and partly bony,
conducting immediately to the internal mechanism of the ear. This canal or
passage, is called the external auditory passage, and at the base of it is placed,
stretching across it, and closing it, a thick and elastic membrane, membrana
tympani, called the membrane of the drum. This membrane is supplied with
numerous fibres, from the fifth pair, or sensitive nerve of the head, for it is
necessary that it should possess extreme sensibility.

_ Between this membrane and a smaller one almost opposite, leading to the
still interior part of the ear, and on which the nerve of hearing is expanded,
are four little bones, united to these membranes, and to each other. Their

Ss ~ Professor Grogniecr, in his excellent work, thoughts that are passing through his mind—
Précis d’un Cours d’Hygiéne Vétérinaire,” the passions which agitate him, and, especially,

speaking of this abominable custom, says, the designs which he may be meditating, and

“ And tkus the English completely destroy or which it is often of great importance to learn,

disfigure two organs which embellish the head in order to guard against the danger which

of tho most beautiful of all animals, and may be at hand.”

which, by their various motions, indicate the
THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION. 123

office is to convey, more perfectly than it could be done through the mere air
of the cavity, the vibrations that have reached the membrana tympani.

These bones are highly elastic; and covered by a cartilaginous substance,
elastic also in the greatest degree, by means of which the force of the vibration
is much increased.

It is conveyed to a strangely irregular cavity, filled with an aqueous fluid,
and the substance or pulp of the portio mollis or soft portion of the seventh pair
of nerves, the auditory nerve, expands on the membrane that lines the walls of
this cavity.

Sound is propagated far more intensely through water than through air ; and
therefore it is that an aqueous fluid occupies those chambers of the ear on the
walls of which the auditory nerve is expanded. By this contrivance, and by
others, which we have not space now to narrate, the sense of hearing is fully
equal to every possible want of the animal.

The Eye isa most important organ, and comes next under consideration,
as inclosed in the bones of the skull. The eye of the horse should be large,
somewhat but not too prominent, and the eyelid fine and thin, If the eye is
sunk in the head, and apparently little—for there is actually a very trifling dif-
ference in the size of the eye in animals of the same species and bulk, and that
seeming difference arises from the larger or smaller opening between the lids—
and the lid is thick, and especially if there is any puckering towards the inner
corner of the lids, that eye either is diseased, or has lately been subject to
inflammation ; and, particularly, if one eye is smaller than the other, it has at no
great distance of time, been inflamed.

The eye of the horse enables us with tolerable accuracy to guess at his temper.
If much of the white is seen, the buyer should pause ere he completes his bargain ;
because, although it may, yet very rarely, happen that the cornea or transpa-
rent part is unnaturally small, and therefore an unusual portion of the white of
the eye is seen, experience has shown that this display of white is dangerous.
The mischievous horse is slyly on the look out for opportunities to do mischief,
and the frequent backward direction of the eye, when the white is most per-
ceptible, is only to give surer effect to the blow which he is about to aim.

A cursory description of the eye, and the uses of its different parts, must be
given.

The eyes are placed at the side of the head, but the direction of the conoid
cavity which they occupy, and of the sheath by which they are sur-
rounded within the orbit, gives them a prevailing direction forwards, so that the
animal has a very extended field of vision. We must not assert that the eye of
the horse commands a whole sphere of vision ; but it cannot be denied that
his eyes are placed more forward than those of cattle, sheep, or swine. He
requires an extensive field of vision to warn him of the approach of his enemies
in his wild state, and a direction of the orbits considerably forward, in order to
enable him to pursue with safety the headlong course to which we sometimes
urge him,

The eye-ball is placed in the anterior and most capacious part of the orbit,
nearer to the frontal than the temporal side, with a degree of prominence vary-
ing with different individuals, and the will of the animal. It is protected
by a bony socket beneath and on the inside, but is partially exposed on the roof
and on the outside. It is, however, covered and secured by thick and powerful
muscles—by a mass of adipose matter which is distributed to various parts of
the orbit, upon which the eye may he readily moved without friction, and
by a sheath of considerable density and firmness, and especially where it is most
needed, on the external and superior portions.

The adipose matter exists in a considerable quantity in the orbit of the eye of
124 THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION.

the horse, and enables that organ readily to revolve by the slightest contraction
of the muscles. By the absorption of this fatty matter in sickness or old age,
the eye is not only to a certain degree sunk in the orbit, but the roof of the orbit
posterior to the frontal bone, being deprived of its support, is considerably
depressed. Our work shall not be disgraced by any farther reference to the
rascally contrivance by which this indication of age is in some degree removed.

In front the eye is supported and covered by the lids, which closing rapidly,
protect it from many an injury that threatens—supply it with that moisture
which is necessary to preserve its transparency—in the momentary act of
closing give acertain and sufficient respite toa delicate organ, which would
otherwise be fatigued and worn out by the constant glare of day—defend it when
the eye labours under inflammation from the stimulus of light,—and, gradually
drooping, permit the animal to enjoy that repose which nature requires,

Extending round both lids, and, it may be almost said, having neither origin
nor insertion, is a muscle called the orbicularis, or circular muscle. Its office is
to close the lids in the act of winking or otherwise, but only while the animal
is awake. When he sleeps, this is effected by another and very ingenious
mechanism. The natural state of the eyelids is that of being closed ; and they
are kept open by the energy of the muscles whose office it is to raise the upper
lid. Asleep steals upon the animal, these muscles cease to act, and the lids
close by the inherent elasticity of the membrane of which they are composed.

The skin of the lid is, like that of the ear, exceedingly fine, in order to pre-
vent unnecessary weight and pressure on such a part, and to give more easy and
extensive motion. The lids close accurately when drawn over the eye, and this
is effected by a little strip of cartilage at the edge of each of them, which may
be easily felt with the finger, and preserves them in a hoop-like form, and
adapts them closely to the eye and to each other. The lower cartilage, how-
ever, does not present, towards the inner corner of the eye, the whole of its flat
surface to the upper, but it evidently slopes inward, and only the outer edge of
the under lid touches the upper. By this means, a little gutter is formed,
through which the superfluous moisture of the eye flows to the inner comer,
where there isa canal to convey it away. By this contrivance it neither accu-
mulates in the eye, nor unpleasantly runs down the cheek.

Along the edges of the lids are placed numerous little hollows, which can be
plainly distinguished even in the living horse by slightly turning down the lid.
These are the openings into numerous small cells containing a thick and unctuous
fluid, by means of which the eyes are more accurately closed, and the edges of
the lids defended from the acrimony of the tears.

The horse has no eyebrows, and the eyelashes are very peculiarly arranged.
The rows of hair are longest and most numerous on the upper lid, and especially
towards the outer or temporal corner, because the light comes from above ; and,
as the animal stands, particularly when he is grazing, and from the lateral
situation of his eyes, the greater portion of the light, and the attacks of insects,
and the rolling down of moisture, would chiefly be from the outside or temples.
Towards the inner corner of the upper lid there is little or no eyelash, because
there is no probable danger or nuisance in that direction. Only a small quan-
tity of light can enter from below, and therefore the lashes are thin and short ;
but as, in the act of grazing, insects may more readily climb up and be trouble-
some to the eye, towards the inner angle, there the principal or only hair is
found on the lower lid. These apparently trifling circumstances will not be
overlooked by the careful observer.

They who are unacquainted with the absurdities of stable management, or
who have not carefully examined the abuses that may exist in their own
establishments, can scarcely believe the foolish and cruel practices of some
THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION. 125

carters and grooms. When the groom is anxious that his horse should be as trim
and neat all over as art can make him, the very eye-lashes are generally sacrificed.
What has the poor animal suffered, when, travelling in the noon of day, the
full blaze of the sun has fallen upon his eyes; and how many accidents have
probably happened from his being dazzled by the light, which have been attri-
buted to other causes !

If the horse has no eyebrow, there are several hairs or bristles scattered on
the upper eyelid, and there is a projecting fold of the lid which discharges
nearly the same office. It is more conspicuous in old horses than in young ones.
Some horsemen do not like to see it, and associate the idea of it with weakness
or disease of the eye. This is perfectly erroneous. It is a provision of nature to
accomplish a certain purpose, and has nothing to do either with health or disease.

Oa the lower lid is a useful provision to warn the horse of the near approach
of any object that might incommode or injure him, in the form of long project-
ing hairs or bristles, which are plenteously embued with nervous influence, so
that the slightest touch should put the animal on his guard. We would request
our readers to touch very slightly the extremity of one of these hairs. They
will be surprised to observe the sudden convulsive twitching of the lid, rendering
the attack of the insect absolutely impossible. The grooms, however, who cut
away the eye-lashes, do not spare these useful feelers.

The eye is exposed to the action of the atmospheric air, and the process of
evaporation, destructive of its transparency, is continually going on. The eye
of the horse, or the visible part of the eye, is, likewise, more prominent and
larger than in the human being, and the animal is often subject to extreme
annoyance from dust and insects, while he has no hands or other guard to defend
himself from the torture which they occasion. What is the provision of
nature against this? Under, and a little within, the outer corner of the upper
lid, is an irregular body, the Jacrymal gland, comparatively larger than in the
human being, secreting an aqueous fluid, which, slowly issuing from the
gland, or occasionally pressed out of it the act of winking, flows over the eye,
supplies it with moisture, and cleanses it from all impurities. Human ingenuity
could not have selected a situation from which the fluid could be conveyed over
the eye with more advantage for this purpose.

When this fluid is secreted in an undue quantity, and flows over the eye, it
is called teurs. An increased flow of tears is produced by anything that irritates
the eye, and, therefore, a constant accompaniment and symptom of inflammation.
A horse with any degree of weeping should be regarded with much suspicion.
In the human being an unusual secretion of tears is often caused by bodily
pain, and emotions of the mind; and so it is occasionally in the horse. We
have seen it repeatedly under acute pain or brutal usage. John Lawrence,
speaking of the cruelty exercised by some dealers in what they call “firing” a
horse before he is led out for sale, in order to rouse every spark of mettle, says,
“more than fifty years have passed away, and I have before my eyes a poor
mare stone blind, exquisitely shaped, and showing all the marks of high blood,
whom I saw unmercifully cut with the whip a quarter of an hour before the
sale, to bring her to the use of her stiffened limbs, while the tears were trickling
down her cheeks.”

Having passed over the eye, the fluid is conveyed by the little canal to which
we have alluded, formed by the sloping of the under lid, towards the corner of
the eye; and there are two little orifices that conduct it to a small reser-
voir within, and at the upper part of the lacrymal bone, (fig, 4, p. 110). A little
protuberance of a black or pied colour, called the carunele, placed in the very
corner of the eye, and to be seen without opening the lids, is situated between
these orifices, and guides the fluid into them. From this reservoir the tears are
126 THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION.

conveyed by a long canal, the Jacrymal duct, partly bony, and partly membran-
ous, to the lower part of the nose. A little within the nostril, and on the divi-
sion between the nostrils, is seen the lower opening of this canal ; the situation
of which should be carefully observed, and its real use borne in mind, for not
only horsemen, but even some careless veterinary surgeons, have mistaken it
for a glanderous ulcer, and have condemned a useful and valuable animal. It
is found just before the skin of the muzzle terminates, and the more delicate
membrane of the nostril commences. The opening of the canal is placed thus
low because the membrane of the nose is exceedingly delicate, and would be
irritated and made sore by the frequent or constant running down of the tears.

There is, however, something yet wanting. We have a provision for sup-
plying the eye with requisite moisture, and for washing from off the transparent
part of it insects or dust that may annoy the animal. What becomes of these
impurities when thus washed off? Are they carried by the tears to the corner
of the eye, and so pass down this duct, and irritate and obstruct it ; or do they
accumulate at the inner angle of the eye? There is a beautiful contrivance for
disposing of them as fast as they accumulate. Concealed within the inner
corner of the eye, or only the margin of it, black or pied, visible, is a triangu-
lar-shaped cartilage, the haw, with its broad part forwards. It is concave
within, exactly to suit the globe of the eye; it is convex without, accurately tc
adapt itself to the membrane lining the lid; and the base of it is reduced to a
thin or almost sharp edge. At the will of the animal this is suddenly protruded
from its hiding-place. It passes rapidly over the eye, and shovels up every
nuisance mixed with the tears, and then, being speedily drawn back, the dust
or insect is wiped away as the cartilage again passes under the corner of the
eye.

How is this managed? The cartilage has no muscle attached to it ; and the
limbs and the different parts of the body, when put into motion by the influence
of the will, are moved invariably by muscles. The mechanism, however, is
simple and effectual. There is a considerable mass of fatty matter at the back
of the eye, in order that this organ may be easily moved ; and this fat is particu-
larly accumulated about the inner corner of the eye, and beneath, and at the
point of this cartilage. The eye of the horse has likewise very strong muscles
attached to it, and one, peculiar to quadrupeds, of extraordinary power, by
whose aid, if the animal has not hands to ward off a danger that threatens, he
is at least enabled to draw the eye back almost out of the reach of that danger.

Dust, or gravel, or insects, may have entered the eye, and annoy the horse.
This muscle suddenly acts: the eye is forcibly drawn back, and presses upon
the fatty matter. That may be displaced, but cannot be reduced into less
compass. It is forced violently towards the inner corner of the eye, and it
drives before it the haw; and the haw, having likewise some fat about its
point, and being placed between the eye and an exceedingly smooth and
polished bone, and being pressed upon by the eye as it is violently drawn back,
shoots out with the rapidity of lightning, and, guided by the eyelids, projects
over the eye, and thus carries off the offending matter.

In what way shall we draw the haw back again without muscular action?
Another principle is called into play, of which mention has already been made,
and of which we shall have much to say,—elasticity. It is that principle by
which a body yields to a certain force impressed upon it, and returns to its
former state as soon as that force is removed. It is that by which the ligament
of the neck (p. 112), while it supports the head, enables the horse to graze—by
which the heart expands after closing on and propelling forward the blood in its
ventricles and the artery contracts on the blood that has distended it, and many
of the most important functions of life are influenced or governed. This muscle
THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION. 127

ceases to act, and the eye resumes its natural situation in the orbit. There is
room for the fatty matter to return to its place, and it immediately returns by
the elasticity of the membrane by which it is covered, and draws after it this
cartilage with which it is connected, and whose return is as rapid as was the
projection.

The old farriers strangely misunderstood the nature and design of the haw,
and many at the present day do not seem to be much better informed. When,
from sympathy with other parts of the eye labouring under inflammation, and
becoming itself inflamed and increased in bulk, and the neighbouring parts
likewise thickened, it is either forced out of its place, or voluntarily protruded
to defend the eye from the action of light and cannot return, they mistake it
for some injurious excrescenee or tumour, and proceed to cut it out. The
“ haw in the eye” is a disease well known to the majority of grooms, and this
sad remedy for it is deemed the only cure. It isa barbarous practice, and if
they were compelled to walk half a dozen miles in a thick dust, without being
permitted to wipe or to cleanse the eye, they would feel the torture to which
they doom this noble animal. A little patience having been exercised, and a
few cooling applications made to the eye while the inflammation lasted, and
afterwards some mild astringent ones, and other proper means being employed,
the tumour would have disappeared, the haw would have returned to its place,
and the animal would have discharged the duties required of him without
inconvenience to himself, instead of the agony to which an unguarded and
unprotected eye must now expose him.

The loss of blood occasioned by the excision of the haw may frequently
relieve the inflammation of the eye ; and the evident amendment which follows
induces these wise men to believe that they have performed an excellent opera-
tion ; but the same loss of blood by scarification of the overloaded vessels of the
conjunctiva would be equally beneficial, and the animal would not be deprived
of an instrument of admirable use to him.

The eye is of a globular figure, yet not a perfect globe. It is rather com-
posed of parts of two globes ; the half of one of them smaller and transparent
in front, and of the other larger and the coat of it opaque, behind. We shall
most conveniently begin with the coats of the eye.

 

 

AB asupposed object viewed by the animal, and an inverted image of which, a, 8, is thrown
on the retina at the back of the eye. :

ee The points where the rays, having passed the cornea and lens, converge by the refractive
a aoe cs from the extremities of the object to the eye

2 roceeding from the extremiti is decaehs
; Tbe wee, or Tene and transparent part of the eye, covered by the conjunctiva
iting different parts together. ;

g The a aeatae fil a glassy) lens, behind the pupil, and in front of the vitreous
humour.

hh Muscles of the eye. ;

z The optic nerve, or nerve of sight. i sa

k The sclerotica (hard firm coat) covering the whole of the eye except the portion ocenp'c¢
128 THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION.

by the cornea, and being a secming prolongation of the covering of the optic
nerve. ;

i ‘The choroides (receptacle or covering), or choroid coat, covered with a black secretion or
paint. :

mm The iris or rainbow-coloured circular membrane under the cornea, in front of the eye,
and on which the colour of the eye depends. The duplicature bebind is the uvea, from
being coloured like a grape. The opening in the centre is the pupil.

nn The ciliary (hair-like) processes.

0 The retina, or net-like expansion of the optic nerve, spread over the whole of the cho-
roides as far as the lens. : f

The vitreous (glass-like) humour filling the whole of the cavity of the eye behind the lens.
The aquéous (water-like) humour filling the space between the cornea and the lens,

The conjunctiva, f, is that membrane which lines the lids, and covers the fore
part of the eye. It spreads over all that we can see or feel of the eye, and even
its transparent part. It is itself transparent, and transmits the colour of the
parts beneath. It is very susceptible of inflammation, during which the lining
of the lids will become intensely red, and the white of the eye will be first
streaked with red vessels, and then covered with a complete mesh of them, and
the cornea will become cloudy and opaque. It is the seat of various diseases,
and, particularly, in it commences that sad inflammation of the horse’s eye which
bids defiance to the veterinary surgeon's skill and almost invariably terminates
in blindness.

The examination of the conjunctiva, by turning down the lid, will enable us
to form an accurate judgment of the degree of inflammation which exists in the
eye.

MOngibs the back part of the eye, and indeed four-fifths of the globe of it,
is the sclerotica, k. It is an exceedingly strong membrane, composed of
fibres interweaving with each other, and almost defying the possibility of separa-
tion. An organ so delicate and so important as the eye requires secure protection.

It is a highly elastic membrane. It is necessary that it should be so, when
it is considered that the eye is surrounded by several and very powerful muscles,
which must temporarily, and even for the purposes of vision, alter its form.
The elasticity of the sclerotica is usefully exhibited by its causing the globe of
the eye to resume its former and natural shape, as soon as the action of the
muscle ceases,

The sclerotica has very few blood-vessels—is scarcely sensible —and its dis-
eases, except when it participates in general disturbance or disorganisation, are
rarely brought under our notice.

The cornea is, or we should wish it to be, the only visible part of the horse’s
eye, for the exhibition of much white around it is a sure symptom of
wickedness. The cornea fills up the vacuity which is left by the sclerotica in
the fore part of the eye, and, although closely united to the sclerotica, may be
separated from it, and will drop out like a watch-glass, It is not round, but
wider from side to side than from the top to the bottom ; and the curve rather
broader towards the inner than the outer corner of the eye, so that the near eye
may be known from the off one after it is taken from the head.

The convexity or projection of the cornea is a point of considerable import-
ance. The prominence of the eye certainly adds much to the beauty of the
animal, but we shall see presently, when we consider the eye as the organ of
sight, that by being too prominent the rays of light may be rendered too con-
vergent, and the vision indistinct ; or, if the cornea is small and flat, the rays
may not be convergent enough, and perfect vision destroyed. In either case
the horse may unpieasantly start, or suddenly and dangerously turn round. An
eye neither too prominent nor too flat will be nearest to perfection.

It should be perfectly transparent. Any cloudiness or opacity is the conse-
quence of disease. It is an exceedingly firm and dense membrane, and can
THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION, 129

scarcely be pierced by the sharpest instrument. The cornea is composed of
many different plates, laid over one another ; and between each, at least in a
state of health, is a fluid that is the cause of its transparency, and the evapo-
ration of which, after death, produces the leaden or glazed appearance of the
eye. When it appears to be opaque, it is not often, and never at first, that the
cornea has undergone any change.

There is nothing that deserves attention from the purchaser of a horse more
than the perfect transparency of the cornea over the whole of its surface. The
eye should be examined for this purpose,-both in front, and with the face
of the examiner close to the cheek of the horse, under and behind the eye.
The latter method of looking through the cornea is the most satisfactory, so far
as the transparency of that part of the eye is concerned. During this examina-
tion the horse should not be in the open air, but in the stable standing in the
doorway and a little within the door. If any small, faint, whitish lines appear
to cross the cornea, or spread over any part of it, they are assuredly the remains
of previous inflammation ; or, although the centre and bulk of the cornea should
be perfectly clear, yet if around the edge of it, where it unites with the sclero-
tica, there should be a narrow ring or circle of baziness, the conclusion is equally
true, but the inflammation occurred at a more distant period. Whether how-
ever the inflammation has lately existed, or several weeks or months have
elapsed since it was subdued, it is too likely to recur.

There is one caution to be added. The cornea in its natural state is not
only a beautifully transparent structure, but it reflects, even in proportion to its
transparency, many of the rays which fall upon it; and if there is a white object
immediately before the eye, as a light waistcoat, or much display of a white
neckcloth, the reflection may puzzle an experienced observer, ard has misled
many a careless one. The coat should be buttoned up, and the white cravat
carefully concealed.

Within the sclerotica, and connected with it by innumerable minute fibres
and vessels, is the choroid coat, 1. It isa very delicate membrane, and extends
over the whole of the internal part of the eye, from the optic nerve to the
cornea. It secretes a dark-coloured substance or paint, by which it is covered ;
the intention of which, like the inside of our telescopes and microscopes, is
probably to absorb any wandering rays of light which might dazzle and confuse.
The black paint, pigmentum nigrum, seems perfectly to discharge this function
in the human eye. It is placed immediately under the retina or expansion of
the optic nerve. The rays of light fall on the retina, and penetrating its delicate
substance, are immediately absorbed or destroyed by the black covering of the
choroides underneath. For the perfection of many of his best pleasures, and
particularly of his intellectual powers, man wants the vivid impression which
will be caused by the admission of the rays of light into a perfectly dark
chamber; and when the light of the sun begins to fail, his superior intelligence:
has enabled him to discover various methods of substituting an artificial day,
after the natural one has closed. Other animals, without this power of kindling
another, although inferior light, have far more to do with the night than we
have. Many of them sleep through the glare of day, and awake and are busy
during the period of darkness. The ox occupies some hours of the night
in grazing; the sheep does so when not folded in his pen; and the horse,
worked during the day for our convenience and profit, has often little more
than the period of night allotted to him for nourishment and repose. Then it
is necessary that, by some peculiar and adequate contrivance, these hours of
comparative or total darkness to us should be partially yet sufficiently illumi-
nated for them; and therefore in the horse the dark brown or black coat of the
choroides does not extend over the whole of the internal part of the eye, or

K
130 THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION.

rather it is not found on any part on which the rays proceeding from the objects
could fall. It does not occupy the smallest portion of what may be called the field of
vision; but, in its place a bright variegated green is spread, and more over the
upper part than the lower, because the animal's food, and the objects which it is
of consequence for him to notice, are usually below the level of his head—thus,
by suffering the impression to remain longer on the retina, or by some portion
of light reflected from this variegated bed on which the retina reposes, or in
some other inexplicable but efficient way, enabling the animal, even in compa-
rative darkness, to possess a power of vision equal to his wants.

The reader may see in the dusk, or even when duskiness is fast yielding to
utter darkness, the beautiful sea-green reflection from the eye of the horse. It
is that lucid variegated carpet of which we are now speaking.

Who is unaware that in the fading glimmering of the evening, and even in
the darker shades of night, his horse can see surrounding objects much better
than his rider ; and who, resigning himself to the guidance of that sagacious and
faithful animal, has not been carried in safety to his journey’s end, when he
would otherwise have been utterly bewildered ?

If the reader has not examined this beautiful pigment in the eye of the horse,
he should take the earliest opportunity of doing so. He will have a beautiful
illustration of the care which that Being who gave all things life has taken that
each shall be fitted for his situation. The horse has not the intelligence of man,
and may not want for any purpose of pleasure or improvement the vivid picture
of surrounding objects which the retina of the human being presents. A thou-
sand minute but exquisite beauties would be lost upon him. If, therefore, his
sense of vision may not be so strong during the day, it is made up to him by
the increased power of vision in the night.

Perfectly white and cream-coloured horses have a peculiar appearance of the
eyes. The pupil is red instead of black. There is no black paint or brilliant
carpet. It is the choroid coat itself which we see in them, and not its covering;
and the red appearance is caused by the numerous blood-vessels which are
found on every part of that coat.

When we have to treat of other domestic animals, we shall see how this
carpet is varied in colour to suit the situation and necessity of each. In the ox
it is of a dark green. He has not many enemies to fear, or much difficulty in
searching for nourishment, and the colour of the eye is adapted to his food. In
the cat and all his varieties, it is yellow. We have heard of the eyes of the
lion appearing like two flaming torches in the night. There are few of our
readers who have not seen the same singular glare from the eyes of the domestic
cat. In the wolf, and likewise in the dog, who, in his wild state, prowls chiefly
at night, it is grey. In the poor unjustly-persecuted badger, who scarcely dares
to crawl forth at night, although sheltered by the thickest darkness, it is white;
and the ferret, who is destined to hunt his prey through all its winding retreats,
and in what would be to us absolute darkness, has no paint on the choroides.

Tracing the choroides towards the fore part of the eye, we perceive that it is
reflected from the side to the edge of the lens, n, and has the appearance of
several plaits or folds. They are actually foldings of the membrane. It is not
diminished in size, but it has less space to cover, and there must be duplicatures
or plaits. They are usefully employed in the place in which we find them.
They prevent the passage of any rays of light on the outside of the lens, and
which, proceeding forward in various directions, and uncondensed by the power
of the lens, would render vision confused or imperfect. ‘These folds of the
choroides are called the ciliary processes.

Within the cornea, and occupying the fore part of the. eye, is the aqueous
humour, p, so termed from its resemblance to pure water. It is that by which
THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION. 131

the cornea is proserved in its protuberant and rounded form. It-extends to the
crystalline lens g, and therefore a portion of it, although a very small one, is be-
hind the iris (m, p. 127). Floating in this fluid is a membrane, with an oblong
aperture, called the Zris, It is that which gives colour to the eye. The human
eye is said to be black, or hazel, or blue, according to the colour of this mem-
brane or curtain ; and it is denominated the iris, or rainbow, from its beautiful
intermingling hues. The colour varies little in the horse, except that it always
bears some analogy to that of the skin. Wee rarely see it lighter than a hazel
or darker than a brown. Horses perfectly white, or cream-coloured, have the
iris white and the pupil red. When horses of other colours, and that are
usually pied, have a white iris and a black pupil, they are said to be wall-eyed.
Vulgar opinion has decided that a wall-eyed horse is never subject to blindness.
but this is altogether erroneous. There is no difference of structure that can
produce this exemption; but the wall-eyed horse, from this singular and un-
pleasant appearance, and his frequent want of breeding, may not be so much
used and exposed to many of the usual causes of inflammation.

The aperture in the iris is termed the pupil, and through it light passes to the
inner chamber of the eye. The pupil is oblong, and variable in size. It differs
with the intensity or degree of light that falls upon the eye. Ina dark stable
the pupil is expanded to admit a great proportion of the light that falls upon the
cornea ; but when the horse is brought towards the door of the stable and more
light is thrown upon the eye, the pupil contracts in order to keep out that extra
quantity which would be painful to the animal, and injurious to vision. When
opposed directly to the sun, the aperture will almost close.

This alteration of form in the pupil is effected by the muscular fibres that
enter into the composition of the iris. When these fibres are relaxed, the pupil
must proportionably diminish. The motions of the iris are not at all under the
control of the will, nor is the animal sensible of them. They are produced by
sympathy with the state of the retina. When, however, a deficient portion of
light reaches the retina, and vision is indistinct, we are conscious of an apparent
effort to bring the object more clearly into view, and the fibres then contract,
and the aperture enlarges, and more light is admitted.

This dilatation or contraction of the pupil gives a useful method of ascertain-
ing the existence of blindness in one eye or in both. The cornea and crystalline
lens remain perfectly transparent, but the retina is palsied, and is not affected
by light ; and many persons have been deceived when blindness of this description
has been confined to one eye. A horse blind in both eyes will usually have his
ears in constant and rapid motion, directing them in quick succession to every
quarter. He will likewise hang back in his halter in a peculiar way, and will
lift his feet high as if he were stepping over some obstacle, when there is actually
nothing to obstruct his passage, and there will be an evident uncertainty in the
putting down of his feet. In blindness of one eye little or nothing of this
characteristic gait and manner can be perceived. Although a one-eyed horse
may not be absolutely condemned for the common business of the carriage or
the road, he is generally deteriorated as a hunter, for he cannot measure his dis-

tances, and will run into his leaps *.

* Mr. W. Percivall, however, in his excel-
lent Lectures on the Veterinary Art, vol. iii. p,
201, says, ‘‘ The loss of one eye does not en-
feeble sight, because the other acquires greater
energy, though it much contracts the field of
vision. It is said to render the conception
erring, and the case of misjudgment of dis-
tances is the one commonly brought forward

Many a sportsman, puzzled and angry

to show this. All I can say on this point is,
that the best hunter I ever possessed, a horso
gifted with extraordinary powers for leaping,
waa a one-eyed horse, and this animal carried
me through a hunting scason, without, to my
recollection, making one single blunder in
leaping.”’

«2
152 THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION.

at the sudden blundering of his horse, or injured by one or more stunning falls,
has found a very natural although unexpected explanation of it in the blind.
ness of one eye, and that perhaps produced through his own fault, by over=
riding his willing and excellent servant and causing a determination of blood
to the eye, which proved fatal to the delicate texture of the retina. Even for
the carriage or the road he is considerably deteriorated, for his field of observation
must be materially lessened.

Let the size of both pupils be carefully noticed before the horse is removed
froin the stable, and, as he is led to the door, observe whether they both con-
tract, and equally so, with the increase of light. If the horse should be first
seen in the open air, let it be observed whether the pupils are precisely of the
same size; then let the hand be placed over each eye alternately and held
there for a little while, and let it be observed whether the pupil diiates with
the abstraction of light, and equally in each eye.

Hanging from the upper edge of the pupil of the horse, are two or three
round black substances, as large as millet seeds. When the horse is suddenly
brought into an intense light, and the pupil is closed, they present a singular
appearance, as they are pressed out from between the edges of the iris. An
equal number, but much smaller, are attached to the edge of the lower portion
of the iris. Their general use is probably to intercept rays of light which
would be troublesome or injurious, and their principal function is accomplished
during the act of grazing. They are larger on the upper edge of the iris, and
are placed on the outer side of the pupil, evidently to discharge the same func-
tion which we have attributed to the eyelashes, viz. to obstruct the light in those
directions in which it would come with greatest force, both from above and even
from below, while, at the same time, the field of view is perfectly open, so far
as it regards the pasture on which the horse is grazing.

Tn our cut m gives a duplicature of the iris, or the back surface of it. This
is called the wvea, and it is covered with a thick coat of black mucus, to arrest
the rays of light, and to prevent them from entering the eye in any other way
than through the pupil. The colour of the iris is, in some unknown way, con-
nected with this black paint behind. Wall-eyed horses, whose iris is white,
have no uvea.

We now arrive at a body on which all the important uses of the eye mainly
depend, the crystalline lens, g, so called from its resemblance to a piece of crys-
tal, or transparent glass. It is of a yielding jelly-like consistence, thicker and
firmer towards the centre, and convex on each side, but more convex on the
inner than the outer side. It is enclosed in a delicate transparent bag or capsule,
and is placed between the aqueous and the vitreous humours, and received into
a hollow in the vitreous humour, with which it exactly corresponds. It has,
from its density and its double convexity, the chief concern in converging the
rays of light which pass into the pupil.

The lens is very apt to be affected from long or violent inflammation of the
conjunctiva, and either its capsule becomes cloudy, and imperfectly transmits
the light, or the substance of the lens becomes opaque. The examination of
the horse, with a view to detect this, must either be in the shade, or at a stable
door, where the light shall fall on the animal from above and in front ; and
in conducting this examination we would once more caution the intended
purchaser against a superfluity of white about his neck. Holding the head of
the animal a little up, and the light coming in the direction that has been
described, the condition of the lens will at once be evident. The confirmed
cataract, or the opaque lens of long standing, will exhibit a pearly appearance,
that cannot be mistaken, and will frequently be attended with a change of form
—a portion of the lens being forced forwards into the pupil. Although the
THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION. 133

discase may not have proceeded so far as this, yet if there is the slightest cloudi-
ness of the lens, either generally, or in the form of a minute spot in the centre,
and with or without lines radiating from that spot, the horse is to be condemned ;
for, in ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the disease will proceed, and cataract,
or complete opacity of the lens, and absolute blindness, will be the result.

Cataract in the human being may, to a very considerable extent, be remedied.
‘The opaque lens may be extracted, or it may be forced into the vitreous humours,
and there existing as a foreign body, it will soon be absorbed and disappear.
These operations are impossible in the horse, for, in the first place, there is a
muscle of which we have already spoken, and to be presently more particularly de-
scribed, that is peculiar to quadrupeds, and of such power as generally to draw
back the eye too far into its socket for the surgeon to be enabled to make his inci-
sion; or could the incision be made, the action of this muscle would force out the
greater part of the contents of the eye, and this organ would speedily waste away.
If, however, the opaque lens could be withdrawn or depressed, and the mechan-
ism of the eye were not otherwise injured, the operation would be totally useless,
for we could not make the horse wear those convex glasses whose converging
power might compensate for the loss of the lens.

Behind the lens, and occupying four-fifths of the cavity of the eye, is the
vitreous humour (glassy, or resembling glass). It seems, when first taken from
the eye, to be of the consistence of a jelly, and of beautiful transparency ; but if
it is punctured a fluid escapes from it as limpid and as thin as water, and when
this has been suffered completely to ooze out, a mass of membraneous bags or
cells remains. The vitreous humour consists of a watery fluid contained in these
cells ; but the fluid and the cells form a body of considerably greater density than
the aqueous fluid in the front of the eye.

Last of all, between the vitreous humour and the choroid coat, is the retina, o,
or net-like membrane. It is an expansion of the substance, g, of the optic
nerve. When that nerve has reached the back of the eye, and penetrated through
the sclerotic and choroid coats, it first enlarges into a little white prominence,
from which radiations or expansions of nervous matter proceed, which spread
over the whole of the choroid coat, and form the third investment of the eye.
The membrane by which this nervous pulp is supported, is so exceedingly thin
and delicate, that it will tear with the slightest touch, and break even with its
own weight. The membrane and the pulp are perfectly transparent in the
living animal. The pupil appears to be black, beeause in the daytime it imper-
fectly reflects the colour of the choroid coat beneath. In the dusk it is greenish,
because, the glare of day being removed, the actual green of the paint appears.

On this expansion of nervous pulp, the rays of light from surrounding
objects, condensed by the lens and the humours, fall, and, producing a certain
image corresponding with these objects, the animal is conscious of their exist-
ence and presence. :

1t may, however, so happen that from the too great or too little convexity of
the eye or a portion of it, the place of most distinct vision may not be imme-
diately on the retina, but a little before or behind it. In proportion as this is
the case, the sight will be indistinct and imperfect ; nor shall we be able to offer
any remedy for this defect of sight. There is a shying, often the result of
cowardice or playfulness, or want of work, but at othertimes proving, beyond
contradiction, a defect of sight even more dangerous than blindness. A blind
horse will resign himself to the guidance of his rider or driver ; but against the
misconception and starting of a shying horse there is no defence. That horses
grow shy as they grow old no one accustomed to them will deny ; and no intel-
ligent person will be slow in attributing it to the right cause—a decay in the
organ of vision,—a loss of convexity in the eye, Jessening the convergency of
134 THE SENSORIAL FUNCTION.

the rays, and throwing the perfect image beyond, and not on, the retina. fae
is a striking difference in the convexity of the cornea in the colt and : € 0
horse; and both of them, probably, may shy from opposite ee e -
from a cornea too prominent, and the other from one too flat. In the usua
examination of the horse previously to purchase, sufficient attention is not always
aid to the convexity of the cornea. :
7 The remedy for ae will be considered when we speak of the vices of
horses. 5

There is a provision yet wanting. The horse has a very extended field of view,
but many persons are not perhaps aware how little of it he can command at a
time. There is not one of our readers who can make out a single line of our
treatise without changing the direction of the eye. It is curious to follow the
motion of the eyes of arapid reader. Nature has given no less than seven
muscles to the horse, in order to turn this little but important organ ; and, that
they may act with sufficient power and quickness, no fewer than six nerves are
directed to the muscles of the eye generally, or to particular ones—while the
eye rests on a mass of fat, that it may be turned with little exertion of power,
and without friction.

MUSCLES OF THE EYE.

There are four straight muscles, three of which, d, e, and f, are represented
in our cut, rising fromthe back of the orbit, and inserted into the ball of the
eye, opposite to, and at equal dis-
tances from each other. One, d,
runs to the upper part of the eye,
just behind the transparent and vi-
sible portion of it, and its office is
clearly to raise the eye. When it
contracts, the eye must be drawn
, upward, Another, f, is inserted
exactly opposite, at the bottom of
the eye ; and its office is as clearly
to depress the eye, or enable the
animal to look downwards. A third, e, is inserted at the outer corner, and by
means of it the eye is turned outward, and, from the situation of the eye of the
horse, considerably backward ; and the fourth is inserted at the inner corner,
turning the eye inward. They can thus rotate or turn the eye in any direction
the animal wishes, and by the action of one, or the combined power of any two
of them, the eye can be immediately and accurately directed to every point.

These muscles, however, have another duty to discharge. They support the
eye in its place. In the usual position of the head of the horse, they must be to
a certain degree employed for this purpose ; but when he is grazing or feeding,
the principal weight of the eye rests upon them. Another muscle is therefore
added, peculiar to quadrupeds, called the retractor (drawer-back), or the sus-
pensorius (suspensory) muscle, g. It arises from the edge of the foramen through
which the optic nerve enters the orbit—surrounds the nerve as it proceeds for-
ward, and then, partially dividing into four portions, is attached to the back part
of the eye. Its office is evidently to support the eye generally, or, when sud-
denly called into powerful action, and assisted by the straight muscles, it draws
the eye back out of the reach of threatening danger, and in the act of drawing
it back causes the haw to protrude, as an additional defence.

The power of this muscle is very great. It renders some operations on the
eye almost impossible. It is an admirable substitute for the want of hands, to
defend the eye from many things that would injure it; and, being partially
separated into four divisions, it assists the straight muscles in turning the eye.

 
INJURIES AND DISEASES OF THE SKULL, &c. 135

These muscles discharge another and a most important office. If we examine
near and distant objects through a telescope, we must alter the focus; i. e., we
must increase or diminish the length of the tube. We must shorten it a little
when we examine distant objects, because the rays, coming to us from them in
aless divergent direction, are sooner brought to a point by the power of the
lens, Thus the straight and retractor muscles drawing back the eye, and forcing
it upon the substance behind, and in a slight degree flattening it, bring
the lens nearer to the retina, and adapt the eye to the observation of distant
objects.

Still, however, being constantly employed in supporting the weight of the
eye, these muscles may not be able to turn it so rapidly and so extensively as
the wishes or wants of the animal require ; therefore two others are superadded
which are used solely in turning the eye. They are called oblique muscles,
because their course is obliquely across the eye. The upper one is most
curiously constructed, a,b. It comes from the back part of the orbit, and
takes a direction upwards and towards the inner side, and there, just under
the ridge of the orbit, it passes through a perfect mechanical pulley, and, turn-
ing round, proceeds across the eye, and is inserted rather beyond the middle of
the eye, towards the outer side. Thus the globe of the eye is evidently directed
inward and upward. Something more, however, is accomplished by this singu-
lar mechanism. The eye is naturally deep in the orbit, that it may be more
perfectly defended; but it may be necessary occasionally to bring it forward,
and enlarge the field of vision. The eye is actually protruded under the
influence of fear. Not only are the lids opened more widely, but the eye
is brought more forward. How is this accomplished? There are no muscles
anterior to, or before the eye—there is no place for their insertion. The object
is readily effected by this singular pulley, b,c. By the power of this muscle,
—the trochlearis, or pulley-muscle—and the straight muscles at the same time
not opposing it, or only regulating the direction of the eye, it is really brought
somewhat forward. The lower oblique muscle rises just within the lacrymal
hone (i, p. 110), and, proceeding across the eye, is fixed into the part of the
sclerotica opposite to the other oblique muscle, and it turns the eye in @ con-
trary direction, assisting, however, the upper oblique in bringing the eye forward
from its socket.

 

CHAPTER VII.

INJURIES AND DISEASES OF THE SKULL—THE BRAIN—THE
EARS—AND THE EYES.

—_——e——

We have now arrived at a convenient resting-place in our somewhat dry but
necessary description of the structure of the horse, and we willingly turn to
more practical matter. We will consider the injuries and diseases of the parts
we have surveyed. In entering, however, on this division of our work, we
would premise, that it is impossible.for us to give the farmer such an account
of the nature and treatment of the diseases of horses as will enable him with
safety to practise for himself, except in the commonest cases. The causes of
most diseases are so obscure, their symptoms s0 variable, and their connexion
with other maladies so complicated and mysterious, that a life devoted to pro-

fessional study will alone qualify a man to become a judicious and successful
136 INJURIES AND DISEASES OF THE SKULL, &e.

practitioner on the diseases of the horse and other domestic animals. Our
object will be to communicate sufficient instruction to the farmer to enable him
to act with promptness and judgment when he cannot obtain professional
assistance, to qualify him to form a satisfactory opinion of the skill of the
veterinary surgeon whom he may employ, and, more especially, to divest him of
those strange and absurd prejudices which in a variety of cases not only produce
and prolong disease, but bring it to a fatal termination.

FRACTURE,

We have described the cavity of the skull of the horse as being so defended
by the hardness of the parietal bones, and those bones so covered by a mass of
muscle, and the occipital bone as so exceedingly thick (see page 185), that a
Fracrury of the skull is almost impossible. It can only occur from brutal
violence, or when a horse falls in the act of rearing. When, however, fracture
of the skull does occur, it is almost invariably fatal. A blow of sufficient
violence to break these bones must likewise irreparably injure the delicate and
important organ which they protect.

The ridge, or outer and upper part of the orbit of the eye, is occasionally
fractured. It happens from falling, or much oftener from violent blows. The
slightest examination will detect the loosened pieces; but a professional man
alone can render effectual assistance.

Mr. Pritchard, in the second volume of the “ Veterinarian,” relates an inter-
esting case of fracture of the orbit of the eye. “A chesnut mare,” he says,
“received a blow which fractured the orbit from the superciliary foramen, in
a line through the zygomatic processes of the temporal and malar bones to the
outer angle of the eye. The detached bone, together with the divided integu-
ment, hung over the eye so as to intercept vision. On examining the place
where the accident occurred, two portions of bone were found belonging to the
orbital arch. After carefully inspecting the wound, and finding no other
detached portions, nor any spicule which might irritate or wound, the adjacent
portions of the skin were carefully drawn together, and secured by a silver
wire, which closed the wound, and confined the detached portion of bone in its
proper place. A mash diet was ordered.

“On the following day there was considerable inflammation. The eye was
bathed with warm water, and a dose of physic administered. On the third day
the inflammation and swelling had still more increased. Blood was abstracted
from the vein at the angle of the eye. The swelling and inflammation now
speedily abated ; and on the 15th day the wound had quite healed.”

If a fracture of this kind is suspected, its existence or non-existence may be
easily determined by introducing the thumb under, and keeping the fore -finger
upon, the edge of the orbit.

EXOSTOSIS.

Bony enlargements of the orbital arch sometimes arise from natural predis-
position or local injury. They should be attacked in the earliest stage, for
they are too apt rapidly to increase. Some preparation of iodine, as described
in the account of medicines, will be useful in this case.

CARIES.

Inflammation and enlargement of the injured bones, followed by abscess and
the production of certain bony growths, are of occasional occurrence. A skilful
practitioner can alone decide whether a cure should be attempted, or the suffer-
ings of the animal terminated by death.

COMPRESSION OF THE BRAIN.
Hydatids are often found within the cranial cavity, aud lying upon or im-
MEGRIMS. 137

bedded in the brain of oxen and sheep. Their existence is usually fatal to the
animal. There is no well-authenticated account of the existence of an hydatid
in the cranial cavity of the horse ; but cysts, containing a serous or viscid fluid,
are occasionally observed. The following is the history of one:—A horse
exhibited symptoms of vertigo, or staggers, which disappeared after copious
bleeding and purgatives. About twelve months afterwards the same complaint
was evident. He carried his head low and inclined to the right side.
He staggered as he walked, and the motion of his limbs was marked by a
peculiar convulsive action, confined to the fore extremities. He moved by a
succession of spasmodic boundings. He was completely deaf; and rapidly lost
flesh, though he ate and drank voraciously. He remained in this state, to the
shame of the owner and the practitioner, several months, and then he had a fresh
attack of vertigo, and died suddenly. On examination of the brain, its mem-
branes were found to be completely reddened ; and, between the two lobes of
the brain, was a round cyst as large as a pullet’s cgg. The pressure of this was
the manifest cause of the mischief.

PRESSURE ON THE BRAIN.

This may be produced by some fluid thrown out between the membranes, or
occupying and distending the ventricles of the brain. In the full-grown horse
it rarely occurs; but it is well known to breeders as an occasional disease of
the foal, under the name of ‘‘ water in the head.” The head is either much
enlarged, or strangely deformed, or both; and the animal dies, either in the
birth, or a few days after it.

MEGRIMS.

There is another kind of pressure on the brain, resulting from an unusual
determination or flow of blood to it. This organ requires a large supply of blood
to enable it to discharge its important functions. Nature, in the horse more
than in many other animals, has made some admirable provisions to causc this
stream to flow into the brain with little velocity, and thereby to lessen the risk
of suddenly overloading it or rupturing its vessels. The arteries pursue their
course to the brain in a strangely winding and circuitous manner; and they
enter the skull through bony apertures that will admit of the enlargement
of the vessels only to a very limited extent. From various causes, however,
of which the most common is violent exercise on a hot day, and the horse being
fat and full of blood, more than the usual quantity is sent to the head ; or,
from some negligence about the harness—as the collar being too small, or the
turb-rein too tight—the blood is prevented from returning from the head.
The larger vessels of the brain will then be too long and injuriously distended ;
and, what is of more consequence, the small vessels that permeate the sub-
stance of the brain will be enlarged, and the bulk of the brain increased, so that
it will press upon the origins of the nerves, and produce, almost without warn-
ing, loss of power and consciousness.

The mildest affection of this kind is known by the name of Meorius. It
comparatively rarely happens when the horse is ridden ; but should he be driven,
and perhaps rather quickly, he may perform a part of his journey with his
usual cheerfulness and ease: he will then suddenly stop, shake his head, and
exhibit evident giddiness, and half-unconsciousness, In a minute or two this
will pass over, and he will go on again as if nothing had happened. ;

Occasionally, however, the attack will be of a more serious nature. He will fall
without the slightest warning, or suddenly run round once or twice, and then
fall. He will either lie in a state of complete insensibility, or struggle with
the utmost violence. In five or ten minutes he will begin gradually to come
to himself ; he will get up and proceed on his journey, yet somewhat dull, and
4138 APOPLEXY.

evidently affected and exhausted by what had happened, although not seriously
or permanently ill.

At the moment of attack, a person who is competent to the task should abstract
three or four quarts of blood from the neck-vein ; 6r cut the bars of the palate in
the manner to be explained when we describe that part, and whence & consider.
able and sufficient quantity of blood may be readily obtained. ; The driver
should pat and soothe the animal, loosen the curb rein, if possible ease the
collar, and pursue his journey as slowly as circumstances will permit. When
he gets home, a dose of physic should be administered if the horse can be spared,
the quantity of dry food lessened, and mashes given, or green meat, or he should
be turned out to grass for two or three months.

Is all this necessary because a horse has happened to have a fit of the
megrims? Yes, and more too in the mind of the prudent man ; for it is seldom
that a horse has the megrims without the predisposition to a second attack
remaining. These over-distended vessels may be relieved for a while, but it is
long before they perfectly recover their former tone. It requires but a little
increased velocity or force in the vital current once more to distend them, and
to produce the same dangerous effects. The testimony of experience is uniform
with regard to this; and he would not do justice to himself or his family who
trusted himself behind a horse that had a second attack of megrims,

APOPLEXY.

Mecrimsis apopLExY under itsmildest form. In the latter affection, the deter-
mination of blood, if not so sudden, is greater, or differently directed, or more
lasting. It is seldom, however, that there are not timely warnings of its approach,
if the carter or the groom had wit enough to observe them. The horse is a little
off his feed—he is more than 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 decided character,
until, at length, it forces itself on the attention of the most careless.

The actual illness is perhaps first recognised 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
pressure of the head. As he thus stands, he is balancing himself 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, orat
least he is nearly or quite unconscious of surrounding objects, When he is
roused, he locks 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 afterwards 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 last
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
ioud. 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 feces involuntary. He grinds his teeth—twitchings steal over his face
and attack his limbs—they sometimes proceed to convulsions, and dreadful
APOPLEXY. 139

ones too, in 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 membranes 7
but either the stomach contains a more than usual quantity of food, or the larger
intestines are loaded with foul matter.

This disease is found more frequently in the stable of the postmaster and the
farmer than anywhere else. Thirty years ago it was the very pest of these
stables, and the loss sustained by some persons was enormous ; but, as veteri-
nary science progressed, the nature -and the causes of the disease were better
understood, and there is not now one case of staggers where twenty used to
occur,

Apoplexy is a determination of blood to the head, and the cause is the over-
condition of the animal and too great fulness of blood. Notions of proper condi-
tion in the horse now prevail very different from those by which our forefathers
were guided. It no longer consists in the round sleek carcase, fat enough for
the butcher, but in fulness and hardness of the muscular fibre, and a compara-
tive paucity of cellular and adipose matter—in that which will add to the power
of nature, and not oppress and weigh her down.

The system of exercise is better understood than it used formerly to be. It
is proportioned to the quantity and quality of the food, and more particulariy
the division of labour is more rational. The stage-horse no longer runs his
sixteen or eighteen, or even two-and-twenty miles, and then, exhausted, is
turned into the stable for the next twenty hours. ‘The food is no longer eaten
voraciously ; the comparatively little stomach of the animal is no longer dis-
tended, before nature has been able sufficiently to recruit herself to carry on
the digestive process ; the vessels of the stomach are no longer oppressed, and the
flow of blood through them arrested, and, consequently, more blood directed to
other parts, and to the brain among the rest.

The farmer used to send his horses out early in the morning, and keep them
at plough for six or eight hours, and then they were brought home and suffered
to overgorge themselves, and many of them were attacked by staggers and died.
Tf the evil did not proceed quite to this extent, the farmer’s horse was notori-
ously subject to fits of heaviness and sleepiness—he had half-attacks of staggers.
From this frequent oppression of the brain—this pressure on the optic nerves as
well as other parts, another consequence ensued, unsuspected at the time, but
far-too prevalent—the horse became blind. The farmer was notorious for
having more blind horses in his stable than any other person, except, perhaps,
the postmaster.

The system of horse management is now essentially changed. Shorter stages,
a division of the labour of the day, and a sufficient interval for rest, and for
feeding, have, comparatively speaking, banished sleepy staggers from the stables
of the postmaster. The division of the morning and afternoon labour of the
farmer’s horse, with the introduction of that simple but invaluable contrivance,
the nose-bag, have rendered this disease comparatively rare in the establishment
of the agriculturist. To the late Professor Coleman we are indebted for some
of these most important improvements.

Old horses are more subject to staggers than young ones, for the stomach
has become weak by the repetition of the abuses just described. It has not power
to digest and expel the food, and thus becomes a source of general, and particu-
larly of cerebral, disturbance.
140 APOPLEXY.

Horses at grass are occasionally attacked by this discase ; but they are
generally poor, hard-worked, half-starved animals, turned on richer pasture
than their impaired digestive organs are equal to. Perhaps the weather is hot,
and the sympathy of the brain with the undue labour of the stomach is
more easily excited, and a determination of blood to the brain more readily
effected. A

Mr. Percivall gives a very satisfactory illustration of the production of staggers
in this way. He says that “ when his father first entered the service of the
Ordnance, it was the custom to turn horses which had become low in condition,
but were still well upon their legs, into the marshes, in order to recruit their
strength. During the months of July, August, and September, nothing was
more common than an attack of staggers among these horses, and which was
naturally attributed to the luxuriant pasture they were turned into, combined
with the dependent posture of the head, and the sultry heat to which they were
exposed.”

Occasionally it will be necessary for the owner or the veterinary attendant to
institute very careful inquiry, or he will not detect the real causes of the dis-
ease. Does it arise from improper management, to which the horse has been in
a manner habituated? Had he been subjected to long labour and fasting,
and had then the opportunity of gorging to excess? Did it proceed from acci-
dental repletion—from the animal having got loose in the night, and found out
the corn or the chaff bin, and filled himself almost to bursting? There is
nothing in the appearance of the animal which will lead to a discovery of the
cause—no yellowness or twitchings of the skin, no local swellings, as some have
described ; but the practitioner or the owner must get at the truth of the mat-
ter as well as he can, and then proceed accordingly.

As to the rREATMENT of staggers, whatever be the cause of the disease, bleed-
ing is the first measure indicated—the overloaded vessels of the brain must be
relieved. The jugular vein should be immediately opened. It is easily got at—
it is large—the blood may be drawn from it in a full stream, and, being also the
vessel through which the blood is returned from the head, the greater part of
the quantity obtained will be taken immediately from the overloaded organ, and
therefore will be most likely to produce the desired effect. No definite quantity
of blood should be ordered to be abstracted. The effect produced must be the
guide, and the bleeding must be continued until the horse falters, or begins to
blow—or, perhaps, with more assured success, until he falls. Some persons
select the temporal artery. This is very unscientific practice. It is difficult,
or impossible, to obtain from this vessel a stream that promises any decisive suc-
cess. It is likewise difficult to stop the bleeding from this artery, and, after all,
the blood is not drawn from the actual seat of the disease—the brain. e

The second step is to ascertain what is the cause of the apoplexy. Has the
animal got at the corn or the chaff bin? Had he been overfed on the evening
before, and is his stomach probably distended to the utmost by what he has
eaten? In such a case, of what avail can physic be, introduced into a stomach
already crammed with indigestive food? Or what effect can twelve or twenty
drachms of aloes produce, a small portion only of which can penetrate into the
stomach? Recourse must be had to the sromacu-puup, one of the most valu-
able discoveries of modern times, and affording the means of combating several
diseases that had previously set all medical skill at defiance. Warm water must
be injected. ‘The horse is now incapable of offering much resistance, and the
injection may be continued not only until the contents of the stomach are so far
diluted that a portion of them can escape through the lower orifice of that
viscus, but until the obstruction to vomiting offered by the contracted entrance

of the stomach is overcome, and a portion of the food is returned through
the nostriJs or mouth.
PHRENITIS. M1

This being effected, or it having been ascertained that there was no extreme
distension of the stomach, recourse should be had to aloes, and from eight to
twelve drachms of it may be administered. It will be proper to add some
stimulating medicine to the aloes, with a view of restoring the tone of the
stomach, and inducing it to contract on its contents. Gentian and ginger are
most likely to effect this purpose.

The after-treatment must be regulated by circumstances. For some time the
horse should be put on a restricted diet ; mashes should be given ; green meat
in no great quantity ; a moderate allowance of hay, and very little corn. When
sufficiently recovered, he may be turned out with advantage on rather bare
pasture. One circumstance, however, should never be forgotten—that the
horse who has once been attacked with staggers is liable to a return of the com-
plaint from causes that otherwise would not affect him. The distended vessels
are weakened—the constitution is weakened, and prudence would dictate that
such an animal cannot be too soon disposed of.

Let no farmer delude himself with the idea that apoplexy is contagious. If
his horses have occasionally slight fits of staggers, or if the disease carries off
several of them, he may be assured that there is something wrong in his
management. One horse may get at the corn-bin and cram himself to burst-
ing ; but if several are attacked, it is time for the owner to look about him. ‘The
general cause is too voracious feeding—too much food given at once, and
perhaps without water, after hard work and long fasting.

There is one consequence of this improper treatment, of which persons do not
appear to be sufficiently aware, although they suffer severely from it. A horse
that has frequent half-attacks of staggers very often goes blind. It is not the
common blindness from cataract, but a peculiarly glassy appearance of the eye.
lf the history of these blind horses could be told, it would be found that they
had been subject to fits of drooping and dulness, and these produced by absurd
management respecting labour and food.

PHRENITIS.

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 phrenitis, 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 doses until he falls. The pulse is
slow and creeping, and the breathing oppressed and laborious, This is the
description of apoplexy. The symptoms may differ a little in intensity and
continuance, but not much in kind.

The phrenitic horse, however, is not so perfectly comatose as another that
labours 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.

a the duration of the early symptoms there is some difference. If the apo-
plexy proceeds from distension of the stomach, four-and-twenty or six-and-
thirty hours wil] 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 stomach and the brain, the disease will
go on—it will become worse and worse every hour, and this imperfect coma-
tose state will remain during two or three days. The apoplexy of the phre-
nitic horse will often run its course in a few hours.

In a case of evident phrenitis, blood-letting and physic must be early carried
142 PHRENITIS.

to their full extent. The horse will often be materially relieved, and, perhaps,
cured by this decisive treatment ; but, if the golden hour has been suffered to
pass, or if remedial measures have become ineffectual, the scene all at once
changes, and the most violent reaction succeeds. The eye brightens—strangely
so; the membrane of the eye becomes suddenly reddened, and forms a frightful
contrast with the transparency of the ccrnea ; the pupil is dilated to the utmost ;
the nostril, before scarcely moving, expands and quivers, and labours; the
respiration becomes short and quick ; the ears are erect, or bent forward to catch
the slightest sound; and the horse, becoming more irritable every instant,
trembles at the slightest motion. The irritability 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 a while exhausted—there is a remission of the
symptoms, but perhaps only for a minute or two, or possibly for a quarter of an
hour.

Now is the surgeon’s golden time, and his courage and adroitness will be put
to the test. He must open, if he can, one or both jugulars: but let him be on
his guard, for the paroxysm will return with its former violence and without
the slightest warning.

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, destitute of feeling and of consciousness, he bites and
tears himself. He darts furiously at everything 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 exacerbation follow, and
then, wearied out, he becomes quiet ; but it is not the quietness of returning
reason—it is mere stupor. This continues for an uncertain period, and then he
begins to struggle again; but he is now 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
phrenitic horse. There is no involuntary spasm of any of the limbs; the animal
is perfectly 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, cannot be mistaken.

In rabies, when it does assume the ferocious form, there is even more violence
than in phrenitis; 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 destruction. There is
not a motion of which the rabid horse is not conscious, nor a person whom he
does not recognise ; but he labours under one all-absorbing feeling—the intense
longing to devastate and destroy.

The post-mortem appearances are altogether uncertain. There is usually
very great injection and inflammation of the membranes of the brain, and even
of portions of the substance of the brain; but in other cases there is scarcely
any trace of inflammation, or even of increased vascularity.

The treatment of phrenitis has been very shortly hinted at. The first—the
indispensable proceeding—is to bleed ; to abstract as much blood as can be ob-
tained ; to let the animal bleed on after he is down ; and indeed not, to pin up the
vein of the phreuitic horse at all. ‘The patient will never be lost. by this decisive
PHRENITIS. 143

proceeding, but the inflammation may be subdued, and here the first blow is the
whole of the battle. The physic should be that which is most readily given and
will most speedily act. The farina of the croton will, perhaps, have the
preference. Half adrachm or two scruples of it may be fearlessly administered.
The intense inflammation of the brain gives sufficient assurance that no danger-
ous inflammation will be easily set up in the intestinal canal. This medicine
can be formed into a very little ball or drink, and in some momentary remission
of the symptoms, administered by means of the probang, or a stick, or the horn.
Sometimes the phrenitic horse, when he will take nothing else, and is unconscious
of everything else, will drink with avidity gruel or water. Repeated doses of
purgative medicine may perhaps be thus given, and they must be continued until
the bowels respond. ‘The forehead should be blistered, if it can in any way be
accomplished ; yet but little service is to be expected from this manipulation.
The bowels having been well opened, digitalis should be administered. Its first
and most powerful action is on the heart, diminishing both the number and
strength of its pulsations. ‘To this may be added emetic tartar and nitre, but
not a particle of hellebore ; for that drug, if it acts at all, produces an increased
determination of blood to the brain.

While the disease continues, no attempt must be made to induce the horse to
feed; and even when appetite returns with the abatement of inflammation great
caution must be exercised both with regard to the quantity and quality of the
food.

RABIES, OR MADNESS.

This is another and fearful disease of the nervous system. It results from
the bite of a rabid animal, and, most commonly, of the companion and friend of
the horse—the coach-dog. The account now given of this malady is extracted
from lectures which the author of the present work delivered to his class.

“There is occasional warning of the approach of this disease in the horse, or
rather of the existence of some unusual malady, the real nature of which is
probably mistaken. A mare, belonging to Mr. Karslake, had during ten days
before the recognition of the disease been drooping, refusing her food, heaving at
the flanks, and pawing occasionally. It was plain enough that she was indisposed,
but at length the furious fit came upon her, and she destroyed almost everything
in the stable in the course of an hour. The late Mr. Moneyment had a two-
years old colt brought to his establishment. It was taken ill in the afternoon
of the preceding day, when it first attracted attention by refusing its food, and
throwing itself down and getting up againimmediately. From such a description,
Mr. Moneyment concluded that it was a case of cholic ; but, when he went into
the yard, and saw the pony, and observed his wild and anxious countenance, and
his excessive nervous sensibility, he was convinced that something uncommon
was amiss with him, although he did not at first suspect the real nature of
the case.

The early symptoms of rabies in the horse have not been carefully observed
or well recorded ; but, in the majority of cases, so far as our records go, them
will not often be premonitory symptoms sufficiently decisive to be noticed by
the groom.

The horse goes out to his usual work, and, for a certain time and distance,
performs it as well as he had been accustomed to do ; then he stops all at once—
trembles, heaves, paws, staggers, and falls. Almost immediately he rises, drags
his load a little farther, and again stops, looks about him, backs, staggers, and
falls once more. This is not afit of megrims—it is not a sudden determination
of blood to the brain, for the horse is not for a single moment insensible. The
sooner he is led home the better, for the progress of the disease is as rapid as the
1i4 RABIES, OR MADNESS.

first attack is sudden ; and, possibly, he will fall twice or thrice before he reaches
his stable. .

In the great majority of cases—or rather, with very few exceptions—a state of
excitation ensues, which is not exceeded by that of the dog under the most
fearful form of the malady, but there are intervals when, if he had been naturally
good-tempered and had been attached to his rider or his groom, he will recognise
his former friend and seek his caresses, and bend on him one of those piteous,
searching looks which, once observed, will never be forgotten : but there: is dan-
ger about this. Presently succeeds another paroxysm, without warning and
without control; and there is no safety for him who had previously the most
complete mastery over the animal.

I was once attending a rabid horse. The owner would not have him destroyed,
under the vain hope that I had mistaken a case of phrenitis for one of rabies,
and that the disease might yield to the profuse abstraction of blood that I had
been prevailed on to effect, and the purgative influence of the farina of the
croton-nut with which he had been abundantly supplied in an early stage of
the malady. I insisted upon his being slung, so that we were protected from
injury from his kicking or plunging. He would bend his gaze upon me as if
he would search me through and through, and would prevail on me, if I could,
to relieve him from some dreadful evil by which he was threatened. He would
then press his head against my bosom, and keep it therea minute or more. All
at once, however, the paroxysm would return. He did not attempt to bite me;
but, had it not been for the sling, he would have plunged furiously about, and I
might have found it difficult to escape.

I had previously attended another horse, which the owner refused to have des-
troyed, and to which attendance I only consented on condition of the animal being
slung. He hadbeen bitten in thenear hind-leg. When I approached him on that
side, he did not attempt to bite me, and he could not otherwise injure me ; but he
was agitated and trembled, and struggled as well as he could ; and if I merely
touched him with my finger, the pulsations were quickened full ten beats in a
minute. When, however, I went round to the off side, he permitted me to pat
him, and I had to encounter his imploring gaze, and his head was pressed against
me—and then presently would come the paroxysm ; but it came on almost
before I could touch him, when I approached him on the other side.

These mild cases, however, are exceptions to a general rule. They are few
and far between. The horse is the servant, and not the friend of man; and if
his companion, yet an oppressed one. In proportion to his bulk he has far less
of that portion of the brain with which intelligence is connected—less attach-
ment—less gratitude. He is nevertheless a noble animal. I am not speaking
disparagingly of him ; but I am comparing him with—next to man—the most
intellectual of all quadrupeds. There is neither the motive for, nor the capability
of, that attachment which the dog feels for his master, and therefore, under the
influence of this disease, he abandons himself to all its dreadful excitement.

The mare of Mr. Karslake, when the disease was fully developed, forgot
her former drooping, dispirited state: her respiration was accelerated—
her mouth was covered with foam—a violent perspiration covered every part of
her, and her screams would cow the stoutest heart. She presently demolished all
the wood-work of the stable, and then she employed herself in beating to pieces
the fragments, no human being daring to expose himself to her fury.

The symptoms of the malady of Mr. Moneyment’s pony rapidly increased
—he bit everything within his reach, even different parts of his own body—
he breathed laboriously—his tail erect—screaming dreadfully at short intervals,
striking the ground with his fore-feet, and perspiring most profusely. At length
he broke the top of his manger, and rushed out of the stall with it hanging to
RABIES, OR MADNESS. 145

his halter. He made immediately towards the medical attendant, and the
spectators who were standing by. They fortunately succeeded in getting out of
his way, and he turned into the next stall, and dropped and died.

A young veterinary friend of mine very incautiously and fool-hardily
attempted to ball a rabid horse. The animal had previously shown himself to
be dangerous, and had slightly bitten a person who gave him a ball on the
preceding evening: he now seized the young student’s hand, and lifted him
from the ground, and shook him, as a terrier-would shake arat. It was with
the greatest difficulty, and not until the grooms had attacked the ferocious
animal with their pitchforks, that they could compel him to relinquish his
hold; and, even then, not before he had bitten his victim to the bone, and nearly
torn away the whole of the flesh from the upper and lower surfaces of the
hand*. i

There is also in the horse, whose attachment to his owner is often compara-
tively small, a degree of treachery which we rarely meet with in the nobler and
more intellectual dog. A horse that had shown symptoms of great ferocity was
standing in the corner of his box, with a heaving flank, and every muscle
quivering from the degree of excitement under which he laboured. A
groom, presuming on the former obedience of the animal, ventured in, and
endeavoured to puta headstall upon him. Neither the master nor myself
could persuade him to forbear. I was sure of mischief, for I had observed the
ear lying flat upon the neck, and I could see the backward glance of the eye;
I therefore armed myself with a heavy twitch stick that was at hand, and
climbed into the manger of the next box. The man had not advanced two
steps into the box before I could see the shifting position of the fore feet, and
the preparation to spring upon his victim ; and he would have sprung upon him,
but my weapon fell with all the force I could urge upon his head, and he
dropped. The man escaped, but the brute was up again in an instant, and we
trembled lest the partition of the box should yield to his violence, and he would
realise the graphic description of Mr. Blaine, when he speaks of the rabid horse
as “levelling everything before him, himself sweating, and snorting, and foaming
amidst the ruins.”

I have had occasion more than once to witness the evident pain of the
bitten part, and the manner in which the horse in the intervals of his
paroxysms employs himself in licking or gnawing the cicatrix. One animal
had been bitten in the chest, and he, not in the intervals between the exacer-
bation, but when the paroxysm was most violent, would bite and tear himself
until his breast was shockingly mangled, and the blood flowed from it in a
stream.

The most interesting and satisfactory symptom is the evident dread of water
which exists in the decided majority of cases, and the impossibility of swallowing
any considerable quantity. Professor Dupuy gives an account of this cireum-
stance :—‘ A rabid horse was confined in one of the sick boxes. His food
was given to him through an opening over the door, and a bucket was suspended
from the door, and supplied with water by means of a copper tube, As soon
as he heard the water falling into the pail, he fell into violent convulsions,
seized the tube, and crushed it to pieces. When the water in his bucket was
agitated, the convulsions were renewed. He would occasionally approach the
bucket as if he wished to drink, and then, after agitating the water for an
instant, he would fall on his litter, uttering a hoarse ery; but he would rise
again almost immediately. These symptoms were dreadfully increased if water
was thrown upon his head. He would then endeavour to seize it as it fell, and

* In the Museum of the Veterinary School at Alfort, is the lower jaw of a rabid horse,
which was fractured in the violent efforts of the animal to do mischief.

L
146 RABIES, OR MADNESS.

bite with fury at everything within his reach, his whole frame being dreadfully
convulsed.”

As the disease progresses, not only is the animal rapidly debilitated, but there
is the peculiar staggering gait which is observable in the dog—referable to
evident loss of power in the muscles of the lumbar region. 1 once saw a mare
sitting on her haunches, and unable to rise; yet using her fore feet with the
utmost fury, and suffering no one to come within her reach. She, too, would
sometimes plunge her muzzle into the offered pail ; and immediately withdraw
it in evident terror, while every limb trembled. At other times the lowcring
of the pail would affright her, and she would fall on her side and struggle
furiously. Although this symptom is not often observed in the dog, it is a
satisfactory identification of the disease, when it is so frequently seen in the
horse, and so invariably in the human being. ‘

The earliest and perhaps the most decisive symptom of the near approach
of rabies in the horse, is a spasmodic movement of the upper lip, particularly
of the angles of the lip. Close following on this, or contemporaneous with it,
is the depressed and anxious countenance, and inquiring gaze, suddenly how-
ever lighted up and becoming fierce and menacing, from some unknown cause,
or at the approach of a stranger. From time to time different parts of the
frame—the eyes—the jaws—particular limbs—will be convulsed. The eye will
occasionally wander after some imaginary object, and the horse will snap again
and again at that which has no real existence. Then will come the irrepressible
desire to bite the attendants or the animals within its reach. To this will succeed
the demolition of the rack, the manger, and the whole furniture of the stable,
accompanied by the peculiar ‘dread of water which has been already described.

Towards the close of the disease there is generally paralysis, usually con-
fined to the loins and the hinder extremities, or involving those organs which
derive their nervous influence from this portion of the spinal cord ;—hence the
distressing tenesmus which is occasionally seen.

The disease rarely extends beyond the third day.

After death, there is uniformly found inflammation at the back part of the
mouth, and at the top of the windpipe, and likewise in the stomach, and on the
membrane covering the Jungs, and where the spinal marrow first issues from
the brain.”

When the disease can be clearly connected with a previous bite, the sooner
the animal is destroyed the better, for there is no cure. If the symptoms bear
considerable resemblance to rabies, although no bite is suspected, the horse
should at least be slung, and the medicine, if any is administered, given in the
form of a drink, and with the hand well protected ; for if it should be scratched
in balling the horse, or the skin should have been previously broken, the saliva
of the animal is capable of communicating the disease. Several farriers have
lost their lives from being bitten or scratched in the act of administering medi-
cine to a rabid horse.

It is always dangerous to encourage any dogs about the stable, and especially
if they become fond of the horses, and are in the habit of jumping up and
licking them. The corners of the mouth of the horse are often sore from the
pressure of the bit; and when a coach-dog ina gentleman’s stable—and it is
likely to happen in every stable, and with every dog—becomes rabid and dies,
the horse too frequently follows him at no great distance of time.

If a horse is bitten by a dog under suspicious circumstances, he should be
carefully examined, and every wound, and even the slightest scratch, well
burned with the lunar caustic (nitrate of silver). |The scab should be removed
and the operation repeated on the third day. The hot iron does not answer so
well, and other caustics are not so manageable. In the spring of 1827, four
TETANUS, OR LOCKED JAW. 143

horses were bitten near Hyde Park, by a mad dog. To one of them the lunar
caustic was twice severely applied—he lived. The red-hot iron was un-
sparingly used on the others, and they died. The caustic must reach every
part of the wound. At the expiration of the fourth month, the horse may be
considered to be safe.

TETANUS, OR LOCKED JAW.

Tetanus is one of the most dreadful and fatal diseases to which the horse is
subject. It is called LockEen saw, because the muscles of the jaw are earliest
affected, and the mouth is obstinately and immovably closed. It is a constant
spasm of all the voluntary muscles, and particularly of those of the neck, the
spine, and the head. It is generally slow and treacherous in its attack,
The horse, for a day or two, does not appear to be quite well; he does not feed
as usual ; he partly chews his food, and drops it; and he gulps his water.
The owner at length finds that the motion of the jaws is considerably
limited, and some saliva is drivelling from the mouth. _ If he tries he can only
open the mouth a very little way, or the jaws are perfectly and rigidly closed ;
and thus the only period at which the disease could have been successfully com-
bated is lost. A cut of a horse labouring under this disease is here given, which
the reader will do well to examine carefully.

The first thing
that strikes the
observer is a pro-
trusion of the
muzzle, and stiff-
ness of the neck ;
and, on passing the
hand down it, the
muscles will be
found — singularly
prominent,  dis-
tinct, hard, knotty,
and unyielding._—
There is difficulty
in bringing the
head round, and
still greater difficulty in bending it. The eye is drawn deep within the socket,
and, in consequence of this, the fatty matter behind the eye is pressed forward ;
the haw is also protruded, and there is an appearance of strabismus, or squinting,
in an outward direction.

The ears are erect, pointed forward, and immovable ; if the horse is spoken
to, or threatened to be struck, they change not their position. Considering the
beautiful play of the ear in the horse when in health, and the kind of conversa~
tion which he maintains by the motion of it, there is not a more characteristic
symptom of tetanus than this immobility of the ear. The nostril is expanded
to the utmost, and there is little or no play of it, as in hurried or even natural
breathing. The respiration is usually accelerated, yet not always so 3 but it is
uniformly laborious. The pulse gives little indication of the severity of the
disease. It is sometimes scarcely affected. It will be rapidly accelerated when
any one approaches the animal and offers to touch him, but it presently quiets
down again almost to its natural standard. After a while, however, the heart
begins to sympathise with the gencral excitation of the system, and the pulse
increases in’ frequency and force until the animal becomes debilitated, when it
beats yet quicker and quicker, but diminishes in power, and gradually flutters
and dies away.

 

L2
148 TETANUS, OR LOCKED JAW.

The countenance is eager, anxious, haggard, and tells plainly enough what the
animal suffers, a

The stiffness gradually extends to the back. Ifthe horse is in a narrow stall,
it is impossible to turn him; and, even with room and scope enough, he turns
altogether like a deal-board. :

The extremities begin to participate in the spasm—the hinder ones generally
first, but never to the extent to which it exists in the neck and back.
The horse stands with his hind legs straddling apart in a singular way.
The whole of the limb moves, or rather is dragged on, together, and anxious
care is taken that no joint-shall be flexed more than can possibly be helped.
The fore limbs have a singular appearance; they are as stiff as they can pos-
sibly be, but stretched forward and straddling. They have not unaptly been
compared to the legs of a form.

The abdominal muscles gradually become involved. They seem to contract
with all the power they possess, and there is a degree of “ hide-bound”
appearance, and of tucking up of the belly, which isseen under no other com-
plaint. The tail becomes in constant motion from the alternate and violent
action of the muscles that elevate and depress it,

' Constipation, and to an almost insurmountable degree, now appears. The
abdominal muscles are so powerfully contracted, that no portion of the contents
of the abdomen can pass on and be discharged.

By degrees the spasm extends and becomes everywhere more violent. The
motion of the whole frame is lost, and the horse stands fixed in the unnatural
posture which he has assumed. The countenance becomes wilder and more
haggard—its expression can never be effaced from the memory of him who
cares about the feelings of a brute. The violent cramp of a single muscle, or
set of muscles, makes the stoutest heart quail, and draws forth the most piteous
cries—what, then, must it be for this torture to pervade the whole frame, and
to continue, with little respite, from day to day, and from week to week. When
his attendant approaches and touches him, he scarcely moves; but the despair-
ing gaze, and the sudden acceleration of the pulse, indicate what he feels and
fears.

Tetanus then is evidently an affection of the nerves. A small fibre 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. Tetanus is spasm of the whole frame—not merely of one set
of muscles, but of their antagonists also. The fixidity of the animal is the
effect of opposed and violent muscular contraction, It belongs to the lower
column of nerves only. The sensibility is unimpaired—perhaps it is height-
ened. The horse would eat if he could; he tries to suck up some moisture
from his mash ; and the avidity with which he lends himself to assist in the
administering of a little gruel, shows that the feelings of hunger and thirst remain
unimpaired.

If the disease terminates fatally, it is usually from the sixth to the eighth day,
when, if there has been no remission of the spasms, or only a slight one, the
horse dies exhausted by hard work. The task extorted by the whip and spur
of the most brutal sportsman is not to be compared with it.

About or a little before this time, there are occasionally evident remissions.
The spasm does not quite subside, but its force is materially lessened. The jaw
is not sufficiently relaxed to enable the animal to eat or to drink, or for ad-
vantage to be taken of an opportunity for the administration of medicine, while
the slightest disturbance or fright, recalls the spasmodic action with all its
violence. If, however, the remission returns on the following day, and is a little
lengthened, and particularly if there is more relaxation of the lower jaw, there
TETANUS, OR LOCKED JAW. 149

yet is hope. If the patient should recover it will be very slowly, and he will be
left sadly weak and a mere walking skeleton.

On post-mortem examination the muscular fibre will exhibit sufficient proof
of the labour which has been exacted from it. The muscles will appear as if
they had been macerated—their texture will be softened, and they will be torn
with the greatest ease. The lungs will, in the majority of cases, be highly
inflamed, for they have been labouring long and painfully, to furnish arterial
blood in sufficient quantity to support this great expenditure of animal power.
The stomach will contain patches of inflammation, but the intestines, in most
eases, will not exhibit much departure from the hue of health. The examina-
tion of the brain will be altogether unsatisfactory. There may be slight injection
of some of the membranes, but, in the majority of cases there will not be any
morbid change worthy of record.

Tetanus is usually the result of the injury of some nervous fibre, and the effect
of that lesion propagated to the brain. The foot is the most frequent source or
focus of tetauic injury. It has been pricked in shoeing, or wounded by some-
thing on the road. The horse becomes lame—the injury is carelessly treated,
or not treated at all—the lameness, however, disappears, but the wound has
not healed. There is an unhealthiness about it, and at the expiration of eight
or ten days, tetanus appears. Some nervous fibre has been irritated or inflamed
by the accident, slight as it was. _

Docking and nicking, especially when the stump was seared too severely
in the furmer, or the bandage had not been loosened sufficiently early in the
latter, used to be frequent causes of tetanus. It is frequently connected with
castration, when the colt had not been properly prepared for the operation, or
the searing iron has been applied too severely, or the animal has been put to
work too soon after the operation, or exposed to unusual cold. The records of
veterinary proceedings contain accounts of tetanus following labour, brutally
exacted beyond the animal’s natural strength, in the draught of heavy loads.
Horses that have been matched against time have too frequently died of tetanus
a little while afterwards. Sudden exposure to cold after being heated by
exercise has produced this dreadful state of nervous action, and especially if the
horse has stood in a partial draught, or cold water has been dripping on the loins.

The treatment of tetanus is simple, and would be oftener successful if carried
to its full extent. The indication of cure is plain enough—the system must be
tranquillized. The grand agent in accomplishing this is the copious abstraction
of blood. There is not a more powerful sedative in cases of muscular spasm
than venesection. A double purpose is effected. The determination of blood to
the origins of the nerves, and by which they were enabled to secrete and to
pour out this torrent of nervous influence, is lessened. The supply of blood to
the muscular system is also diminished. The pabulum of the nervous and
muscular system—the life of both of them—the capability of acting in the
one, and of being acted upon by the other, is taken away. The proper course
to be pursued, whether theory or experience are consulted, is, on the first access
of tetanus, to bleed, and to bleed until the horse falters or falls. No attention
should be paid to any specific quantity of blood to be abstracted, but the animal
should bleed on until he drops, or the pulse evidently falters. Twenty pounds
have been taken before the object of the practitioner was accomplished, but he
never had occasion to repent of the course which he pursued. Inflammatory
action like this must be subdued by the promptest and most efficient means;
and there is one unerring guide—-the pulse. While that remains firm the
bleeding should continue. The practitioner is attacking the disease, and not in
the slightest degree hazarding the permanent strength of the patient.

Next in order, and equal in importance, is physic. The profuse bleeding just
150 TETANUS, OR LOCKED JAW.

recommended will generally relax the muscles of the jaw so far as to enable a
dose of physic to be given. Eight or ten drachms of aloes should be administered.
If the remission of the spasm is slight, there is another purgative—not so peel
in its action, but more powerful when it does act—the farina of the Croton
nut. There is little or no danger of exciting inflammation of the mucous mem-
brane of the intestines by this prompt and energetic administration of purgative
medicine, for there is too much determination of vital power towards the nervous
system—too much irritation there—to leave cause for dreading the possibility
of metastasis elsewhere. It would be desirable if a certain degree of inflamma-
tion could be excited, because to that extent the irritation of the nervous system
might be allayed. There is another reason, and a very powerful one—time is
yapidly passing. The tetanic action may extend to the intestines, and the
co-operation of the abdominal muscles in keeping up the peristaltic motion of
the bowels, and expelling their contents, may be lost.

Clysters will be useful in assisting the action of the purgative. A solution
of Epsom salts will constitute the safest and best injection. As to medicine,
opium is not only a valuable drug, but it is that on which alone dependence can
be placed in this disease. It will be borne in doses, from half a drachm to two
drachms.

Blisters are completely out of the question in a disease the very essence of
which is nervous irritability.

The‘application of sheep-skins warm from the animal, and applied along the
whole course of the spine, may somewhat unload the congested vessels of the
part, and diminish the sufferings of the animal. They should be renewed as soon
as they become offensive, and the patient should be covered from the poll to
the tail with double or treble clothing.

There is one kind of external application that has not been so much used, or so
highly valued as it deserves,—gentle friction with the hand over the course of the
spine, beginning with the slightest possible pressure and never increasing it much.
The horse is a little frightened at first, but he soon gets reconciled to it, and
when at the same time an opiate liniment is used, relief has been obtained to a
very marked degree.

One thing should not be forgotten, namely, that a horse with locked jaw ia
as hungry as when in health, and every possible contrivance should be adopted
to furnish him with that nutriment which will support him under his torture,
and possibly enable him to weather the storm. If a pail of good gruel is placed
within his reach, how will he nuzzle in it, and contrive to drink some of it
too! If a thoroughly wet mash is placed before him in a pail, he will bury
his nose in it, and manage to extract no small portion of nutriment. By means
of a small horn, ora bottle with a very narrow neck, it will often be possible to
give him a small quantity of gruel; but the flexible pipe that accompanies
Read’s patent pump will render this of easier accomplishment, for the nutri-
ment may be administered without elevating the head of the horse, or inflicting
on him the extreme torture which used to accompany the act of drenching.
If the jaw is ever so closely clenched, the pipe may be introduced between the
tushes and the grinders, and carried tolerably far back into the mouth, and any
quantity of gruel or medicine introduced into the stomach.

It will also be good practice to let a small portion of food be in the manger,
The horse will not at first be able to take up the slightest quantity, but he
will attempt to do so. Small portions may be placed between his grinders, and
they will presently drop from his mouth scarcely or at all masticated: but some
good will be done—there is the attempt to put the muscles of the jaw to their
proper use. On the following day he will succeed a little better, and make some
trifling advance towards breaking the chain of spasmodic action. Experience
STRINGHALT. 151

will teach the careful groom the value of these minutie of practice ; and the
successful termination of many a case may be traced to the careful nursing of
the patient.

When the horse is getting decidedly better, and the weather will permit,
there can be no better practice than to turn him out for a few hours in the
middle of the day, His toddling about will regain to him the use of his limbs ;
the attempt to stoop in order to graze will diminish the spasm in his neck ; the
act of grazing will relax the muscles of the jaws; and he can have no better
food than the fresh grass.

CRAMP.

This is a sudden, involuntary and painful spasm of a particular muscle or sct
of muscles. It differs from tetanus in its shorter duration, and in its occasion-
ally attacking the muscles of organic life. It may be termed a species of tran-
sitory tetanus, affecting mostly the hind extremities. It is generally observed
when the horse is first brought out of the stable, and especially if he has
been hardly worked. One of the legs appears stiff, inflexible, and is, to a
slight degree, dragged after the animal. After he has proceeded a few steps,
the stiffness nearly or quite disappears, or only a slight degree of lameness remains
during the greater part of the day.

Cramp proceeds from an accumulation of irritability in the muscles of
the extensors, and is a sudden spasmodic action of them in order to balance the
power which their antagonists have gained over them during the night.

If acertain degree of lameness remains, the attendant on the horse should
endeavour to find out the muscle chiefly affected, which he may easily do by a
feeling of hardness, or an expression of pain, when he presses on the extensors
of the hock somewhat above that joint. He should then give plenty of good
hand-rubbing, or a little more attention to the grooming generally, or a wider
or more comfortable stall, as the circumstances of the case may appear to
require.

STRINGHALT.

This is a sudden and spasmodic action of some of the muscles of the thigh
when the horse is first led from the stable. One or both legs are caught up at
every step with great rapidity and violence, so that the fetlock sometimes
touches the belly ; but, after the horse has been out a little while, this usually
goes off and the natural action of the animal returns. Ina few cases it does
not perfectly disappear after exercise, but the horse continues to be slightly lame.

Stringhalt is not a perfectly involuntary action of a certain muscle, or a cer-
tain set of muscles. The limb is flexed at the command of the will, but it acts
to a greater extent and with more violence than the will had prompted. There
is an accumulation of excitability in the muscle, and the impulse which should
have called it into natural and moderate action causes it to take on a spasmodic
and, perhaps, a painful one.

Many ingenious but contradictory theories have been advanced in order to
account for this peculiarity of gait. What muscles are concerned? Clearly
those by which the thigh is brought under the belly, and the hock is flexed,
and the pasterns are first flexed and then extended. But by which of them is
the effect principally produced? What muscle, or, more properly, what nerve
is concerned? Instead of entering into any useless controversy on this point,
a case shall be related, and one of the most interesting there is on record: the
author was personally cognisant of every particular.

Guildford, first called Roundhead, and then Landlord, was foaled in 1826.
He was got by Hampden out of a Sir Harry Dimsdale mare. In 1828, and
152 STRINGHALT.

being two years old, and the property of the Duke of Richmond, he won 4
504. plate at Goodwood. In 1829, and belonging to Lord W. Lennox, he won
55 guineas at Hampton. Being then transferred to Mr. Coleman, he won 50
guineas at Guildford ; and in the same year, having been purchased by Mr.
Pearce, he won 60 guineas at Basingstoke. ; .

In the course of this year stringhalt began to appear ina slight degree, and it
evidently, although slowly, increased. There soon began to be a little diffi-
culty in getting him off; but when he had once started, neither his speed nor
his stoutness appeared to be in the slightest degree impaired. He continued on
the turf until 1836, and won for his different owners seventeen races, the pro-
duce of which, exclusive of bets, amounted to 14852.

The difficulty and loss of advantage in starting had now increased to a degree
which rendered it prudent to withdraw him from the turf, and he came into the
possession of Dockeray, who used him for the purpose of leading the young
horses that he had under training. ‘his is well known to be hard work, and
his rider was a man of some weight. In addition to this, he was generally
hunted twice in the week. His first starting into a gallop had something sin-
gular about it. It was a horrible kind of convulsive action, and so violent that
he frequently knocked off his shoes on the very day that they were put on:
but when he got alittle warmed all this disappeared. He gallopped beauti-
fully, and was a very sure fencer. The sport, however, being over, and he
returning to a slow pace, the stringhalt was as pad as ever.

At length the old horse became artful, and it was with great difficulty that
he could be made to lead. Sometimes he refused it altogether. In consequence
of this he was sent to St. Martin’s Lane to be sold. The highest bidding for
him was 3/. 14s., and the hero of the turf and the field was doomed to the
omnibus. There he was cruelly used, and this spasmodic convulsion of his hind
legs sadly aggravated his torture. The skin was presently rubbed from his
shoulders, his hips and haunches were bruised in every part, and his stifles
were continually and painfully coming in contact with the pole.

In this situation he was secn by the veterinary surgeon to “‘ The Society for
the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.” There is a fund at the disposal of that
society for the purchase of worn-out horses, who are immediately released from
their misery by the pole-axe of the knacker. The horse was bought for this
purpose, another and laudable motive influencing the purchase,—the wish to
ascertain what light the dissection of an animal that had had stringhalt to such
an aggravated extent, and for so long a period, would cast on the nature of this
disease,

The author of this work saw him a little while before he was slaughtered.
He was still a noble-looking animal, and seemed to possess all his former
strength and spirit unimpaired; but he was sadly scarred all over, in conse-
quence of his being put to a kind of work for which his spasmodic complaint
so entirely incapacitated him. So aggravated a case of stringhalt had
rarely been seen. Both hind legs were affected, and both in an equal degree ;
and the belly was forcibly strack by the pastern joints every time the hind
feet were lifted. The belly and the pastern joint were both denuded of hair
in consequence of this constant battering.

He was destroyed by the injection of prussic acid into the jugular vein,
and the dissection of him was conducted by Professor Spooner, of the Royal
Veterinary College.

On taking off the skin, all the muscles presented their perfect healthy cha-
racter. There was not the slightest enlargement or discolouration of the fascie.
T he muscles, of both extremities were dissected from their origins to their
tendinous terminations, and their fibrous structure carefully examined. ‘They
STRINGHALT. 153

were all beautifully developed, presenting no inequality or irregularity of
structure, nor aught that would warrant the suspicion 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 colour
than is usually found. This referred to them generally, and not to any parti-
cular muscle or sets of muscles.

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 from the spine, was darker in
colour than is usual, being of a yellowish-brown hue. Its texture was
softened, and its fibrill~ somewhat loosely connected together. ‘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 par-
ticularly 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
colour and tone; and the fibres given off from it to the muscles situated inferior
to the stifle-joint were of a perfectly healthy character.

On dissecting out a portion of the nerve where it appeared to be in a diseased
state, it was found that this ecchymosis was confined to the membranous investi-
ture 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 spinal marrow were deprived of their mem-
branous coverings, and both the thece 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 affection was not refer-
rible 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 stringhalt in which he had not
found disease of this nerve, which mainly contributes to supply the hind extre-
mities with sensation and the power of voluntary motion.

Now comes a very important question. What connexion is there between
stringhalt and the supposed value or deterioration of the horse? Some expe-
rienced practitioners have maintained that it isa pledge of more than usual
muscular power. It is a common saying that “there never was a horse with
stringhalt that was incapable of doing the work required of him.” Most cer-
tainly we continually meet with horses having stringhalt that pleasantly dis-
charge all ordinary, and even extraordinary, service ; and although stringhalt
is excess or irregular distribution of nervous power, it at least shows the
existence of that power, and the capability in the muscular system of being
acted upon by it. Irregular distributions of vital energy are not, however,
things to be desired. They argue disease and derangement of the system, and
a predisposition to greater derangement. They materially interfere with the
speed of the horse. This was decidedly the case with regard to the poor fellow
whose history has been related.

Stringhalt is decided unsoundness. It is an irregular supply of the nervous
influence, or a diseased state of the nervous or muscular system, or both. It pre-
vents us from suddenly and at once calling upon the horse for the full exercise
of his speed and power, and therefore it is unsoundness ; but generally speaking,
it so litile interferes with the services of the animal, that although an unsound-
ness, it would not weigh a great deal against other manifest valuable qualities.
154 PALSY.

CHOREA.

This is a convulsive involuntary twitching of some muscle or set of muscles,
A few, and very few, cases of it in the horse are recorded. Professor Gohier
relates one in which it attacked both fore legs, and especially the left, but the
affection was not constant. During five or six minutes the spasms were most
violent, so that the horse was scarcely able to stand. The convulsions then
became weaker, the interval between them increased, and at length they dis-
appeared, leaving a slight but temporary lameness. All means of cure were
fruitlessly tried, and the disease continued until the horse died of some other
complaint. In another case it followed sudden suppression of the discharge of
glanders and disappearance of the enlarged glands. This also was intermittent
during the life of the animal.

FITS, OR EPILEPSY.

The stream of nervous influence is sometimes rapid, or the suspensions are con-
siderable. This is the theory of Firs, or Epmepsy. Fortunately the horse is
not often afflicted with this disease, although it is not unknown to the breeder.
The attack is sudden. The animal stops—trembles—looks vacantly around
him, and falls. Occasionally the convulsions that follow are slight; at other
times they are terrible. The head and fore part of the horse are most affected,
and the contortions are very singular. In a few minutes the convulsions cease ;
he gets up ; looks around him with a kind of stupid astonishment ; shakes his
ears ; urines ; and eats or drinks as if nothing had happened.

The only hope of cure consists in discovering the cause of the fits; and an
experienced practitioner must be consulted, if the animal is valuable. Generally
speaking, however, the cause is so difficult to discover, and the habit of having
fits is so soon formed, and these fits will so frequently return, even at a great
distance of time, that he who valueshis own safety, or the lives of his family,
will cease to use an epileptic horse.

PALSY.

The stream of nervous influence is sometimes stopped, and thence results
palsy. The power of the muscle is unimpaired, but the nervous energy is defi-
cient. In the human being general palsy sometimes occurs. The whole body—
every organ of motion and of sense is paralysed. The records of our practice,
however, do not afford us a single instauce of this; but of partial paralysis there
are several cases, and most untractable ones they were. ‘The cause of them
may be altogether unknown. In the human being there is yet another dis-
tinction, Hemiplegia and Paraplegia. Inthe former the affection is confined
to one side of the patient ; in the latter the posterior extremity on both sides is
affected. Few cases of hemiplegia occur in the horse, and they are more
manageable than those of paraplegia ; but if the affection is not removed, they
usually degenerate into paraplegia before the death of the animal. It would
appear singular that this should be the most common form of palsy in the
human being, and so rarely seen in the quadruped. There are some considera-
tions, however, that will partly account for this. Palsy in the horse usually
proceeds from injury of the spinal cord ; and that cord is more developed, and
far larger than in the human being. It is more exposed to injury, and to injury
that will affect not one side only, but the whole of the cord.

Palsy in the hovse generally attacks the hind extremities. The reason of this
1s plain. The fore limbs are attached to the trunk by a dense mass of highly
elastic substance. This was placed between the shoulder-blade and the ribs
for the purpose of preventing that concussion, which would be annoying and
even dangerous to the horse or his rider. Except in consequence of 4 fall, there
RHEUMATISM. 155

is scarcely the possibility of any serious injury to the anterior portion of the
spine. The case is very different with regard to the hind limbs and their
attachment to the trunk; they are necessarily liable to many a shock and
sprain injurious to the spine and its contents. The loins and the back oftenest
exhibit the lesions of palsy, because there are some of the most violent muscu-
lar efforts, and there is the greatest movement and the least support. It may,
consequently be taken as an axiom to guide the judgment of the practitioner
that palsy in the horse almost invariably proceeds from disease or injury of
the spine.

On inquiry it is almost invariably found that the horse had lately fallen, or
had been worked exceedingly hard, or that, covered with perspiration, he had
been left exposed to cold and wet. It commences generally in one hind
leg, or perhaps both are equally affected. The animal can scarcely walk—he
walks on his fetlocks instead of his soles—he staggers at every motion. At
length he falls. He is raised with difficulty, or he never rises again. The sen-
sibility of the part seems for a while to be dreadfully increased; but, in general,
this gradually subsides—it sinks below the usual standard—it ceases altogether.

If he is examined after death, there will usually, about the region of the
loins, be inflammation of the membranes of the spinal cord, or of the cord itself.
The medullary matter will be found of a yellow colour, or injected with spots
of blood, or it will be softened, and have become semifluid.

The treatment is simple enough. It should commence with bleeding, and,
as has been already recommended in inflammatory cases, until the circulation
is evidently affected—until the pulse begins to falter or the horse to reel. To
this should follow a dose of physic—strong compared with the size of the animal.
The loins should be covered with a mustard poultice frequently renewed. The
patient should be warmly clothed, supplied plentifully with mashes, but without
a grain of corn in them; and frequent injections should be had recourse to.
This will soon render it evident whether the patient will recover or dic. If
favourable symptoms appear, the horse must not be in the slightest degree
neglected, nor the medical treatment suspended. There is no disease in which
the animal is more liable to a relapse, or where a relapse would be so fatal.
No misapprehension of the disease, or false humanity, should induce the attend-
ant to give the smallest quantity of corn or of tonic medicine. Palsy in the horse
is an inflammatory complaint, or the result of inflammation.

If the heat and tenderness are abating, and the animal regains, to a slight
degree, the use of his limbs, or if it is becoming a case of chronic palsy, an
extensive and stimulating charge over the loins should be immediately applied.
It will accomplish three purposes: there will be the principle of counter-
iritation—a defence against the cold—and a useful support of the limbs.

2 RHEUMATISM.

It is only of Jate years that this has been admitted into the list of the diseases
of the horse, although it is in truth a very common affection. It is frequent in
old horses that have been early abused, and among younger ones whose powers
have been severely taxed. The lameness is frequently excessive, and the
pain is evidently excruciating. The animal dares not to rest the slightest portion
of its weight on the limb, or even to touch the ground with his toe. He is
heaving at the flanks, sweating profusely, his countenance plainly indicative of
the agony he feels; but there is at first no heat, or swelling, or tenderness.
With proper treatment, the pain and the lameness gradually disappear ; but in
other instances the fasciz of the muscles become thickened—the ligaments are
also thickened and rigid—the capsules of the joint are loaded with a glairy
fluid, and the joint is evidently enlarged. This is simply rheumatism ; but
156 NEUROTOMY.

if it'is neglected palsy soon associates itself with, or succeeds to, the com-
plaint ; and the loss of nervous power follows the difficulty or pain of moving.

Every horseman will recollect cases in which the animal that seemed on the
preceding day to be perfectly sound becomes decidedly lame, and limps as
though he had lost the use of his limbs; yet there is no thickening of the ten-
dons, nor any external inflammatory action to show the seat of the complaint.
Mr. Cooper, of Coleshill, relates a case very applicable to the present subject.
A farmer purchased a horse, to all appearance sound, and rode him home—a
distance of ten miles. He was worked on the two following days, without
showing the least lameness. On the third day it was with great difficulty that
he managed to limp out of the stable. Mr. Cooper was sent for to examine
nim. The horse had clean legs and excellent feet. The owner would have
him blistered all round. It was done. The horse was turned out to grass for
two months, and came up perfectly sound, The weather soon afterwards
became wet and cold, and the horse again was lame; in fact, it presently
appeared that the disease was entirely influenced by the changes of the atmo-
sphere. ‘ Thus,” adds Mr. C., “in the summer a horse of this description will
be mostly sound, while in the winter he will be generally lame.”

An account of acute rheumatism, by Mr. Thompson, of Beith, is too valu-
able to be omitted :—“ I have had,” says he, “fourteen cases of this disease.
The muscles of the shoulders and arms were generally the parts affected. The
cure was effected in a few days, and consisted of a good bleeding from the jugu-
lar, and a sharp purge.

“ One of these cases was uncommonly severe. The disease was in the back
and loins, The horse brought forward his hind-legs under his flanks, roached
his back, and drew up his flanks with a convulsive twitch accompanied by
a piteous groan, almost every five minutes. The sympathetic fever was alarm-
ing, the pulse was 90, and there was obstinate constipation of the bowels. The
horse literally roared aloud if any one attempted to shift him in the stall, and
groaned excessively when lying. He was bled almost to fainting ; and three
moderate doses of aloes were given in the course of two days. Injections were
administered, and warm fomentations were frequently applied to the back and
loins. On the third day the physic operated briskly, accompanied by consider-
able nausea and reduction of the pulse. From that time the animal gradually
recovered.

“These horses are well fed, and always in good condition; but they are at
times worked without mercy, which perhaps makes them so liable to these
attacks.”

NEUROTOMY.

To enable the horse to accomplish many of the tasks we exact from him,
we have nailed on his feet an iron defence. Without the protection of the shoe,
he would not only be unable to travel over our hard roads, but he would speedily
become useless to us. While, however, the iron protects his feet from being
battered and bruised, it is necessarily inflexible. It cramps and confines the
hoof, and often, without great care, entails on our valuable servant bad disease
and excessive torture,

The division ef the nerve, as a remedy for intense pain in any part of the
frame, was systematically practised by human surgeons more than a century
ago. Mr, Moorecroft has the honour of introducing the operation of neurotomy
in the veterinary school.

He had long devoted his powerful energies to the discovery of the causes and
the cure of lameness in the fore-foot of the horse. It was a subject worthy of
him, for it involved the interest of the proprietor and the comfort of the slave.
NEUROTOMY. 157

He found that, partly from the faulty construction of the shoe, and more from
the premature and cruel exaction of labour, the horse was subject to a variety
of diseases of the foot: all of them accompanied by a greater or less degree
of co of a very intense nature, and ceasing only with the life of the
animal.

He frequently met with a strangely formidable disease, in what was called
“coffin-joint lameness,” but to which Mr. James Turner afterwards gave the
very appropriate name of “navicular-joint disease.” It was inflammation of
the synovial membrane, either of the flexor tendon or navicular bone, or both,
where the tendon plays over that bone; and it was accompanied by pain,
abrasion, and gradual destruction of these parts,

For a long time he was foiled in every attempt which he made to remove or
even to alleviate the disease. At length he turned his thoughts to the pro-
bability of subduing the increased sensibility of the part, by diminishing the
proportion of nervous influence distributed on the foot. He laid bare one of
the metacarpal nerves, and divided it with a pair of scissors. There was always
an immediate and decided diminution of the lameness, and, sometimes, the horse
rose perfectly sound. This happy result, however, was not always permanent,
for the lameness returned after the lapse of a few wecks, or on much active
exertion. He next cut outa small piece of the nerve. The freedom from
lameness was of longer duration, but it eventually returned.

He then tried a bolder experiment. He excised a portion of the nerves
going both to the inner and outer metacarpals. We transcribe his own account
of the result of the first case of complete neurotomy—excision of the nerve
on both sides of the leg—that ever was performed.

“The animal, on rising, trotted boldly and without lameness, but now and
then stumbled with the foot operated on. The wounds healed in a few days,
and the patient was put to grass. Some weeks afterwards a favourable account
was received of her soundness; but she was soon brought again to us, on
account of a large sore on the bottom of the foot operated on, and extending
from the point of the frog to the middle and back part of the pastern. The
mare, in galloping over some broken glass bottles, had placed her foot upon a
fragment of the bottom of one of them, and which had cut its way through the
frog and tendon into the joint, and stuck fast in the joint for some seconds,
while the animal continued its course apparently regardless of injury. The
wound bled profusely, but the mare was not lame. Many days had elapsed
before I saw her, and large masses of loose flesh were cut from the edges of the
wound, without the animal showing the slightest sign of suffering pain. The
processes usually attending sores went on, with the same appearances that took
place in sores of parts not deprived of sensibility. Such extensive injury, how-
ever, had been done to the joint as rendered the preservation of free motion in
it very improbable, even were the opening to close, which was a matter of
doubt, and therefore she was destroyed. It appeared clearly from this, that
by the destruction of sensibility the repairing powers of the part were not injured ;
but that the natural guard against injury being taken away by the division of
both the nerves, an accident was rendcred destructive which, in the usual con-
dition of the foot, might have been less injurious*.”

The cut in the next page gives a view of the nerve on the inside of the leg, as
it approaches the fetlock. It will be seen that branches are given off above
the fetlock, which go to the fore part of the foot and supply it with feeling. The
continuation of the nerve below the fetlock is given principally to the quarters
and hinder part of the foot. The grand consideration, then, with the operator
is—does he wish to deprive the whole of the foot of sensation, or is the cause

* Veterinarian, vol. ix. p. 363.
158 NEUROTOMY.

of lameness principally in the hinder part of the foot, so that he can leave some
degree of feeling in the fore part, and prevent that alteration in the tread and
going of the horse, which the horseman so much dislikes ?

A The metacarpal nerve on the inside of the off leg at the edge
of the shank bone, and behind the vein and artery.

R The continuation of the same nerve on the pastern, and pro-
ceeding downward to supply the back part of the foot
with feeling.

C The division of the nerve on the fetlock joint.

D The branch which supplies with fecling the fore part of the
foot.

E The artery between the vein and nerve.

F The continuation uf the artery on the pastern, close to, and
before the nerve.

G The vein before the artery and nerve.
H The same vein spreading over the pastern.
I One of the flexor tendons, the perforatus (porforated).

J The deeper fiexor tendon, the perforans (perforating, con-
tained within the other).

K The tendinous band in which the flexors work.
L One of the extensors of the foot.

M The internal or sensible frog.

N The posterior lateral ligament.

O The fleshy or sensible lamina covering the coffin bone, the
horny crust being removed.

P Tho horny crust.
Q The sole.

 

The horse must be cast and secured, and the limb to be operated on removed
from the hobbles and extended—the hair having been previously shaved from
the part. The operator then feels for the throbbing of the artery, or the round
firm body of the nerve itself, on the side of the shank bone or the larger pas-
tern. The vein, artery, and nerve here run close together, the vcin nearest to
the front of the leg, then the artery, and the nerve behind. He cautiously
cats through the skin for an inch and a half in length. The vessels will then
be brought into view, and the nerve will be distinguished from them by its
lying behind the others, and by its whiteness. A crooked needle, armed with silk,
is then passed under it, in order to raise ita little. It is dissected from the
cellular substance beneath, and about three quarters of an inch of it cut out,—the
first incision being made at the upper part, in which case the second incision
will not be felt. ‘The horse must then be turned, and the operation performed
on the other side ; for there is a nervous trunk on both sides. The wounds
are now closed with strips of adhesive plaster, a bandage placed over them, the
head tied up for a couple of days, and the animal kept rather low, and as quiet
as possible. The incisions will generally rapidly heal; and in three weeks or
a month, and sometimes earlier, the horse will be fit for work.

For ring-bone—the side cartilages becoming bony, and there being partial
stiffness of the pastern and coffin joints—the operation of nerving will probably
be beneficial. The sense of pain being taken away, the animal will use these parts
more, and they will gradually recover their natural action and motion. For the
same reason, in old contraction of the feet, it is highly beneficial. The torture
occasioned by the pressure of the horny crust on the sensible parts within being
no longer felt, and the foot coming fully and firmly in contact with the ground,
not only is lameness relieved, but the elasticity and form of the foot partially
restored. Where lameness has long existed, unattended with heat of the
NEUROTOMY. 159

foot or alteration of shape, and the seat of which could not be ascertained,
although probably existing between the navicular bone and the back tendon
that plays over it, neurotomy may be resorted to with decided advantage.

Mischief, however, will result from the operation if the pastern or coffin
joints are perfectly stiff, because the concussion occasioned by the forcible
contact of the foot with the ground, and unbroken by the play of the joints,
must necessarily still more injure the bone. When the sole of the foot is con-
vex or pumiced, the effect of neurotomy will be most destructive. The sole,
searcely able to bear the pressure of the coffin-bone, even when pain induces
the animal to put his foot as gently as possible on the ground, being forced
below its natural situation, would be speedily worn through and destroyed.
So if inflammation existed, although its pain might be removed, yet its progress
would be quickened by the bruising to which the parts might be subjected ; and
more especially would this be the case, if fhere was any ulceration of the liga-
ments or cartilages.

The unfettered shoe of Mr. Turner being adopted, at least so far as we can
have it unfettered—attached to the foot on one side alone, and the inner quarter
being left free—the foot gradually regains its original healthy form, and, when,
in process of time, a new portion of nerve is produced, and the sensibility of
the foot re-established, the horse continues to be sound. To some extent,
immediate good effect is produced as it regards the actual disease. We remove
that general constitutional irritability which long-continued pain occasions, and
which heightens and perpetuates local disease. We obtain for the patient an
interval of repose, and every local ailment soon subsides or disappears, and the
whole constitution becomes invigorated.

Mr. Percivall relates two valuable cases of this. A mare with contracted
feet was never subject to periodical cestrum, and her owner lamented in vain
that he could not breed from her. She underwent the operation of neurotomy
and became an excellent brood mare. A stallion with many a good point
about him was useless in the stud: he was suffering from some disease in the
feet. A portion of the nerve was excised—his constitution underwent a com-
plete change, and he became sire to a numerous and valuable progeny.

By the operation of neurotomy we destroy pain ; and we may safely calculate
on the simple effect of that, whether local or constitutional ; and, limiting our
expectations to this, we shall rarely be disappointed.

The operation of neurotomy having been performed, has the veterinary
surgeon nothing else todo? He has got rid of the pain which attended the
ossified cartilage—the ring-bone and the anchylosis of the pastern and the coffin-
joints; shall he be satisfied with the benefit he has obtained, great as it is?
He will, or he should now try whether his former means and appliances have
not more power. He will see whether, by means of his blister or his firing-
irvon—the effect of which humanity forbade him to put to the full test before
—he cannot rouse the absorbents to increased and more efficient action, and
not only arrest the progress of the bony tumour, but remove it. He will
not merely suffer the usefulness of his patient to depend on the continued sus-
pension of feeling, but he will assure it by the partial or total removal of the
morbid growth.

In contraction of the foot, shall he be satisfied with removing the agony
occasioned by the constant pressure of the horn on the sensitive substance inter-
posed between it and the coffin-bone? Shall he leave future improvement to
the slow process of nature, or shall he not take advantage of the insensibility
which he has produced, and pare the sole thoroughly out, and rasp the quarters
to the very quick, and apply the unfettered shoe? When he has produced a
disposition to contraction, and some degree of it, should he not actively blister
160 INSANITY.

the coronets, and use all other fitting means to hasten the growth of the horn to
its pristine dimensions and its original quality ? ee

In navicular disease, after he has removed, by the application of neurotomy,
that irritation which had so much to do with the perpetuation, if not the origin,
of the complaint, should he not, with the assured hope of success, pass his seton
needle through the frog, in order to get rid of every remaining lurking tendency tc
inflammation? The blister and the firing-iron will have as much power in abating
inflammation and producing a healthy state of the foot, after that foot had been
rendered insensible to pain, as it had before. We should fearlessly say that it
would have much more effect, one grand source of irritation having been removed.
The veterinary surgeon and the owner of the horse are becoming more and more
convinced of this ; and the dawning of a better day has commenced.

The principle of neurotomy is plain and simple—it is the removal of pain.
Taken on this ground, it is a noble operation. It is that in which every friend
of humanity will rejoice. It may be abused. If no auxiliary means are
adopted—if in canker or quittor, or inflammation of the lamine, no means are
used to lessen the concussion and the pressure—the destruction of the part
and the utter ruin of the horse are the inevitable consequences. The primary
result is the removal of pain. It is for the operator to calculate the bearing of
this on the actual disease, and the future usefulness of the animal.

On the question of the reproduction of the nerves there is no doubt. A horse
is lame, and he undergoes the operation of neurotomy. At the expiration of a
certain time the lameness returns, and he is probably destroyed. In the
majority of cases it is found that the nerves had united, or rather that a new
veritable nervous substance had been interposed. The time at which this is.
effected is unknown. There have not been any definite experiments on the point.

Can the horse that has undergone the operation of neurotomy be afterwards
passed as sound? Most certainly not. There is altered, impaired structure ;
there is impaired action ; and there is the possibility of the return of lameness
at some indefinite period. He has been diseased. He possibly is diseased
now; but the pain being removed, there are no means by which the mischief
can always be indicated. Beside, by the very act of neurotomy, he is pecu-
liarly exposed to various injuries and affections of the foot from which he would
otherwise escape.

INSANITY.

There is no doubt that the animals which we have subjugated possess many of
the same mental faculties as the human being—volition, memory, attachment,
gratitude, resentment, fear, and hatred. Who has not witnessed the plain and
manifest display of these principles and feelings in our quadruped dependants ?
The simple possession of these faculties implies that they may be used for pur-
poses good or bad, and that, as in the human being, they may be deranged or
destroyed by a multitude of causes which it is not necessary to particularise.
In the quadruped as in the biped, the lesion or destruction of a certain part of
the brain may draw after it the derangement, or disturbance, or perversion of
a certain faculty of the mind. It is only because the mental faculties, and good
as well as bad properties of the inferior beings, have been so lately observed and
acknowledged, that any doubt on this point can for a moment be entertained.
The disordered actions, the fury, the caprices, the vices, and more particularly
the frenzy and total abandonment of reason, which are occasionally shown by
the brute, are in the highest degree analogous to certain acts of insanity in man.
It is merely to complete our subject that they are here introduced.

The reader is indebted to Professor Rodet, of Toulouse, for the anecdotes
which follow :—A horse, seven years old, was remarkable for an habitual air ot
TNSANITY. 161

stupidity, and a peculiar wandering expression of countenance. When he gaw
aliything that he had not been accustomed to, or heard any sudden or unusual
noise, whether it was near or ata 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 incredible degree ; he recoiled precipitately,
every limb trembled, and he struggled violently to escape. After several usc-
less 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 convulsions, 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 anything
more be seen but an almost continual 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 rendered exceedingly dangerous—that was a
decided aversion to paper, which she recognised 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 un-
horsed her rider. She had not the slightest fear of objects that would terrify
most horses. She regarded not the music of the band, the whistling of the balls,
the roaring of the cannon, the fire of the bivouacs, or the glittering of arms.
The confusion and noise of an engagement made no impression upon her; the
sight of no other white object affected her. No other sound was regarded ; but
the view or the rustling of paper roused her to madness.

A mare was perfectly manageable and betrayed no antipathy to the human
being, nor to other animals, nor to horses, except they were of a light-grey
colour; but the moment she saw a grey horse, she rushed towards it, and attacked
it with the greatest fury. It was the same at all times, and everywhere. She
was all that could be wished on the parade, on the route, in the ranks, in action,
and in the stable; but if she once caught a glimpse of a grey or white horse,
she rested not until she had thrown ker rider or broken her halter, and then she
rushed on her imagined foe with the greatest fury. She generally contrived to
to seize the animal by the head or throat, and held him so fast that she would
suffocate him, if he were not promptly released from her bite,

Another mare exhibited no terror except of white inanimate 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 discovered. One of these horses, the second, was by long and kind atten-
tion 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. If
sufficient attention were paid to the subject, many of the obstinate caprices and
inexplicable aversions which we can neither conquer nor change would be
classed under the term insanity. There cannot be a more remarkable analogy
than that which sometimes exists between the insanity of man and these sin-
gularly capricious fancies in animals. The subject is worthy of attention. Has
the principle of hereditary predisposition been applied to any of these anomalins ?

M
4 DISEASES OF THE EYE, &c.

DISEASES OF THE EYE. .

The diseases of the eye constitute a very important, but a most unsatisfactory
division of our work, for the maladies of this organ, although few in number, are
frequent in their appearance. They are sadly obstinate, and often baffle all skill.

We have spoken of rracrure of the orbit, and its treatment. Occasionally a
wound is inflicted by a passionate or careless servant. The eye itself is rarely
injured. It is placed on a mass of fat, and it turns most readily, and the prong
of the fork glances off; but the substance round the eye may be deeply
wounded, and very considerable inflammation may ensue. This should be
abated by poultices, and bleeding, and physic; but no probe should be used
under the foolish idea of ascertaining the depth of the wound in the lid, sup-
posing that there should be one, for, from the constant motion of the eye, it is
almost impossible to pass the probe into the original wound, and the effort to
accomplish it would give a great deal of pain, and increase the inflammation.

The eyelids are subject to occasional inflammation from blows or other
injuries. Fomentation with warm water will be serviceable here.

The horse has occasionally a scaly eruption on the edges of the eyclids,
attended with great itching, in the effort to allay which, by rubbing the part,
the eye may be blemished. The nitrated ointment of quicksilver, mixed with
an equal quantity of lard, may be slightly rubbed on the edges of the lids with
considerable good effect.

The eyelids will sometimes become oedematous. Horses that are fed in low
and humid pastures are subject to this. It is also the consequence of inflam-
mation badly treated. The eyelids are composed of a lax structure, and the
tissue is somewhat deficient in vitality—hence this disposition to enfiltration.
Sometimes the collection of fluid accumulates so rapidly, and so extensively,
that the eyes are closed. They should be well bathed with warm water mingled
with an aromatic tincture. The cellular substance of the lids will thus be dis-
posed to contract on their contents and cause their absorption.

Old carriage horses are subject to this oedema ; and it frequently accompanies
both chronic and common ophthalmia,

Weakness and dropping of the upper lid is caused by diminution or loss of
power in its muscles. Dry frictions and aromatic lotions will frequently restore
the tone of the parts.

The eyelids are subject to occasional injury from their situation and office.
In small incised wounds of them great care should be taken that the divided
edges unite by the first intention. This will hasten the cure, and prevent
deformity. If any of the muscles are divided, it is usually the ciliary or orbi-
cularis palpebrarum. This lesion must be healed, if possible, by the first inten-
tion, and either by means of adhesive plaster or the suture. The suture is pro-
bably the preferable agent.

Suppurating wounds in the eyelids may be the consequence of the necessary
abstraction of a considerable surface of the skin in the removal of warts or
tumours. The principal thing to be attended to is the frequent removal of the
pus by means of tow or cotton wool. The rest may generally be left to nature.

Inversion of the lids is of very rare occurrence in the horse.

Warts are sometimes attached to the edges of the lids, and are a source of
great irritation. When rubbed they bleed, and the common opinion is true—
that they are propagated by the blood. They should be taken off with a sharp
pair of scissors, and their roots touched with the lunar caustie,

The membrane which covers the Haw is subject to inflammation. It is,
indeed, a continuation of the conjunctiva, the inflammation of which consti-
tutes ophthalmia. Ap account of this inflammation will be better post-
COMMON INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE, 16%

poned until the nature and treatment of ophthalmia comes under particular
notice.

The Haw, or Membrana Nictitans, is subject to inflammation peculiar to
itself, arising from the introduction of foreign bodies, or from blows or other
accidents. The entire substance of the haw becomes inflamed. It swells and
protrudes from the inner angle of the eye. The heat and redness gradually
disappear, but the membrane often continues to protrude. The inflammation
of this organ assumes a chronic character in a very short time, on account of the
structure of the parts, which are in general little susceptible of reaction.

The ordinary causes of this disease in the horse are repeated and periodical
attacks of ophthalmia, and blows on the part. Young and old horses are most
subject to it.

Emollient applications, bleeding, and restricted diet will be proper at the
commencement of the disease, and, the inflammation being abated, slight astrin-
gents will be useful in preventing the engorgement of the part. Rose-water
with subacetate of lead will form a proper collyrium. If the protruding body
does not diminish after proper means have been tried, and for a sufficient period,
it must be removed with a curved pair of scissors. No danger will attend this
operation if it is performed in time; but if it is neglected, ulceration of the
part and the growth of fungous vegetations will give a serious character to the
affair. A second operation may also be necessary, and even a third, and fungus
hzmatodes will probably be established.

Ulceration and caries of the cartilage will sometimes be accompanied by
ulceration of the conjunctiva. This will frequently prove a very serious affair,
demanding, at least, the removal of the haw.

The Caruncula Lacrymalis, or Tubercle, by means of which the tears are
directed into the canal through which they are to escape from the nostril, is
sometimes enlarged in consequence of inflammation, and the Puncta Lacrymalia,
or conduits into which the tears pass from the eye, are partially or completely
closed. The application of warm and emollient lotions will generally remove
the collected mucus or the inflammation of the parts; but if the passage of a
stylet or other more complicated means are required, the assistance of a vete-
rinary surgeon should be immediately obtained. The lacrymal sac into which
the tears pass from the puncta has occasionally participated in the inflamma-
tion, and been distended and ruptured by the tears and mucus, This lesion
is termed Fistula Lacrymalis. It has occasionally existed in colts, and will
require immediate and peculiar treatment.

COMMON INFLAMMATION OF THE EYE.

The conjunctiva is occasionally the seat of great disease, and that which
is too often destructive to the eye. Inflammation of the eye may be considered
under two forms— the common and manageable, and the specific and fatal. The
Common Inflammation is generally sudden in its attack. The lids will be found
swelled and the eyes partially closed, and some weeping. The inside of the lid
will be red, some red streaks visible on the white of the eye, and the cornea
slightly dim. This is occasionally connected with some degree of catarrh or cold ;
but it is as often unaccompanied by this, and depends on external irritation, as
a blow, or the presence of a bit of hay-seed or oat-husk within the lid, and to-
wards the outer corner where the haw cannot reach it; therefore the lids should
always be carefully examined as to this possible source of the complaint. The
health of the animal is generally unaffected—he feeds well, and performs
his work with his usual spirit. Cooling applications to the eye, as the Goulard’s
extract or tincture of opium, with mash-diet, and gentle physic, will usually
abate the evil; or the inflammation will subside without medical treatment.

M2
164 SPECIFIC OPHTHALMIA.

SPECIFIC OPHTHALMIA, OR MOON-BLINDNESS.

Should three or four days pass, and the inflammation not be abated, we may
begin to suspect that it is the Ophthalmia, especially if the eye is very impatient
of light, and the cornea is considerably clouded. The aqueous humour then often
loses its transparency—even the iris changes its colour, and the pupil is exceed-
ingly contracted. The veterinary surgeon has now an obstinate disease to com-
bat, and one that wili generally maintain its ground in spite of all his efforts.
For three, or four, or ‘five weeks, the inflammation will remain undiminished 3 Or
if it appears to yield on one day, it will return with redoubled violence on the
next. At length, and often unconnected with any of the means that have been
used, the eye begins to bear the light, the redness of the membrane of the lid
disappears, the cornea clears up, and the only vestige of disease which remains
isa slight thickening of the lids, and apparent uneasiness when exposed to a
very strong light.

If the owner imagines that he has got rid of the disease, he will be sadly dis-
appointed, for, in the course of six weeks or two months, either the same eye
undergoes a second and similar attack, or the other one becomes affected. All
again seems to pass over, except that the eye is not so perfectly restored, and a
slight, deeply-seated cloudiness begins to appear; and after repeated attacks, and
alternations of disease from eye to eye, the affair terminates in opacity of the
lens or its capsule, attended with perfect blindness either of one eye or both.
This affection was formerly known by the name of moon-blindness, from its peri-
odical return, and some supposed influence of the moon. That body, however,
has not, and cannot have anything to do with it.

What is the practitioner doing all this while? He is an anxious and busy,
but almost powerless spectator. He foments the eyes with warm water, or
applies cold lotions with the extract of lead or opium, or poultices to which these
drugs may be added ; he bleeds, not from the temporal artery, for that does not
supply the orbit of theeye, but from the angular vein at the innercorner of theeye,
or he scarifies the lining of the lid, or subtracts a considerable quantity of blood
from the jugular vein. The scarifying of the conjunctive, which may be easily ac-
complished without a twitch, by exposing the inside of the lids, and drawing a keen
lancet slightly over them, is the most effectual of all ways to abate inflammation,
for we are then immediately unloading the distended vessels. He places his setons
in the check, or his rowels under the jaw ; and he keeps the animal low, and
gives physic or fever medicine (digitalis, nitre, and emetic tartar). The disease,
hewever, ebbs and flows, retreats and attacks, until it reaches its natural termi-
nation, blindness of one or both eyes.

The horse is more subject to this disease from the age of four to six years
than at any other period. He has then completed his growth. He is full of
blood, and liable to inflammatory complaints, and the eye is the organ attacked
from a peculiar predisposition in it to inflammation, the nature or canse of which
cannot always be explained. Every affection of the eye appearing about this age
must be regarded with much suspicion.

It is a common opinion that black horses are more subject to blindness than
others. There is considerable doubt about this, or rather it is probable that
that colour has no influence either in producing or aggravating the disease.

As this malady 80 frequently destroys the sight, and there are certain periods
when the inflammation has seemingly subsided and the inexperienced person
would be deceived into the belief that all danger is at an end, the eye should be
niost carefully observed at the time of purchase, and the examiner should be
fully aware of all the minute indications of previous or approaching disease.
SPECIFIC OPHTHALMIA. 165

‘They are a slight thickening of the lids, or puckering towards the inner corner
of the eye ; a difference in the apparent size of the eyes ; a cloudiness, although
perhaps scarcely perceptible, of the surface of the cornea, or more deeply seated,
or a hazy circle round its edge; a gloominess of eye generally, and dulness
of the iris ; or a minute, faint, dusky spot in the ceutre, with or without minute
fibres or lines diverging from it.

The cause of this inflammation is undoubtedly a strong predisposition to it in
the eye of the horse, but assisted by the heated and empoisoned air of many
stables. The heated air has much to do with the production of the disease ;
the empoisoned aira great deal more: for every one must have observed, onentering
a close stable early in the morning, strong fumes of hartshorn which were pain-
ful to his eyes and caused the tears to flow. What must be the constant action
of this on the eyes of the horse? The dung of the horse, and the litter of the
stables, when becoming putrid, emit fumes of volatile alkali or hartshorn. Often,
very soon after they are voided, they begin to yield an immense quantity of this
pungent gas. Ifwe are scarcely able to bear this when we stand in the stable for
only a few minutes, we need not wonder at the prevalence of inflammation in
the eye of the stabled horse, nor at the difficulty of abating inflammation while
this organ continues to be exposed to such painful excitement. Stables are now
much better ventilated than they used to be, and ophthalmia is far from being so
prevalent as it was fifty years ago.

The farmer may not be aware of another cause of blindness, to which his
horse is more particularly exposed, viz.,.confinement in a dark stable. Many
stables in the country have no glazed windows, but there is a flap which is open
for a few hours in the day, or while the carter is employed in the stable, and
when that is shut down almost total darkness prevails. Let our reader consider
what are his sensations when he suddenly emerges from a dark room into the
full glare of light. He is dazzled and bewildered, and some time passes before
his vision is distinct. Let this be repeated several times daily, and what will
be the consequence? The sight will be disordered, or the eye irreparably in-
jared. Then let him think of his poor horse, who often stumbles and starts
through no fault of his own, although he is corrected for his blundering, but
because his eyes are necessarily weakened by these sudden transitions, and dis-
posed to take on sudden inflammation with all its fatal results.

The propagation of various diseases, and this more than any other, from the
sire to his progeny, has not been sufficiently considered by breeders. Let a stal-
lion that is blind, or whose sight is defective, possess every other point and
quality that can be wished, yet he is worse than useless for a very considerable
proportion of his offspring will most assuredly inherit weak eyes or become
totally blind. There is no fact better established than this.

Mr. Baker of Reigate puts this in a very strong point of view. He was called
apon to examine a foal only a few days old, which seemed to have some affection
of the head, as from its birth it was totally unconscious of any object, although it
appeared to the owner to have good eyes. It ran its head against the wall and
the standers by, in such a way as to convince the surgeon that it was quite blind,
and on examining the pupil of each eye, he found them greatly dilated and mo-
tionless, but beyond this there was no unhealthy appearance.

He inquired about the sire, and found that his vision was very defective,
and that of all the stock which he got in that part of the country, not one colt
escaped the direful effects of his imperfect sight. | He persuaded the owner to
have the youngster destroyed, and in tracing the optic nerve in its passage from
the base of the brain, he found it in a complete state of atrophy. There was
scarcely any nervous substance within the tube that led from the brain to the
eye.
166 SPECIFIC OPHTHALMIA.

The most frequent consequences of this disease are cloudiness of the eye,
‘and cataract. The cloudiness is singular in its nature. It will change in
twenty-four hours from the thinnest film to the thickest opacity, and, as sud-
denly, the eye will nearly regain its perfect transparency, but only to lose it,
and as rapidly, a second time.

The most barbarous methods have been resorted to for the purpose of remov-
ing this cloudiness. Chalk, and salt, and sugar, and even pounded glass, have
been introduced into the eye mechanically to rub off the film. It was forgotten
that the cloudiness was the effect of inflammation—that means so harsh and
cruel were very likely to recall that inflammation—that these rough and sharp
substances must of necessity inflict excruciating pain; and that, after all, it
generally was not a film on the surface of the cornea, but a dimness pervading its
substance, and even sinking deep within it, and therefore not capable of being
removed. Where the cloudiness can be removed, it will be best effected by
first abating inflammation, and then exciting the absorbents to take up the
grey deposit, by washing the eye with a very weak solution of corrosive
sublimate.

Opacity of the lens is another consequence of inflammation. A white speck
appears on the centre of the lens, which gradually spreads over it, and com-
pletely covers it. It is generally so white and pearly as not to be mistaken—
at other times it is more hazy, deceiving the inexperienced, and occasioning doubt
in the mind of the professional man. We have seen many instances in which
the sight has been considerably affected or almost lost, and yet the horse has been
pronounced sound by very fair judges. The eye must be exposed to the light,
and yet under the kind of shelter which has been already described, in order to
discover the defect. The pupil of the horse is seldom black, like that of the
human being, and its greyish hue conceals the recent or thin film that may be
spreading over the lens,

Confirmed cataract in the eye of the horse admits of no remedy, for two
obvious reasons: the retractor muscle draws the eye back so powerfully and so
deeply into the socket that it would be almost impossible to perform any opera-
tion ; and, could an operation be performed, and the opaque lens removed, the
sight would be so imperfect, from the rays of light not being sufficiently con-
verged, that the horse would be worse to us than a blind one. The man who
has undergone the operation of couching may put a new lens before his eye, in
the form of a convex spectacle ; but we cannot adapt spectacles to the eye
of the horse, or fix them there.

Since the publication of the first edition of the “The Horse,” some contro-
versy has taken place with regard to the occasional appearance and disappear-
ance of cataract without any connexion with the common moon-blindness.
Mr. Clay deposed in evidence, that cataracts might be formed in a fortnight
or three weeks—that he had known many instances in which they had been
completed in Jess time, and without any previous apparent disease of the eyes;
and that he had detected them when the owners had not the slightest suspicion
of disease in the eye*,

Mr. Cartwright adds, that he has known two similar cases. The first was
of a horse that had two cataracts in each eye—two of them of the size of a large
pin’s head, and the other two treble that size. There was no vestige of former
inflammation ; and the person who bred him said that he never had been sub-
ject. to inflammation of the eye. In December 1881, these cataracts were
plain enough ; but in the autumn of 1832 they had completely vanished.

In November 1882, Mr. Cartwright saw a five-years old mare, and detected

 

PS
* Veterinarian, vol. vii. p. 41.
GUTTA SERENA. 167

a cataract in the right eye, of the size of a coriander seed. He advised the owner
to get rid of her, thinking that she would go blind ; but, being a useful animal
he kept her. In August 1833, Mr. Cartwright saw her again. The cataract
had disappeared and the eyes were perfect *.

That excellent veterinarian, Mr. Percivall, had a somewhat similar case.
A gentleman brought a horse one morning to the hospital, in consequence of
its having fallen in his way to town, and grazed his eyebrow. On examining
him carefully, the cornea was partially nebulous, and a cataract was plainly
visible. Neither of these defects was sufficient to attract the notice of any
unprofessional observer, and both were unconnected with the slight bruise pro-
duced by the fall. The owner was told that the corneal opacity might possibly
be removed ; but as for the cataract he might regard this as beyond the reach
of medicine. He returned with his horse on the fifth day, saying that the
physic had operated well, and that he thought the eye was as clear as ever.
Mr. Percivall examined the eye, and could discover no relic either of the
corneal opacity or of the cataract.

The opinion respecting cataract is therefore essentially modified. It is not
necessarily the result of previous inflammation, although in the great majority
of cases it is so, nor docs it always lead to blindness. Still it is a serious thing
at all times, and, although existing in the minutest degree, it is unsoundness, and
very materially lessens the value of the horse.

“Were I asked,” says Mr. Percivall, “how the practitioner could best dis-
tinguish a cataract of the above description from that which is of ordinary
occurrence, and known by us all to constitute the common termination of perio-
dical ophthalmia, I should say that the unusually Iucid and healthy aspect which
every other part of the eye presents is our best diagnostic sign ; the slightest
indication, however, or the slightest suspicion of prior or present inflammation,
being a reason for coming to a different conclusion. As to the period of time
a cataract of this species, supposing it to be membranous, would require for
its formation, I should apprehend that its production might be, as its disappear~
ance often would seem to be, the work of a very short interval, perhaps not more
than five or six days.” As to the cause and treatment of it, we are at present
completely in the dark. If it does not soon disappear, the hydriodate of
potash administered internally might offer the best prospect of success.

GUTTA SERENA.

Another species of blindness, and of which mention was made when describing
the retina, is Gutta Serena, commonly called glass eye. The pupil is more
than usually dilated: it is immovable, and bright, and glassy. This is palsy of
the optic nerve, or its expansion, the retina; and is usually produced by deter-
mination of blood to the head. We have described it as a consequence of
staggers. So much pressure has been occasioned on the base of the brain, that
the nerve has been injured, and its function destroyed. The treatment of
Gutta Serena is quite as difficult as that of cataract. We have heard of suc-
cessful cases, but we never saw one ; nor should we be disposed to incur much
expense in endeavouring to accomplish impossibilities. Reasoning from the
cause of the disease, we should bleed and physic, and administer the strych-
nine in doses, commencing at half a grain, and not exceeding two grains,
morning and night—very carefully watching it. If we succeed, it must be
by constitutional treatment. As to local treatment, the seat of disease is out of
our reach, e

* Veterinarian, vol. vii. p. 44.
168 DEAFNESS.

DISEASES OF THE EAR.

Wounds of the ear are usually the consequence of careless or brutal treat-
ment. The twitch may be applied to it, when absolute necessity requires this
degree of coercion ; but troublesome ulcers and bruises have been the con-
sequence of the abuse of this species of punishment, and more especially
has the farrier done irreparable mischief when he has brutally made use of
his plyers. A

These bruises or wounds will generally—fortunately for the animal, and
fortunately, perhaps, for the brute that inflicted the injury—speedily heal ; but
occasionally sinuses and abscesses will result that bid defiance to the most
skilful treatment. A simple laceration of the cartilage is easily remedied.
The divided edges are brought into apposition, and the head is tied up closely
for a few days, and all is well; but, occasionally, ulceration of the integument
and cellular substance, and caries of the cartilage, will take place--deep sinuses
will be formed, and the wound will bid defiance to thé most skilful treatment.
The writer of this work had once a case of this kind under his care more than
two months, and he was at length compelled to cut off the ear, the other ear
following it, for the sake of uniformity of appearance. The lunar caustic,
or the muriate of antimony, or the heated iron, must be early employed, or the
labour of the practitioner will be in vain.

It has been the misfortune of the same person to witness tivo cases in which
the auditory passage was closed and the faculty of hearing destroyed, by blows
on the ear violently inflicted. No punishment can be too severe for these
brutes in human shape. Whenever there is considerable swelling about the
root of the ear, and the fluctuation of a fluid within can be detected, it should
be immediately opened with a lancet, and the purulent fluid liberated.

The abscess usually begins to form about the middle of the conch, or
rather nearer the base than the point. The incision should be of considerable
length, or the opening will close again in four-and-twenty hours. The purulent
matter having been evacuated, the incision should not be permitted to close
until the parietes of the ulcer have adhered to each other, and the abscess is
obliterated.

The size and the carrying of the ear do not always please. The ears may be
larger and more dependent than fashion requires them to be, and this is remedied
by paring or clipping them to the requisite size. On either side of the pro-
jection of the occipital bone, and in a straight line forward and backward, a
fold of the skin is pinched up and cut away. The divided edges on either side
are then brought together, and confined by two or three stitches—they presently
unite, and the owner has a better-looking horse, and soon forgets or cares not
about the punishment which he has inflicted on him.

The ears of other horses may be supposed to be too close to each other. This
fault is corrected by another piece of cruelty. Similar slips of skin are cut
away on the outside of the base of the ear, and in the same direction. The
edges of the wound are then brought together, confined by sutures, and the ears
are drawn further apart from each other, and have different directions given to
them. A very slight examination of either of the horses will readily detect
the imposition.

DEAFNESS.

Of the occasional existence of this in the horse, there is no doubt. The
beautiful play of the ears has ceased, and the horse hears not the voice of his
master, or the sound of the whip. Much of the apparent stupidity of afew
horses is attributable to their imperfect hearing. It occasionally appears to
DESCRIPTION OF THE NASAL BONES, 169.

follow the decline of various diseases, and especially of those that affect the
head and the respiratory passages. It has been the consequence of brutal
treatment closing the conduit of the ear, or rupturing the tympanum ; and it is
certainly, as in other domesticated animals, the accompaniment of old age.

In the present state of veterinary knowledge it is an incurable complaint ;
the only thing that can be done is not to punish the poor slave for his apparent
stupidity, produced perhaps by over-exertion in our service, or, at least, the
natural attendant of the close of a life devoted to us.

CHAPTER VIII.
THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH.

We now proceed to a description of the face, or lower part of the head of the
Horse. The nasal bones, or bones of the nose (jj, p. 110, and a, p. 111), are
connected with the frontal bones above, and with the lacrymal, é i, and the bones
of the upper jaw, / /, on either side. They are united together by a plain suture,
which is a continuation of the frontal, and they terminate in a point at the nos-
tril (p, p. 110). They are rounded and arched above, because they are exposed
to occasional violence and injury, which the arch-form will enable them best to
resist ; and at the base of the arch, where the main strength should be, they
are overlapped by the upper jawbone, as the temporal bone overlaps the base of
the parietal. These bones form a principal part of the face ; and the length, or
shortness, and the character of the face, depend upon them. Sometimes there
is an appearance of two little arches, with a depression between them along the
sutures. This is often found in the blood-horse with his comparatively broad
head and face. The single elevated arch is found in the long and narrow face
of the heavy draught-horse.

The nasal bones pursue their course down the face, in some horses in a straight
line—in others, there is a slight prominence towards the upper part, while in a
considerable number, a depression is observed a little lower down. Some persons
have imagined that this deviation in the line of the face affords an indication of the
temper of the animal, and there may be a little truth in this. The horse with
a straight profile may be good or bad tempered, but not often either to any great
excess. The one with the prominent Roman nose will generally be an easy,
good-tempered kind of beast—hardy—tready enough to feed, not always, perhaps,
so ready to work, but may be made to do his duty without any cruel urging,
and having no extraordinary pretension to speed or blood. On the other hand, a
depression across the centre of the nose generally indicates some breeding,
especially if the head is small, but occasionally accompanied by a vicious, uncon-
trollable disposition.

There is another way, however, in which the nasal bones do more certainly
indicate the breed, viz. by their comparative length or shortness, There is no
surer criterion of a well-bred horse, than a broad angular forehead, prominent
features, and a short face; nor of a horse with little breeding, than a narrow
forehead, small features, and lengthened nose. The comparative development
of the head and face indicates, with little error, the preponderance of the animal
or intellectual principle.
170 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF

Fracture of the nasal bones of the horse will sometimes occur from falling, or
a kick from the companion, or the brutality of the attendant. It is generally
followed by laceration of the lining membrane of the nostrils, and by hemor-
rhage. The hemorrhage may usually be arrested by the application of cold
water externally. In spontaneous hemorrhage this does not often succeed until
a considerable quantity of blood is lost.

In cases of fracture of the nasal bones, the assistance of a veterinary surgeon
is indispensable. He alone knows the precise anatomy of the parts, and will
have recourse to the elevator or the trephine, as circumstances may require.

The owner must not be too sanguine with regard to cases of this kind, for ozena,
—ulceration attended by a peculiar and almost insufferable stench—is too often
the consequence, or foundation may be laid, for the appearance, of glanders.

Spontaneous bleeding from the nose must be carefully attended to. It may
proceed from over-fulness of the capillaries of the membrane of the nose, or
determination of blood to the head, or general plethora of the system. Those
that are overfed and overfat are most liable to it, as troop-horses, brewers’ horses,
and horses kept for pleasure. It is not common in young horses, or in such as
are out of condition, or worked hardly. It is always desirable to know whence
the bleeding proceeds—if from the nostril alone, it will usually be confined to
one side—if from the lungs, the discharge is from both nostrils, and generally
mingled with mucus, or spume,—there is also a quickened respiration, and
more or less cough.

If it is apparently connected with some slight cause, a dose of physic and
quietness for a day or two will be sufficient, and, if necessary, a slight solution
of alum may be injected up the nostril. If the bleeding is apparently from the
lungs, a more serious evacuation will be required.

These bones form the roof of an important cavity (see a, p. 111). The sides
are constituted above by the nasal bones, and, lower down, by the upper jaw-
bones, (superior mazillaries), while plates from these latter bones project and
compose the palate, which is both the floor of the nose and the roof of the mouth
(é, p. 111). Above (near fig. 8), not visible in our cut, is a bone called the pala-
tine, although it contributes very little to the formation of the palate. It is the
termination of the palate, or the border of the opening where the cavities of
the mouth and nose meet (fig. 8). The frontal sinuses, 6, and large vacuities
in the upper jaw-bone, and in the w#thmoid, /, and sphenoid bones, k, communi-
cate with and enlarge the cavity of the nose.

This cavity is divided into two parts by a cartilage called the Septum (see

 

a, p- 111). : It is of considerable thickness and strength, and divides the cavity
of the nose into two equal parts. It is placed in the centre for the purpose of
THE NOSE AND MOUTH. li

strength, and it is formed of cartilage, in order that, by its gradually yielding
resistance, it may neutralise almost any force that may be applied to it.

When we open the nostril, we see the membrane by which the cartilage, and
the whole of the cavity of the nose, is lined, and by the colour of which, much
more than by that of the lining of the eyelids, we judge of the degree of fever,
and particularly of inflammation of the lungs, or any of the air-passages. The
cut on the opposite page shows the ramifications of the blood-vessels, both arterial
and venous, on the membrane of the nose. It beautifully accounts for the accurate
connexion which we trace between the colour of the nasal membrane, and various
diseases or states of the circulation. By the sore places or ulcerations discovered
on this membrane, we likewise determine respecting the existence of glanders ;
and the interposition of the septum isa wise and benevolent provision to hinder
the spread of the mischief, by cutting off all communication with the neighbour-
ing parts, and also to preserve one nostril pervious, when the other is diseased
or obstructed. The nasal cavity is, on either side, occupied by two bones,
which, from their being rolled up somewhat in the form of a turban, are called
the turbinated or turban-shaped bones, s s, p. 112; part of the cartilage is cut
away in our cut in order to displaythem. They are as thin as gauze, and
perforated, like gauze, with a thousand holes. Between them are left sufficient
passages for the air.

If they were unrolled, they would present a very considerable surface ; and
on every part of them is spread the substance or pulp of the olfactory, or first
pair of nerves. These bones, lined with delicate membranes, and covered by
the olfactory nerves, are the seat of smell ; and they are thus expanded, because
the sense of smell in the horse must, to a very considerable degree, supply the
place of the sense of touch and the lessons of experience in the human being.
By this alone he is enabled to select, amongst the nutritive and poisonous
herbage of the meadow, that which would support and not destroy him. The
troops of wild horses are said to smell the approach of an enemy at a very con-
siderable distance. In his domestic state, the horse does not examine the dif-
ferent food which is placed before him with his eye, but with his nose; and if
the smell displeases him, no coaxing will induce him to eat. He examines a
stranger by the smell, and, by very intelligible signs, expresses the opinion
which he forms of him by this inquisition. The horse will evidently recognise
his favourite groom when he has nothing else to indicate his approach but the
sense of smell, These cavities are likewise organs of voice. The sound rever-
berates through them, and increases in loudness, as through the windings of a
French horn.

The extension of the nostril at the lower part of these cavities is an important
part of the face, and intimately connected with breeding, courage, and speed.
The horse can breathe only through the nose. All the air which goes to and
returns from the lungs must pass through the nostrils. In the common act of
breathing, these are sufficiently large ; but when the animal is put on his speed,
and the respiration is quickened, these passages must dilate, or he will be much
distressed. The expanded nostril is a striking feature in the blood-horse, espe-
cially when he has been excited and not over-blown. Thesporting man will
not forget the sudden effect which is given to the countenance of the hunter,
when his ears become erect, and his nostrils dilate as he first listens to the ery
of the hounds, and snorts, and scents them afar off. The painful and spasmed
stretching of this part, in the poor over-driven post-horse, will show how
necessary it is that the passage to the lungs should be free and open. The
nostril should not only be large, but the membranous substance which covers the
entrance into the nose should be thin and elastic, that it may more readily
yield when the necessity of the animal requires a greater supply of air, and
afterwards return to its natural dimensions. Therefore, nature, which adapts
i72 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF

the animal to his situation and use, has given to the cart-horse, that is seldom
blown, a confined nostril, and surrounded by much cellular substance, anda
thick skin; and to the horse of more breeding, whose use consists 10 his speed
and his continuance, a wider nostril, and one much more flexible. :

The inhabitants of some countries were accustomed to slit the nostrils of
their horses, that they might be less distressed in the severe and long-continued
exertion of their speed. The Icelanders do so to the present day. There is no
necessity for this, for nature has made ample provision for all the ordinary and
even extraordinary exertion we can require from the horse.

Some very powerful muscles proceed from different parts of the face to the
neighbourhood of the nostrils, in order to draw them back and dilate them. Four
of these are given in this cut, which is introduced to complete our present subject,
and which will be often referred to in the course of our work ; J, m, 0, and p,
are muscles employed for this purpose.

THE MUSCLES, NERVES, AND BLOOD-VESSELS OF THE HEAD AND UPPER PART OF THE NECK.

 

a. The upper part of the ligament of the neck.

b The levator humeri (elevator of the shoulder), arising from the tubercle of the occiput, the
mastoid (nipple-shaped) process of the temporal bone, and the transverse processes (crosa
projections) of the four first 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 tum the head and neck; and, when the two levators act, to de-
press the head.

¢ The tendon common to the complerus major (larger complicated), and splenius (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 sterno-mazillaris (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 one only 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 angle of the jaw : to pull the jaw backward and open it.

f The subscapulo hyoideus, from under the shoulder-blade, to the body of the os hyotdes
(the bone at the root of the tongue formed like a Greek u, v): to draw back that bone.

g The masseter (chewing) ; 2 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 con-
junction with the temporal muscle to close the mouth and chew the food.

h The orbicularis (circular) surrounding the eye and closing the lids.

& The zygomaticus, from the zygomatic arch and masseter to the corner of the mouth, te draw
back the angle of the mouth.

k The buccinator (trumpeter), from the inside of the mouth and cheeks, to the angle of tho
mouth, to draw it back. - ,

bebaee
THE NOSE AND MOUTH. 173

I The nasalis labii: superioris (belonging to the nose and upper Jip), from a depression st
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 vessels and nerves
which it covers, going from the covering of the nasal and frontal bones, to the angle of
the mouth, and side of the nostril :—to retract the upper lip and dilate the nostrils.

n Dilator magnus (great dilator), assisting in the same office.

o 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 lipa,
and dilate the nostrils.

q The upper portion of the parotid gland (gland near the ear) reversed, to show the blood-ves
sels and nerves beneath it.

r The parotid duct piercing the cheek, to discharge the saliva into the mouth,

8 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.

» The vein and artery, passing under the zygomatic arch.

z 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 the seventh pair, the motor (moving)
nerve of the face coming out from beneath the parotid gland, to spread over the face.

2 Branches of both nerves, with small blood-vessels.

There are also four distinct cartilages attached to the nostrils, which, by their
elasticity, bring back the nostrils to their former dimensions, as soon as the
muscles cease to act. The bones of the nose (a a, p. 110, and p, 111) are also
sharpened off to a point, to give wider range for the action of the muscles;
while the cartilages are so contrived, as not only to discharge the office we have
mentioned, but to protect this projection of bone from injury.

There are two circumstances, which, more than any others, will enable the
veterinary surgeon, and the owner of a horse, accurately to judge of the character
and degree of many diseases, and to which very few persons pay sufficient atten-
tion; these are the pulse, of which we shall presently speak, and the colour of the
membrane of the nose. It is the custom of most veterinary surgeons and horse-
men to lift the upper eyelid, and to form their opinion by the colour which its
lining presents. If it is very red, there is considerable fever ;—if it is of a pale
pinkish hue, there is little danger. The nose, however, is more easily got at ;—
the surface presented to the view is more extensive ;—its sympathy with almost
all the important organs is greater ;—and the changes produced by disease are
more striking and more conclusive. Let the reader first make himself well
acquainted with the uniform pale pink appearance of that portion of the mem-
brane which covers the lower part of the cartilaginous partition between the
nostrils, when the horse is in health and quiet ; then the increased blush of red,
betokening some excitement of the system—the streaked appearance of inflam -
mation commenced, and threatening to increase—the intense florid red, of acute
inflammation—the pale ground with patches of vivid red, showing the half-sub-
dued, but still existing fever—the uniform colour, although somewhat redder
than natural, predicting a return to healthy circulation—the paleness approach-
ing to white, marking the stage of debility, and sometimes intermingled with
radiations of crimson, inducing the suspicion of lurking mischief; and the dark
livid colour of approaching stagnation of the vital current. These, with all
their shades of difference, will be guides to his opinion and treatment, which
every one, who has studied them, will highly appreciate.

NASAL POLYPUS.
By a polypus is meant an excrescence or tumour, varying in size, structure,
and consistence, and attached by a pedicle toa mucous surface. ‘I'he true poly-
174 NASAL POLYPUS.

pus is attached to mucous membranes, and is usually found in the nostrils, the
n seen hanging loose

pharynx, the uterus, or the vagina. Tumours have bee
in the veins and ventricles of the heart; and in the larger blood-vessels there have
been accumulations of the fibrine of the blood, with peduncular attachments.

The nasal polypus usually adheres to some portion of the superior turbinated
bone, or it has come from some of the sinuses connected with that cavity. It
escaped, while small, through the valvular opening under the superior turbi-
nated bone into the cavity of the nose, and there attained its full growth.

No better account, however, can be given of the cause of their appearance
than that of tumours in other parts of the body. ‘They evidently have a con-
stitutional origin : they are frequently hereditary, and the animal in which they
have once appeared is subject toa return of them.

By some means, probably the increasing weight of the tumour, and being in
a dependent situation, the polypus is gradually detached from its base, and
forces with it the soft and easily distensible membrane of the nose. As it con-
tinues to descend, this portion of membrane is farther elongated, and forms
the pedicle or root of the tumour ;—if that may be termed a root which isa
mere duplicate of its investing membrane.

The polypus, when it hangs free in the nasal cavity, is usually of a pyriform
or pear-like shape ; and it varies in weight, from afew drachms to three or four

ounds.

e How is the surgeon to proceed? Can he lay hold of the polypus by the
finger, or the forceps, or (for these tumours do not possess much sensibility) the
tenaculum? To ascertain this, he will cast the horse, and fix the head in a
position to take the greatest advantage of the light. If he cannot fairly get at the
tumour by any of these means, he will let italone. It will continue to grow—the
membrane constituting the pedicle will be lengthened—and the polypus will
at length descend, and be easily got at. Time and patience will effect wonders
in this and many similar cases. x

Supposing it to have grown, and the surgeon is endeavouring to extract it, he
must not use any great force. It must not be torn out by the root. The tumour
must be gently brought down, and a ligature passed round the pedicle,
as high up as it can conveniently be placed. If the polypus can then be
returned to the nose, the animal will suffer very little inconvenience ; and in a
few days it will slough off, and the pedicle will contract, and gradually
disappear.

If the polypus is so large that it cannot be well returned after it has been
brought down, we must, notwithstanding, use the ligature, passing it round the
pedicle sufficiently tightly to cut off the supply of blood to the tumour. We
may then immediately excise it. Except the pedicle is exceedingly thick, there
will be little or no hemorrhage. Should some bleeding occur, it will probably
soon stop, or may be stopped by the cautery, which should however be avoided
if possible, for our object is to produce as little irritation as may be in the
membrane, and the actual cautery will be applied with considerable difficulty in
the cavity of the nose.

In very bad cases, when the tumour cannot be drawn out of the nose, it may
be necessary to slit up the ala or side of the nostril. It will be better, how-
ever, not to cut through the false nostril, for that consists of a duplicature of such
thin integument, that the stitches can hardly be retained in it, when the horse
will be continually snorting at the least inconvenience. It will also be difficult
to bring the edges of this thin membrane accurately together again, or, if this be
effected, there is scarcely life enough in it for the parts readily to unite. The

false nostril should be avoided, and the incision made along the lateral edge of || '

the nasal bone, beginning at its apex or point. The flap will then conveniently
OZENA, 175

tum down, so as to expose the cavity beneath; and there will be sufficient
muscular substance to secure an almost certain union by the first intention. The
nostril being opened, the pedicle will probably be displayed, and a ligature may
be passed round it, as already recommended ; or if it is not actually in sight,
it may probably gradually be brought within reach.

NASAL GLEET, OR DISCHARGE FROM THE NOSE.

There is a constant secretion of fluid to lubricate and moisten the membrane
that lines the cavity of the nose, and which, under catarrh or cold, is increased in
quantity, and altered in appearance and consistence. This will properly belong
to the account of catarrh or cold; but that which is immediately under con-
sideration is a continued and oftentimes profuse discharge of thickened mucus,
when every symptom of catarrh and fever has passed away. If the horse is at
grass, the discharge is almost as green as the food on which he lives ;—or if he
is stabled, it is white, or straw-coloured, or brown, or even bloody, and some-
times purulent. It is either constantly running, or snorted out in masses many
times a day ; teasing the horse, and becoming a perfect nuisance in the stable,
and to the rider. This has been known to continue several months, and eventually
to destroy the horse.

If the discharge is not offensive to the smell, nor mixed with purulent matter,
it is probably merely an increased and somewhat vitiated secretion from the ca-
vities of the nose ; and, all fever having disappeared, will frequently yield to small
doses of blue vitriol, given twice inthe day. If fever or cough remains, the
cough medicine that will hereafter be described must be combined with the
tonic. If the discharge is mingled with pus, and very offensive, the vegetable
tonics, gentian and ginger, may be added to the copper ; but there is now reason
to apprehend that the discharge will not be controlled, and will terminate in
glanders. Turning into asalt marsh will occasionally effect a cure, when both
the mineral and the vegetable tonics have failed.

OZENA.

Ozena is ulceration of the membrane of the nose not always or often
visible, but recognised by the discharge of muco-purulent matter, and the pecu-
liar foetor from which the disease derives its name. It resembles glanders in
being confined in most instances to one nostril, and the submaxillary gland on
the same side being enlarged; but differs from it, in the gland not being
adherent, and the discharge, from its earliest stage, being purulent and stinking.

There is sometimes a fetid discharge from the nostril in consequence of in-
flammation of the lungs, or produced by some of the sequel of pneumonia ;
distinguished, however, from ozena by its usually flowing irregularly, being
coughed up in great quantities, more decidedly purulent, and the gland
or glands seldom affected. The discharge from ozena is constant, muco-
purulent, and attended by enlargement of the glands. It is of immense conse-
quence that we should be enabled to distinguish the one from the other ; for
while ozena may, sometimes at least, be manageable, the other is teo
frequently the precursor of death. a

The cause of ozena cannot always be discovered. Chronic inflamma-
tion of the membrane may assume another and malignant character. In
severe catarrh the membrane may become abraded, and the abrasions may
degenerate into foul and foetid ulcers. It is not an unfrequent consequence: of
epidemic catarrh. It has been produced by caustic applications to the lining
membrane of the nose. It has followed hamorrhage, spontaneous, or the con-
sequence of injury.

te some pats and those as obstinate as any, it cannot perhaps be traced to
176 GLANDERS.

any probable cause, and the health of the animal has not appeared to be in the
slightest degree affected. ’

The membrane of the nose is highly sensitive and irritable, and an ulcer, in
whatever way formed on it, does not readily heal. It, often runs on to gan-
grene and destroys not only the membrane but the bone beneath and even the
cartilaginous septum. This is rarely the case in glanders ; and the ravages of
the chancrous ulcers are usually confined to the membrane. The ulceration
proceeds to acertain point—its progress is then arrested, usually by nature alone
—the discharge gradually lessens— it loses its offensive character, and at length
ceases.

Local applications are seldom available in the treatment of this disease ; for
we know not the situation of the ulcer, and if we did, we probably could
not get at it. Some have recommended setons. Where are they to be applied ?
If the seat of ulceration is unknown, the seton may only give useless pain.
Several post-mortem examinations have shown that the frontal sinuses are a fre-
quent seat of the disease. Yet what injection could we use? An emollient one
would be thrown away. A stimulating injection might convert ozena into
glanders. Other examinations have shown that the superior portion of the cen-
tral meatus was diseased. What instrument can be contrived to reach that ?
Internal medicines are almost thrown away in this complaint: yet something,
perhaps, may be done under the form ofa local application. The discarded
nose-bag (undervalued at least by too many practitioners) will afford the means
of employing an emollient fomentation. The steam from a bran-mash, scalding
hot, will probably reach every part of the nasal cavity, and so afford some
chance of being beneficially applied to the ulcer. It will, at least, thoroughly
cleanse the part. By means of the nose-bag and the warm mash the chloride of
lime may be introduced into the cavity, not only combining with the extricated
gases, and removing the foetor, but arresting the tendency to decomposition.

Then there is a digestive—a gentle stimulus to abraded and ulcerated sur-
faces, rousing them to healthy action, and without too much irritating them—
turpentine. ‘This may be applied in the form of vapour, and in the best of all
ways, by using the fresh yellow deal shavings instead of bran. This digestive
may be brought into contact with every part of the Schneiderian membrane,
and has been serviceable.

There is another resource, and one that bids fairer to be successful than any
other with which we are acquainted—the spring grass. It is the finest alter-.
ative, depurative, and restorative in our whole materia medica; and if it is
accessible in the form of a salt marsh, there is no better chance of doing good.

GLANDERS,

The most formidable of all the diseases to which the horse is subject is
Guanpens. It has been recognised from the time of Hippocrates of Cos;
and few modern veterinary writers have given a more accurate or complete
account of its symptoms than is to be found in the works of the father of
medicine. Three-and-twenty hundred years have rolled on since then, and
veterinary practitioners are not yet agreed as to the tissue primarily affected,
nor the actual nature of the disease: we only know that it is at the present
day, what it was then, a loathsome and an incurable malady.

We shall therefore, in treating of this discase, pursue our course slowly
and cautiously.

The earliest symptom of Glanders is an increased discharge from the nostril,

nal in quantity, constantly flowing, of an aqueous character and a little mucus
mingling with it.
GLANDERS. V7

Connected with this is an error too general, and highly mischievous with regard
to the character of this discharge in the earliest stage of the disease, when, if
ever, a cure might be effected, and when, too, the mischief from contagion is most
frequently produced. The discharge of glanders is not sticky when it may be
first recognised. 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.

Mr. James Turner deserves much credit for having first or chiefly directed
the attention of horsemen to this important but disregarded sympiom. Ifa
horse is in the highest condition, yet has this small aqueous constant discharge,
and especially from one nostril, no time should be lost in separating him from
his companions. No harm will be done by this, although the defluxion should
not ultimately betray lurking mischief of a worse character,

Mr. Turner relates a case very much in point. A farmer asked his opinion
respecting a mare in excellent condition, with a sleek coat, and in full work.
He had had her seven or eight months, and during the whole of that time
there had been a discharge from the right nostril, but in so slight a degree as
scarcely to be deemed worthy of notice. He now wanted to sell her, but, like
an honest man, he wished to know whether he might warrant her. Mr.
Turner very properly gave it as his opinion, that the discharge having existed
for so long a time, he would not be justified in sending her into the market,
A farrier, however, whose ideas of glanders had always been connected with a
sticky discharge and an adherent gland, bought her, and led her away.

Three months passed on, when Mr. Turner, examining the post-horses of 4
neighbouring inn, discovered that two of them were glandered, and two more
farcied, while, standing next to the first that was attacked, and his partner in
work, was his old acquaintance, the farmer’s mare, with the same discharge
from her nostril, and who had, beyond question, been the cause of all the
mischief.

The peculiar viscidity and gluiness which is generally supposed to distin-
guish the discharge of glanders from all other mucous and prevalent secretions
belongs to the second stage of the disease, and, for many months before this,
glanders may have existed in an insidious and highly contagious form. Tt must

. be acknowledged, however, that, in the majority of cases, some degree of sticki-
ness does characterise the discharge 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 affected 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 dis-
charge is from the left nostril alone. We might account for the left leg failing
oftener than the right, for we mount and dismount on the left side; tine horse
generally leads with it, and there is more wear and tear of that limb: but we
cannot satisfactorily account for this usual affection of the left nostril. It is
true that the reins are held in the left hand, and there may be a little more
bearing and pressure on the left side of the mouth ; but this applies only to
saddle-horses, and even with them does not sufficiently explain the resuit.

This discharge, in cases of infection, may continue, and in so slight a degree

88 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
N
178. THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH.

horse being 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 characteristic symptom appears. Some of this is absorbed,
and the neighbouring 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 diffused, but
the surrounding enlargement soon goes off, and one or two small distinct glands
remain; and they are not in the centre of the channel, but adhere closely to the
jaw on the affected side.

The membrane of the nose should now be examined, and will materially
guide our opinion. It will either be of a dark purplish hue, or almost of a
leaden colour, or of any shade between the two; or if there is some of the
redness of inflammation, it will have a purple tinge: but there will never be
the faint pink blush of health, or the intense and vivid red of usual inflamma-
tion. Spots of ulceration will probably 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 circular 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
ascertain that these 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 wiped 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 chan-
crous 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 affected. The patient loses flesh—his belly is
tucked up—his coat unthrifty, and readily coming off—the appetite is im-
paired—the strength fails—cough, more or less urgent, may be heard—the
discharge from the nose will increase in quantity ; it will be discoloured, bloody,
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 of the forehead becomes thickened and somewhat swelled.
Farcy is now superadded to glanders, or glanders has degenerated into farcy,
and more of the absorbents are involved.

At or before this time little tumours appear about the muscies, and face, and
neck, following the course of the veins and the absorbents, for they run side by
side ; and these the tumours soon ulcerate. Tumours or buds, still pursuing the
path of the absorbents, soon appear on the inside of the thighs. They are con-
nected together by a corded substance. This is the inflamed and enlarged lym-
phatic; and ulceration quickly follows the appearance of these buds. The
dceper-seated absorbents are next affected; and one or both of the hind-legs
swell to a great size, and become stiff, and hot, and tender. ‘The loss of flesh
and strength is more marked every day. ‘The membrane of the nose becomes
GLANDERS. 179

of a dirty livid colour. 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 offensive. ‘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 farther consideration, A portion of the fluid
secreted by the membrane of the nose, and altered in character-by the peculiar
inflammation there existing, is absorbed ; and, as it is conveyed along the lym-
phatics, 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 accom-
panying the inflammation which they take from the absorption of the virus of
glanders. They are rarely large, except at first, or hot, or tender; but they
are characterised by a singular hardness, a proximity to the jaw-bone, and, fre-
quently, actual adhesion to it. The adhesion is produced by the inflammatory
action going forward in the gland, and the effusion of coagulable lymph. This
hardness and adhesion accompanying discharge from the nostril, and being on the
same side with the nostril whence the discharge proceeds, afford proof not to
be controverted that the horse is glandered. Notwithstanding this, however,
there are cases in which the glands are neither adherent nor much enlarged,
and yet there is constant discharge from one or both nostrils. The veterinary
surgeon would have little hesitation in pronouncing them to be cases of glanders,
He will trust to the adhesion of the gland, but he will not be misled by its
looseness, nor even by its absence altogether.

Glanders have often been confounded with strangles,and by those who ought to
have known better. Strangles are peculiar to young horses. The early stage
resembles common cold, with some degree of fever and sore throat—generally
with distressing cough, or at least frequent wheezing; and when the enlarge-
ment appears beneath the jaw, it is not a single small gland, but a swelling of the
whole of the substance between the jaws, growing harder towards the centre,
and, after a while, appearing to contain a fluid, and breaking. In strangles, the
membrane of the nose will be intensely red, and the discharge from the nose
profuse and purulent, or mixed with matter almost from the first. When
the tumour has burst, the fever will abate, and the horse will speedily get
well.

Should the discharge from the nose continue, as it sometimes does, fora
considerable time after the horse has recovered from strangles, there is no cause
for fear. Simple strangles need never degenerate into glanders. Good keep,
and small doses of tonic medicine, will gradually perfect the cure.

Glanders have been confounded with catarrh or cold; but the distinction
between them is plain enough. Fever, and loss of appetite and sore throat,
accompany cold—the quidding of the food and gulping of the water are sufficient
indications of the latter of these; the discharge from the nose is profuse, and
perhaps purulent; the glands under the jaw, if swelled, are moveable, there is
a thickening around them, and they are tender and hot. With proper treat-
ment the fever abates; the cough disappears; the swellings under the throat
subside; and the discharge from the nose gradually ceases, 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 nostril, and presenting some appear-
ance of stickiness, will, in a few cases, remain after severe catarrh, and espe-
cially after the influenza of spring; and these have gradually assumed the
character of glanders, and more particularly when they have been accompanied
by enlarged glands and ulceration in the nose. Here the aid of a judicioys

nz
180 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH.

veterinary surgeon is indispensable ; and he will sometimes experience consider-
able difficulty in deciding the case. One circumstance will principally guide
him. No 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 wiil 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 condemned to the hounds, with the matter discharged from the nose. If
the horse is glandered, the symptoms of glanders or favey 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 generally more or less blanched, with
spots or lines of inflammation of considerable intensity. Ulceratiou is almost
invariably found, and of a chancrous character, on the septum, and also on the
zethmoid and turbinated bones. The ulcers evidently follow the course of the
absorbents, sometimes almost confined to the track of the main vessel, or, if
scattered over the membrane generally, thickest over the path of the lymphatic.
The ethmoid 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 external 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 absorbents. In aggravated cases,
this can generally be traced on to the lungs. It produces inflammation in these
organs, characterised in some cases by congestion ; but in other cases, the con-
gestion having gone on to hepatisation, in which the cellular texture of the lungs
is obliterated. Most frequently, when the lungs are affected at all, tubercles are
found—miliary tubercles—minute granulated spots on the surface, or in the
substance of the lungs, and not accompanied by much inflammation. Ina few
cases there are larger tubercles, which 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 affection 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 membrane of the nose. Some say, and at their
head is Professor Dupuy, that it is the production of tubercles, or minute
tumours in the upper cells of the nose, which may long exist undetected, except
by a scarcely perceptible 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 neighbour-
ing 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
themselves with saying that it 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 ulceration.

It is inflammation, whether specific or common, of the lining membrane of
the nose—possibly for months, and even for years, confined to that membrane,
and even to a portion of it—the health and the 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
GLANDERS. 181

course, and the membrane becomes ulcerated. The inflammation spreads on
either side down the septum, and the ulceration at length assumes that peculiar
chancrous form which characterises inflammation of the absorbents. Even then,
when the discharge becomes gluey, and sometimes after chancres have appeared,
the horse is apparently well. There are hundreds of glandered horses about the
country with not a sick one amongthem. For months or years this disease may
do no injury to the general health, The inflammation is purely local, and is only
recognised by the invariable accompaniment of inflammation and increased
secretion. ts neighbours fall around, but the disease 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 ina manner powerless as to the removal of the malady, yet if we can
trace its cause and manner 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 ravages which it did thirty or forty years
ago, and, generally speaking, it is now only found as a frequent and prevalent
disease where neglect, and filth, and want of ventilation exist.

Glanders may be either bred in the horse, or communicated by contagion,
What we have farther to remark on this malady will be arranged under these
two heads.

Improper stable management we believe to be a far more frequent cause of
glanders than contagion. The air which is necessary to respiration is changed
and empoisoned in its passage through the lungs, and a fresh supply is neces-
sary 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 to the
lungs, and producing irritation and disease. The membrane of the nose, pos-
sessed of extreme sensibility for the purposes of smell, is easily irritated by this
Poison, and close and ilt-ventilated stables oftenest witness the ravages of glan-
ders. Professor Coleman relates a case which proves to demonstration the rapid
and fatal agency of thiscause. ‘ In the expedition to Quiberon, the horses had
not been long on board the transports before it becanie necessary to shut down
the hatchways for a few hours ; the consequence of this was, that some of them
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 repeatedly 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 putre-
fying nature of which is ill concealed by a little fresh straw which the lazy
horsekeeper scatters over the top.

The stables of the gentleman 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 cleanliness. Glanders
seldom prevail there. The stables of the farmer are ill-managed and filthy
enough, and the ordure and uriae sometimes remain from week to week, until
the horse lies on a perfect dunghill. Glanders seldom prevail there; for the
same carelessness which permits the filth to accumulate leaves many a cranny
for the wind to enter and sweep away the deleterious fumes from this badly-
roofed and unceiled place.

The stables of the horse-dealer are hot enough; but a principle of strict
cleanliness is enforced, for there must be nothing to offend the eye or the nose
182 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH.

of the customer, and there glanders are seldom found ; but if the stables of
many of our post-horses, and of those employed on our canals, are examined,
almost too low for a tall horse to stand upright in them,—too dark for the
accumulation of filth to be perceived,—too far from the eye of the master,—ill
drained and ill paved,—and governed by a false principle of economy, which
begrudges the labour of the man, and the cleanliness and comfort of the animal ;
these will be the very hotbeds of the disease, and in many of these establish-
ments it is an almost constant resident.

Glanders may be produced by anything 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 fracture of the bones of the nose. They have been the con-
sequence 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 acrid substances up the nostril. Everything
that weakens the constitution generally will 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 post and machine horses are so
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 appear-
ance of glanders.

Among the causes of glanders is want of regular exercise. The connexion,
although not evident at first glance, is too certain. When a horse has
been worked with peculiar severity, and is 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 adds fuel to fire, and aggra-
vates the state of fever that has commenced. What is the necessary conse-
quence 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 influences 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 disease may have previously existed, but ita
progress will be hastened by the general and febrile action excited—the absura
measures which are adopted not being calculated to subdue the fever, but to
increase the stimulus.

Every exciting cause of disease exerts its chief and its worst influence on this
membrane. At the close of a severe campaign the horses are more than deci-
mated 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
nese to take on the inflammation of glanders, and with many, as strangles,
catarrh, bronchitis, and pneumonia, there is a continuity of membrane, an
association of function, and a thousand sympathies,

There is not a disease which may not lay the foundation for glanders.
Weeks, and months, and years, may intervene between the predisposing cause
and the actual evil; but at length the whole frame may become excited or
debilitated in many a way, and then this debilitated portion of it is the first to
yield to the attack. Atmospheric influence has somewhat to do with the pre-
valence of glanders. It is not so frequent in the summer as in the 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
80 great,

There are some remarkable cases of the connexion of moisture. or moist
exhalations, that deserve record. When new stabling was built for the troops
at Hythe, and inhabited before the walls were perfectly dry, many of the
GLANDERS. 183

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 these
stables were as healthy as the others, and glanders ceased to appear. An inn-
keeper 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 light never enters, and the supply of
fresh air is not too abundant, were for a long time notoriously unhealthy, and
many valuable horses were destroyed by glanders; but now they are filled with
the finest waggon and dray-horses that the metropolis or the 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—hereditary predisposition.
This has not been sufficiently estimated, with regard to the question now under
consideration, as well as with respect to everything 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 disposition to be affected by
certain influences, which perpetuates in the offspring the diseases of the sire;
and thus contraction, ophthalmia, roaring, are decidedly hereditary, and so is
glanders. M. Dupuy relates some decisive cases. A mare, on dissection, ex-
hibited 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 cannot be too deeply impressed
with the certainty of this. Considering the degree to which this disease,
even at the present day, often prevails, the legislature would be justified
in interfering by some severe enactments, as it has done in the case of the small-
pox in the human subject.

The early and marked symptom of glanders is a discharge from the nostrils
of a peculiar character ; and if that, even before it becomes purulent, is rubbed
on a wound, or on a mucous 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 ; but others have been speedily infected. The glanderous matter
must come in contact with a wound, or fall on some membrane, thin and deli-
cate like that of the nose, and through which itmay be absorbed. It is easy, then,
accustomed as horses are to be crowded together, and to recognise 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 another when he was in the act of snorting, and has become glan-
dered. Some fillies have received the infection from the matter blown by the
wind across a lane, when a glandered horse, in the opposite field, has claimed
acquaintance by neighing or snorting. It is almost impossible for an infected
horse to remain long in a stable with others without irreparable mischief.

If some persons underrate the danger, it is because the disease may remain
unrecognised in the infected horse for some months, or even years, and there-
fore, when it appears, it is attributed to other causes or to after inoculation. No
glandered horse should be employed on any farm, nor should a glandered horse
be permitted 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
181 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH.

every infected animal should be summarily destroyed, or given over for experi-
ment to a veterinary surgeon, or recognised veterinary establishment.

There are a few instances of the spontaneous cure of chronic glanders. The
discharge has existed for a considerable time. At length it has gradually di.
minished, and has ceased ; and this has occurred under every kind of treatment,
and without any medical treatment: but in the majority of these supposed
cases, the matter was only pent up for a while, and then, bursting from its con-
finement, it flowed again in double quantity: or, if glanders have not re-
appeared, the horse, in eighteen or twenty-four months, has become farcied, or
consumptive, and died. These supposed cures 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 the other, and are no longer heard of. The blue vitriol
and the Spanish-fly have held out longest ; and in a few cases, either nature 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 it is not to be depended upon
in glanders.

Where the life of a valuable animal is at stake, and 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 nostril, and
the scraping of the cartilage, and searing of the gland, and firing of the frontal ana
nasal bones, and to those injections of mustard and capsicum, corrosive subli-
mate and vitriol, by which the horse has been tortured, and the practitioner
disgraced. At the veterinary school, and by veterinary surgeons, it will be
most 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 neighbours who does not remove the possibility of danger in the
most summary way.

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 foundation of, a cure must consist in the
perfect removal of every exciting cause of the malady. The horse must breathe
a cool and pure atmosphere, and he must be turned out, or placed ina 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 neighbouring one. The palings or the gates may receive a portion of the
matter, which may harden upon them, and, many a month afterwards, be a’
source of mischief—nay, the virus may cling about the very herbage and
empoison it. Cattle and sheep should not be trusted with a glandered horse,
for the experiments are uot Sufficiently numerous or decided as to the exemp-
tion 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 removed or destroyed the infected
horse 2—Certainly there is, but 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 mangers, and racks, and bales, and partitions, are first well
scraped, and scoured with soap and water, and then thoroughly washed with a
solution of the chloride of lime (one pint of the chloride to 2 pailfuil of water),
and the walls are lime-washed, and the head-gear burned, and the clothing
FARCY. 1st

baked or washed, and the pails newly painted, and the iron-work exposed toa
red heat, all danger will cease.

Little that is satisfactory can be said of the prevention of glanders,

The first and most effectual 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.

Next to ventilation stands cleanliness; for the foul air from the fermenting
litter, and urine, and dung, must not only be highly injurious to health gene-
rally, but irritate and predispose to inflammation that delicate membrane
which is the primary seat of the disease. If to this be added regular exercise,
and occasional 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 cannot be too often repeated, that a gian-
dered horse can rarely remain among sound ones without serious mischief
ensuing ; and, worse than all, the man who attends on that horse is in danger.
The cases are now becoming far too numerous in which the groom or the
veterinary surgeon attending on glandered horses becomes infected, and in the
majority of cases dies. It is, however, somewhat 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.

FARCY.

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 metter
of glanders will frequently produce farcy. They are different 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 success-
fully treated.

While the capillary vessels of the arteries are everywhere employed in build-
ing 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 mouths
do not open. In the discharge of their duty, they not only remove that which
is become useless, and often that which is healthy, but that which is poisonous
and destructive. ‘They open upon the surface of every glanderous chancre.
They absorb a portion of the virus which is secreted 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 thick-
ened 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 towards the chest, but belly out and im-
pede or arrest its progress from the chest. The virus 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 a scirrhous
hardness, more or less tender, and with perceptible heat about them.

The poisonous matter being thus confined and pressing on the part, 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
186 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH

pale surface. They are true chancres, and they discharge a virus as infectious
and as 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 suffi-
cient power to cause the absorbents to enlarge. Ina few cases these buds do not
ulcerate, but become hard and difficult to disperse. The progress of the disease
is then suspended, and possibly for some months the horse will appear to be
restored to health; but he bears the seeds 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 tumours or lumps termed
surfeit. They are generally higher than these tumours, and not so broad.
They have a more knotty character, and are principally found on the inside
of the limbs, instead of the outside.

Few things are more unlike, or more perplexing, than the different forms which
farcy assumes at different 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, andin 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 enlargement, the muzzle par-
ticularly will swell, and an offensive discharge will proceed from the nose. Some-
times the horse will gradually lose flesh and strength ; he will be hide-bound ;
mangy 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, combined with grease.

By degrees the affection becomes general. The virus has reached the termi-
nation 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, and
thickened, and enlarged, and cease to discharge their function. Hence arises
enlargement of the substance of various parts, swellings of the legs, and chest,
and head—sudden, painful, enormous, and distinguished by a heat and tender-
ness, which do not accompany other enlargements.

It is a question somewhat difficult to answer, whether farcy can exist without
previous glanders. Probably it cannot. There is the long-continued insidious
progress of glanders—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 unrecognised, yet vitiated, poisoned, and capable of
communicating the disease, may have been long travelling through the frame
and 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 farey, 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 sufficient of this vitiated secretion
has been taken up to produce inflatamation and ulceration of the absorb
ents, farcy is established. Its progress is occasionally very capricious,
continuing in a few cases for months and years, the vigour of the horse remain-
FARCY. 187

ing unimpaired ; and, at other times. running 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 glossi-
ness of the skin, some ichorous discharge, and a singular spasmodic catching
up of the leg.
_ In farcy the engorgement is even more sudden 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 is great tender-
ness, 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—sunfeit-bumps as they are called, and terminating in desquamation,
not in ulceration, although numerous, yet irregularly placed, and never follow-
ing 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 constitution.

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 frequently generated, and sometimes strangely prevalent in
particular districts. It will attack, at the same time, several horses in the
same ill-conducted stable, and others in the neighbourhood who have been
exposed to the same predisposing causes. Some have denied that it is a con-
tagious disease. They must have had little experience. It is true that the
matter of farey must come in contact with a wound or sore, in order to com-
municate 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 cannot be suffered to remain with
others without extreme risk:

The treatment of farcy differs with the form that it assumes. As a general
rule, and especially when the buttons or buds are beginning to appear, a mild
dose of physic should first be administered. ‘The buds should then be carefully
examined, and if any of them have broken, the budding-iron, at a dull red heat,
should be applied. If pus should be felt in them, showing that they are dis-
posed to break, they should be penetrated with the iron. These wounds should
be daily inspected, and if, when the slough of the cautery comes off, they look
pale, and foul, and spongy, and discharge a thin matter, they should be fre-
quently washed with a strong lotion of corrosive sublimate, dissolved in rectified
spirit. When the wounds begin to look red, and the bottom of them is even
and firm, and they discharge a thick white or yellow matter, the Friar’s balsam
will usually dispose them to heal.

As, however, the constitution is now tainted, local applications will not be
sufficient, and the disease must be attacked by internal medicine as soon as the
physic has ceased to operate.

Corrosive sublimate used to be a favourite medicine, combined with tonics,
and repeated morning and night until the ulccrs disappeared, unless the mouth
188 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTIL.

became sore or the horse was violently purged, when the sulphate of copper
was substituted for the corrosive sublimate. During this treatment the animal
was placed, if possible, in a large box, with a free circulation of air; and green
meat or carrots, and particularly the latter, were given, with a full allowance
of corn. If he could be turned out in the day, it was deemed highly advan-
tageous. It is related by Mr. Blaine, that a horse, so reduced as not to be
able to stand, was drawn into a field of tares, and suffered to take his chance.
The consequence was that, when he had eaten all within his reach, he contrived
to move about and search for more, and eventually recovered. Many horses
recover under the use of the sublimate, but the great majority of them die.

Mr. Vines introduced a more effective medicine—cantharides, in combination
likewise with the vegetable bitters—as a cure for farcy and glanders. It can-
not be denied, that many animals labouring under the former, and a few under
the latter, were to all appearance radically cured. The medicine was suspended
for a while if affection of the kidneys supervened.

A still more effectual medicine has been introduced by Professor Morton,
namely, the diniodide of copper, and it has been found of essential service in
farcy and in diseases simulating glanders. He says that its action is that of a
stimulant to the absorbent vessels, and a tonic. The gentian root is usually
combined with it. Cantharides, in small quantities, may be advantageously
added. An indication of its influence is a soreness of the diseased parts arising
from the absorbent vessels being roused into increased action: the agent should
then be for a time withheld *.

Warer-Farcy, confounded by name with the common farey, and by which
much confusion has been caused, and a great deal of mischief done, is a dropsical
affection of the skin, either of the chest or of the limbs, and belongs to another
part of our subject.

THE LIPS.

The lips of the horse are far more important organs than many suppose.
They are the hands of the animal; and if any one will take the trouble to

 

* A very interesting case of the cure of In many of them the centre was of a pale

farcy in the human being occurred in Jan.
1840, in the practice of Mr. Curtis, a respect-
able surgeon of Camden Town :—

“ Mr. G.,a student at the Veterinary Col-
lege, had, about three weeks before, received
a slight wound on the forefinger of the right
hand, while dissecting a glandered horse. The
wound healed 3 but, about nine days after-
wards, a small abscess formed in the part,
which he would not consent to have opened ;
the pus was therefore absorbed, and the finger
got well, and neither the lymphatics nor the
glands appeared to be affected.

“Ten days afterwards, he was attacked
with giddiness while attending the lecture,
and obliged to leave the room. He imme-
diately applied to Mr. Curtis. He had three
blotches of inflammation of the skin of the
right leg, varying in extent frora two to four
inches in diameter. The leg was very painful
when he walked; and he had also some small
blotches on the left leg. He kad headache
and thirst. His case was sufficiently plain—
farcy was beginning to develop itself. Ape-
rient medicine was administered.

“On the following day, there were nume-
rous small blotches over both legs and thighs,

green colour, having a somewhat gangrenous
appearance. The headache was worse ; there
was a sensation of weight over the eyes, and
tenderness over the left frontal.

“ Mr. Curtis determined to put him under
a course of iodine, of the tincture of which
eight minims were ordered every fourth hour,
the bowels being kept in a relaxed state.

“On the fourth day, the centre of the
blotches, which were still green, appeared to
form cavities, containing a fluid, from about
the size of a shilling to that of a half-crown.
The blotches were surrounded by hard, defined
edges, covered with cuticle, but the thickening
of which was gradually disappearing.

“Two days after this, the fluid in the ca-
vities was absorbed, but round their edges
were lumps, or tubercles, about the size of
peas. Several weeks passed before the tuber-
cles quite disappeared.

**Mr. Curtis remarks, that so far as 3
‘single case will go, the intractable nature of
this disease seems to arise rather from neglect
in its carly stage, than from any impossibility
of subduing it.The Veterinarian, vol.
xiii, p. 353.
THE LIPS. 189

observe the manner in which he gathers up his corn with them, and collects
together the grass before he divides it with his nippers, he will be satisfied that
the horse would be no more able to convey the food to his mouth without
them, than the human being could without his hands. This has even been put
to the test of experiment. The nerves which supply the lips were divided in
a poor ass, to illustrate some point of physiology. ‘The sensibility of the
lips was lost, and he knew not when he touched his food with them. The
motion of the lips was lost, and he could not get the oats between his teeth,
although the manger was full of them: at length, driven by hunger, he con-
trived to lick up a few of them with his tongue; but when they were on his
tongue, the greater part of them were rubbed off before he could get them into
his mouth.

It is on account of this use of the lips, and that they may be brought into
contact with the food without inconvenience or injury to other parts of the face,
that the heads of most quadrupeds are so lengthened. Several muscles go to the
lips from different parts of the jaw and face. Some of them are shown in
the cut, p. 172. The orbicularis or circular muscle, p, employed in pushing
out the lips and closing them, and enabling the horse to seize and hold his food,
is particularly evident; and in the explanation of the cut, the action of
other muscles, 7, #, m, and 0, was described. The nerves likewise, y, taking
their course along the cheek, and principally supplying the lips with the power
of motion, and those, z, proceeding from the foramen or hole in the upper jaw,
deserve attention.

The lips are composed of a muscular substance for the sake of strength, and
a multitude of small glands, which secrete a fluid that covers the inside of
the lips and the gums, in order to prevent friction, and likewise furnish a por-
tion of the moisture so necessary for the proper chewing of the food. The skin
covering the lips is exceedingly thin, in order that their peculiar sensibility may
be preserved, and for the same purpose they are scantily covered with hair,
and that hair is fine and short. Long hairs or feelers, termed the beard, are
superadded with the same intention. The horse is guided and governed prin-
cipally by the mouth, and therefore the lips are endowed with very great
sensibility, so that the animal feels the slightest motion of the hand of the
rider or driver, and seems to anticipate his very thoughts. The fineness or
goodness of the mouth consists in its exquisite feeling, and that depends on the
thinness of this membrane.

The lips of the horse should be thin, if the beauty of the head is regarded ;
yet, although thin, they should evidently possess power, and be strongly and
regularly closed. A firm, compressed mouth gives a favourable and no deceptive
idea of the muscular power of the animal. Lips apart from each other and
hanging down, indicate weakness or old age, or dulness and sluggishness.

The depth of the mouth, or the distance from the fore-part to the angle of the
lips, should be considerable. A short protuberant mouth would be a bad finish
to the tapering face of the blood-horse. More room is likewise given for the
opening of the nostril, which has been shown to be an important consideration.
The bridle will not be carried well, and the horse will hang heavy on hand, if
there is not considerable depth of mouth.

The corners or angles of the lips are frequently made sore or wounded by
the smallness, or shortness, or peculiar twisting of the snaffle, and the unne-
cessary and cruel tightness of the bearing-rein. This rein was introduced as
giving the horse a grander appearance in harness, and placing the head in that
position in which the bit most effectually presses upon the jaw. There is no
possibility of safely driving without it, for, deprived of this control, many horses
would hang their heads low, and be disposed every moment to stumble, and
199 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH.

would defy all pulling, if they tried to run away. There is, and can be no
necessity, however, for using a bearing-rein so tight as to cramp the muscles of
the head, or to injure and excoriate the angles of the lips. :

The following is the opinion of Nimrod, and to a more competent judge
we could not appeal :—‘ As to the universal disuse of the bearing-rein with
English horses, if can never take place. The charge against it of cruelty at
once falls to the ground, because, to make a teamwork together in fast work,
every horse's head must be as much restrained by the coupling-rein as it would
be and is by the bearing-rein. Its excellence consists in keeping horses
mouths fresh—in enabling a coachman to indulge a horse with liberty of rein,
without letting him be all abroad, which he would be with his head quite loose,
and of additional safety to the coach-horse, as proved by the fact of either that
or the crupper always giving way when he falls down. There are, however,
teams in which it may be dispensed with, and the horses have an advantage
in their working against hills, As to the comparison of the road coach-horses
on the Continent and our own, let any one examine the knees of the French
diligence and post horses, which are allowed perfect liberty of head, and he
will be convinced that the use of the bearing-rein does not keep them on their
legs *.” :

“The mouth is injured much oftener than the careless owner suspects by
the pressure of a sharp bit. Not only are the bars wounded and deeply
ulcerated, but the lower jaw, between the tush and the grinders, is sometimes
worn even to the bone, and the bone itself affected, and portions of it torn
away. It may be necessary to have a sharp bit for the headstrong and obsti-
nate beast ; yet if that bit is severely and unjustifiably called into exercise, the
animal may rear, and endanger himself and his rider. There can, however, be no
occasion for a thousandth part of the torment which the trappings of the mouth
often inflict on a willing and docile servant, and which either render the mouth
hard, and destroy all the pleasure of riding, or cause the horse to become fretful
or Vicious.

Small ulcers are sometimes found in various parts of the mouth, said to be
produced by rusty bits, but oftener arising from contusions inflicted by the bit,
or from inflammation of the mouth. If the curb-bit is in fault, a snaffle or
Pelham-bit should be used. If there is inflammation of the mouth, a little
cooling medicine may be administered ; and to the ulcers themselves, tincture
of myrrh, diluted with water, or alum dissolved in water, may be applied with
advantage.

THE BONES OF THE MOUTH.

The bones in, and giving form to the mouth, are the superior maxillary or
apper jaw (8, p. 108, and J, p. 110), containing the grinders ; the anterior max-
illary, or lower part of the upper jaw’ (b. p. 108, 2, p. 110, 7, p. 111), containing
the upper-nippers or cutting-teeth ; the palatine bone (below 8, p. 111), and the

posterior maxillary or under jaw (a, p. 108, and w, p. 111), containing all the
under-teeth.

 

* New Sporting Magazine, vol. xiii. p. 99.

The author of the “ Essay on Humanity to
Brutes,” takes the same view of the subject.
“Tt is not,” says he, “ to the extent that has
been supposed an instrument of torture. It is
absolutely necessary in fast work, and useful
on level ground. The objection to it is the
tightness with which it is sometimes applied,
and then it is a sad confinement to the head,

and a source of very great pain, It is also
disadvantageous when the horse is going up-
hill, because it prevents him from throwing
his whole weight into the collar. It cannot,
however, be done without, especially in the

horse that is once accustomed to it; but the °°

poor animal needs not to be so tightly reined.
—The Obligation and Extent of Humanity
to Brutes, by W. Youatt, p. 149,
THE PALATE. 19r

The superior maxillary is, with the exception of the lower jaw, the largest
hone in the face. It unites above ‘with the lachrymal bone (i, p. 110); and,
more on the side, with the malar or cheek bone, &; anda portion of in con-
tinued upward, and underneath, enters into the orbit. Above, and on the front
of the face, it unites with the bones of the nose, j, and below, with the inferior
maxillary, ». That which most deserves notice in it externally is the ridge or
spine, seen at b, p. 108, but better delineated in the cut of the head, p. 111, con-
tinued from the base of the zygomatic arch, and across the malar bone. It and
the surface beneath serve to give attachment to the masseter muscle, concerned,
almost as much as the temporal one, in the act of chewing. The dark spot (m,
p. 110, and seen likewise at p. 108) marks the foramen or hole, through which a
branch of the fifth pair of nerves proceeds to give sensibility to the lower part of
the face. As it approaches the teeth, this bone separates into two plates, and
these are divided by long partitions, which contain and firmly hold the upper
grinders. The lower plate then projects inwards, and forms (¢, p. 111) the prin-
cipal portion of the roof of the mouth, and the floor of the cavity of the nose,
The corresponding bone on the other side meets its fellow in the centre of the
palate. The upper jaw-bone contains in it large cavities besides those for
the teeth, and these open into and enlarge the cavity of the nose. They are con-
nected with the voice, but not with the smell, for the expansion of the olfactory
or smelling nerve has never been traced beyond the bones and membranes of the
proper cavity of the nose. The maxillary sinuses are generally filled with
matter in bad cases of glanders.

Below these are the anterior maxillary bones (f, p. 108, a, p. 108), containing
the upper cutting teeth, with the tushes belonging both to the upper and anterior
bones. These are the bones to which (see cut,
p- 111) the upper lip is attached. The superior
and anterior maxillary bones are separated in
animals with long faces, like the horse, that,
by overlapping each other, strength might be
gained.

The palatine bone forms but a very small
portion of the palate. It surrounds the edge of |
the communication between the cavity of the |
nose and the back parts of the mouth.

SLOSS
WA

— A

aS

i)
A\
i
)

PA
LFS

THE PALATE,

Adhering to a portion of the three bones
just described, and constituting the lining of the
roof of the mouth, is the palate (¢, p. 111),
composed of an elastic and dense substance
divided into several ridges called Bars. This
cut gives a view of them.

It will also point out the bleeding place, if
it should occasionally be deemed advisable to
abstract blood from the mouth ; or if the horse
should be attacked with megrims on a journey,
and the driver, having no lancet, should be
compelled to make use of his knife, the incision
should be made between the central and second
nippers on either side, about an inch within the
mouth, and cutting through the second bar.
A stream of blood wili be thus obtained, which will usually cease to flow

 
12 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH.

when two or three quarts have escaped, or may generally be arrested by the
application of a sponge filled with cold water. —

This, however, is a make-shift sort of bleeding that may be allowable ona
journey, and possibly in some cases of lampas, but which is decidedly objection-
able as the usual mode of abstracting blood. The quantity withdrawn cannot
be measured, the degree of inflammation cannot be ascertained by the manner in
which it coagulates, and there may be difficulty to the operator, and annoy-
ance and pain to the horse, in stopping the bleeding. ;

This cut likewise depicts the appearance of the roof of the mouth if the
bars were dissected off, and of the numerous vessels, arterial and venous, which.
ramify over it.

LAMPAS.

The bars occasionally swell, and rise to a level with, and even beyond the

edge of, the teeth. They are very sore, and the horse feeds badly on account of
the pain he suffers from the pressure of the food on them. This is called the
Lampas. It may arise from inflammation of the gums, propagated to the bars,
when the horse is shedding his teeth—and young horses are more subject
to it than others—or from some slight febrile tendency in the constitution
generally, as when a young horse has lately been taken up from grass, and has
been over-fed, or not sufficiently exercised. At times it appearsin aged horses,
for the process of growth in the teeth of the horse is continued during the whole
life of the animal.
' In the majority of cases the swelling will soon subside without medical treat-
ment ; or a few mashes, and gentle alteratives, will relieve the animal. A few
slight incisions across the bars with a lancet or penknife will relieve the inflamma-
tion, and cause the swelling to subside ; indeed, this scarification of the bars in
lampas will seldom do harm, although it is far from being so necessary as is sup-
posed. Thebrutal custom of the farrier, who sears and burnsdown the bars with a
red-hot iron, is most objectionable. It is torturing the horse to no purpose, and
rendering that part callous, on the delicate sensibility of which all the pleasure
and safety of riding and driving depend. It may be prudent in case of lampas
to examine the grinders, and more particularly the tushes, in order to ascertain
whether either of them is making its way through the gum. If it is so, two in-
cisions across each other should be made on the tooth, and the horse will expe-
rience immediate relief.

THE LOWER JAW.

The posterior or lower jaw may be considered as forming the floor of the
mouth, (a, p. 108, or w, p.111). The body or lower part of it contains the under
cutting teeth and the tushes, and at the sides are two flat pieces of bone containing
the grinders. On the inside, and opposite to a, p. 108, is a foramen or hole through
which blood-vessels and nerves enter to supply the teeth, and some of which escape
again at another orifice on the outside, and near the nippers. The branches are
broader and thinner, rounded at the angle of the jaw, and terminating in two
processes. One, the coracoid, from its sharpness or supposed resemblance to a
beak, passes under the zygomatic arch (see p. 108); and the temporal muscle,
arising from the whole surface of the parietal bone (see p. 114), is inserted into
it, and wrapped round it ; and by its action, principally, the jaw is moved, and
the food isground. The other, the condyloid, or rounded process, is received into
the glenoid (shallow) cavity of the temporal bone, at the base of the zygomatic
arch, and forms the joint on which the lower jaw moves. This joint is easily
seen in the cut at p. 108; and being placed so near to the insertion of the muscle,
THE LOWER JAW. 193

or the centre of motion, the temporal muscle must act with very considerable
mechanical disadvantage, and, consequently, must possess immense power.

This joint is admirably contrived for the purpose which the animal requires,
It will admit freely and perfectly of the simple motion of a hinge, and that is
the action of the jaw in nipping the herbage and seizing the corn. But the
grass, and more particularly the corn, must be crushed and bruised before it ig
fit for digestion. Simple champing, which is the motion of the human lower
jaw, and that of most beasts of prey, would very imperfectly break down the
corn. It must be put into a mill ; it must be actually ground.

It és put into the mill, and as perfect a one as imagination can conceive,

The following cuts represent the glenoid cavity, in a carnivorous or flesh-
eating, and herbivorous or grass-eating, animal, viz. the tiger and the horse : the
one requiring a simple hinge-like motion of the lower jaw to tear and crush the
food; the other,a lateral or grinding motion to bring it into a pulpyform. We first
examine this cavity in the tiger represented at B. At the root of the zygomatic
process D, is a hollow with a ridge along the greater part of the upper and inner
side of it, standing toa considerable height, and curling over the cavity. At the

D
BAM ip
Ti
= 424

 
    
 

lower and opposite edge of the cavity, but on the outside, is a similar ridge, E,
likewise rising abruptly and curling over. At C is another and more pervect
viewof this cavity in a different direction. The head of the lowerjaw is received
into this hollow, and presses against these ridges, and is partially surrounded by
them, and forms with them a very strong joint where dislocation is scarcely
possible, and the hinge-like or cranching motion is admitted to its fullest extent ;
permitting the animal violently to seize his prey, to hold it firmly, and to crush
it to pieces; but from the extent and curling form of the ridges, forbidding,
except to a very slight degree, all lateral and grinding motion, and this, because
the animal does not want it.

As before mentioned, the food of the horse must be ground. Simple
bruising and champing would not sufficiently comminute it for the pur-
poses of digestion. We then observe the different construction of the
parts to effect this. A gives the glenoid cavity of the horse. First, there
is the upper ridge assuming a rounded form, F, and therefore called the
mastoid process; and—a peculiarity in the horse—the mastoid process of
the squamous portion of the temporal bone: sufficiently strong to support the
pressure and action of the lower jaw when cropping the food or seizing an.
enemy, but not encircling the head of that bone, and reaching only a little way
along the side of the cavity, where it terminates, having its edges rounded off
80 as to admit, and to be evidently destined for, a circular motion about it. At
the other and lower edge of the cavity, and on the outside, G is placed—not a
curling ridge as in the tiger, but a mere tubercle; and for what reason ? evidently
to limit this lateral or circular motion—to permit it as far as the necessities of
the animal require it, and then to arrest it. How is this done? Not suddenly or

0
194 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH.

abruptly; but the tubercle, of which we have already spoken as strengthening this
portion of the zygomatic arch, now discharging another office, has a smooth and
gradual ascent to it, up which the lowerjaw may climb to a certain extent, and
then, by degrees, be stopped. We speak not now of the moveable cartilage which

is placed in this cavity, and between the bones, to render the motion easier and
freer. It is found in this joint in every quadruped ; and it is found wherever
motions are rapid and of long continuance. :

So great is the conformity between the structure of the animal and his desti-
nation, that a tolerable student in comparative anatomy, bya mere inspection of the
glenoid cavity, would at once determine whether the animal to which it belonged
was carnivorous, and wanted no lateral motion of the jaw ; or omnivorous, living
occasionally on all kinds of food, and requiring some degree of grinding motion ;
or herbivorous, and needing the constant use of this admirably-constructed mill.

At g, p. 172, is represented the masseter muscle, an exceedingly strong one,
constituting the cheek of the horse—arising from the superior maxillary under
the ridge continued from the zygomatic arch, and inserted into the lower jaw,
and particularly round the rough border at the angle of the jaw. This acts
with the temporal muscle in closing the jaw, and in giving the direct cutting or
champing motion of it.

Within the lower jaw, on either side, and occupying the whole of the hollowed
portion of them, and opposite to the masseters, are the pterygoid muscles, going
from the jaws to bones more in the centre of the channel, likewise closing the
mouth, and also, by their alternate action, giving that grinding motion which
has been described.

The space between the branches of the lower jaw, called the channel, isof ‘ ‘
considerable consequence. It may be a little too wide, and then the face will
have a clumsy appearance : but if it is too narrow, the horse will never be able
to bend his head freely and gracefully; he will be always pulling or boring
upon the hand, nor can he possibly be well reined in.

The jaws contain the teeth, which are the millstones employed in comminuting
the food. The mouth of the horse at five years old contains forty teeth, viz. six
nippers or cutting teeth in front, a tush on each side, and six molars, or grind-
ing teeth, above and below. They are contained in cavities in the upper and
lower jaws, surrounded by bony partitions, to which they are accurately fitted, and
by which they are firmly supported. For a little way above these bony cavities,
they are surrounded by a hard substance called the gum, so dense, and adhering
so closely to the teeth and the jaws as not to be separated without very great
difficulty—singularly compact, that it may not be wounded by the hard or
sharp particles of the food, and almost devojd of feeling, for the same purpose.

Seven or eight months before the foal is born, the germs or beginnings of the
teeth are visible in the cavities of the jaws. The tooth grows, and presses to
the surface of the gum, and forces its way through
it; and, at the time of birth, the first and second
grinders have appeared, large compared with the
size of the jaw, and seemingly filling it. In the
course of seven or eight days the two central
nippers are seen as here represented. They like-
wise appear to be large, and to fill the front of
the mouth ; although they will afterwards be found
to be small, compared with the permanent teeth
that follow. In the course of the first month the
third grinder appears above and below, and, not long
after, and generally before six weeks have expired,
another incisor above and below will be seen on cach side of the two frst,

 
THE PROCESS OF TEETHING. 195

which have now considerably grown, but not attained their perfect height.
This cut will represent the appearance of the mouth
at that time.

At two months, the central nippers will have reached
their natural level, and between the second and third
month the second pair will have overtaken them.
They will then begin to wear away a little, and the
outer edge, which was at first somewhat raised and
sharp, is brought to a level with the inner one, and
so the mouth continues until some time between the
sixth and ninth month, when another nipper begins to
appear on each side of the two first, making six above
and below, and completing the colt’s mouth; after
which, the only observable difference, until between
the second and third year, is in the wear of these teeth.

The term nipper is familiar to the horseman and the farrier, and much
better expresses the action of these teeth than the word incisor or cutter, which
is adopted by anatomists. Whoever has observed a horse in the act of brows-
ing, and the twitch of the head which accompanies the separation of each
portion of grass, will perceive that it is nipped or torn rather than cut off.

These teeth are covered with a polished and exceedingly hard substance,
called the enamel. It spreads over that portion of the teeth which appears
above the gum, and not only so, but as they are to be so much employed
in nipping the grass, and gathering up the animal’s food, and in such employ-
ment even this hard substance must be gradually worn away, a portion of
it, as it passes over the upper surface of the teeth, is bent inward, and sunk
into the body of the teeth, and forms a little pit in them. The inside and
bottom of this pit being blackened by the food, constitutes the mark of the
teeth, by the gradual disappearance of which, in consequence of the wearing
down of the edge, we are enabled, for several years, to judge of the age of the
animal,

The colt’s nipping teeth are rounded in front, somewhat hollow towards the
mouth, and present at first a cutting surface, with the outer edge rising in a
slanting direction above the inner edge. This, however, soon begins to wear
down until both surfaces are level, and the mark, which was originally long
and narrow, becomes shorter, and wider, and fainter. At six months the four
nippers are beginning to wear to a level. The annexed cut will convey some
idea of the appearance of the teeth at twelve months, The four middle
teeth are almost level, and the corner ones becoming so. The mark in the

. two middle teeth is wide and faint ; in the two next
teeth it is darker, and longer, and narrower ; and
in the corner teeth it is darkest, and longest, and
narrowest,

The back teeth, or grinders, will not guide us
far in ascertaining the age of the animal, for we
cannot easily inspect them; but there are some
interesting particulars connected with them. The
foal is born with two grinders in each jaw, above
and below; or they appear within three or four
days after the birth. Before the expiration of a
month they are succeeded by a third, more back-
ward. The crowns of the grinders are entirely covered with enamel on the
top and sides, but attrition soon wears it away from the top, and there remains
a compound surface of alternate layers of crusted petraser, enamel, and ivory,

02

 

 
196 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH.

which are empleyed in grinding down the hardest portion of the food. Nature
has, therefore, made an additional provision for their strength and endurance.

This cut represents a grinder sawed across. It seems to be a most irregular
and intricate structure ; but the explanation of it is not difficult. The tooth is
formed and prepared in cavities within the jaw-
bones. A delicate membranous bag, containing a
jelly-like substance, is found, in the unborn animal,
in a little cell within the jaw-bone. It assumes, by
degrees, the form of the tooth that is to appear, and
then the jelly within the membrane begins to change
to bony matter, and a hard and beautiful crystal-
lization is formed on the membrane without, and so
we have the cutting tooth covered by its enamel. In the formation, how-
ever, of each of the grinders of the horse, there are originally five membranous
bags in the upper jaw, and four in the lower, filled with jelly. This by
degrees gives place to bony matter, which is thrown out by little vessels pene-
trating into it, and is represented by the darker portions of the cut with central
black spots. The crystallization of enamel can be traced around each, and there
would be five distinct bones or teeth. A third substance, however, is now
secreted (which is represented by the white spaces), and is a powerful cement,
uniting all these distinct bones into one body, and making one tooth of the five.
This being done, another coat of enamel spreads over the sides, but not the top,
and the tooth is completed. By no other contrivance could we have the grind-
ing tooth capable, without injury and without wearing, to rub down the hay,
and oats, and beans, which constitute the stable-food of horses.

The grinders in the lower jaw, having originally but four of these bags or
shells, are smaller, and narrower, and more regular, than the upper ones.
They are not placed horizontally in either jaw ; but in the lower, the higher
side is within, and shelving gradually outward ; in the upper jaw the higher side
is without, and shelving inward, and thus the grinding motion is most advan-
tageously performed. There is also an evident difference in the appearance and
structure of each of the grinders, so that a careful observer could tell to which
jaw every one belonged, and what situation it occupied.

At the completion of the first year, a fourth grinder usually comes up, and
the yearling has then, or soon afterwards, six nippers, and four grinders above
and below in each jaw, which, with the alteration in the appearance of the nip-
pers that we have just described, will enable us to calculate nearly the age of the
foal, subject to some variations arising from the period of weaning, and the
nature of the food.

At the age of one year and a-half, the mark
in the central nippers will be much shorter and
fainter; that in the two other pairs will have
undergone an evident change, and all the nippers
will be flat.

At two years this will be more manifest. The
accompanying cut deserves attention, as giving
an accurate representation of the nippers in the
lower jaw of a two-years-old colt.

About this period a fifth grinder will appear,
and now, likewise, will commence another pro-
cess. The first teeth are adapted to the size
and wants of the young animal. They are sufficiently large to occupy and fill
the colt's jaws ; but when these bones have expanded with the increasing growth
of the animal, the teeth are separated too far from each other to be useful, and

 

 
THE PROCESS OF TEETHING, 197

another and larger set is required. Evident provision is made for them, even be-
fore the colt is foaled. In cavities in the jaw, beneath the first and temporary
teeth, are to be seen the rudiments of a second and permanent set. These gra-
dually increase, some with greater rapidity than others, and, pressing upon the
roots or fangs of the first teeth, do not, as would be imagined, force out the former
ones, but the portion pressed upon gradually disappears. It is absorbed—taken
up and carried away, by numerous minute vessels, whose office it isto-get rid of
the worn-out or useless part of the system. This absorption continues to pro-
ceed as the second teeth grow and press upwards, until the whole of the fang is
gone, and the crown of the tooth, or that part of it which was above the gum,
having no longer firm hold, drops out, and the second teeth appear, larger and
stronger and permanent. In a few instances, however, the second teeth do not
rise immediately under the temporary or milk teeth, but somewhat by their
side; and then, instead of this gradual process of absorption and disappearance
from the point of the root upwards, the root being compressed sideways,
diminishes throughout its whole bulk. The crown of the tooth diminishes with
the root and the whole is pushed out of its place, to the fore part of the first
grinder, and remains for a considerable time, under the name of a wolf's tooth,
causing swelling and soreness of the gums, and frequently wounding the cheeks.
They would be gradually quite absorbed, but the process might be slow and
the annoyance would be great, and, therefore, they are extracted.

The change of the teeth commences in those which earliest appeared, and,
therefore, the front or first grinder gives way at the age of two years, and is
succeeded by a larger and permanent tooth.

During the period between the falling out of the central milk nippers, and
the coming up of the permanent ones, the colt, having a broken mouth, may
find some difficulty in grazing. If he should fall away considerably in condi-
tion, he should be fed with mashes and corn, or cut meat.

The next cut will represent a three-years-old mouth. The central teeth are
larger than the others, with two grooves in the outer convex surface, and the
mark is long, narrow, deep and black. Not having yet attained their full
growth, they are rather lower than the others. The mark in the two next
nippers is nearly worn out, and it is wearing away in the corner nippers,
Is it possible to give this mouth to an early two-years-old? The ages of all
horses used to be reckoned from May, but some are foaled even so early as
January, and being actually four months over the two years, if they have
been well nursed and fed, and are strong and large, they may, with the inex-
perienced, have an additional year put upon them. The central nippers are
punched or drawn out, and the others ap-
pear three or four months earlier than
they otherwise would. In the natural
process, they could only rise by long
pressing upon, and causing the absorption
of, the first set. But opposition from
the first set being removed, it is easy
to imagine that their progress will be
more rapid. Three or four months will
be gained in the appearance of the teeth,
and these three or four months may
enable the breeder to term him a late
colt of a preceding year. To him, how-
ever, who is accustomed to horses, the ak ee ee
general form of the animal—the little de- :
velopement of the fore-hand—the continuance of the mark on the next pair of
nippers—its more evident existence in the corner ones. some enlargement oT

 
198 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH.

irregularity about the gums from the violence used in forcing out the teeth—
the small growth of the first and fifth grinders and the non-appearance of the
sixth grinder, which if it is not through the gum at three years old, is swelling
under it, and preparing to get through—any or all of these circumstances,
carefully attended to, will be a sufficient security against deception. :

A horse at three years old ought to have the central permanent nippers
growing—the other two pairs wasting—six grinders in each jaw, above and
below—the first and fifth level with the others, and the sixth protruding.
The sharp edge of the new incisors, although it could not be well expressed in
the cut, will be very evident when compared with the neighbouring teeth.

As the permanent nippers wear, and continue to grow, a narrower portion of
the cone-shaped tooth is exposed to the attrition, and they look as if they had
been compressed, but it is not so. The mark, of course, gradually disappears
as the pit is worn away. :

At three years and a half, or between that and four, the next pair of nippers
will be changed, and the mouth at that time cannot be mistaken. The central
nippers will have attained nearly their full growth. A vacuity will be left where
the second stood, or they will begin to peep above the gum, and the corner
ones will be diminished in breadth, worn down, and the mark becoming smali
and faint. At this period, likewise, the second pair of grinders will be shed.
Previously to this may be the attempt of
the dealer to give to his three-years-old an
additional year, but the fraud will be de-
tected by an examination similar to that
which has been already described.

At four years, the central nippers will
be fully developed ; the sharp edge some-
what worn off and the mark shorter, wider,
and fainter. The next pair will be up,
but they will be small, with the mark
deep, and extending quite across them,
The corner nippers will be larger than the
inside ones yet smaller than they were,
and flat, and the mark nearly effaced. The
sixth grinder will have risen to a level with the others, and the tushes will
begin to appear.

Now, more than at any other time, will the dealer be anxious to put an addi-
tional year upon the animal, for the difference between a four-years-old colt, and
a five-years-old horse, in strength, utility, and value, is very great ; but, the
want of wear in the other nippers—the small size of the corner ones—the little
growth of the tush—the smallness of the second grinder—the low fore-hand
—the legginess of the colt, and the thickness and little depth of the mouth,
will, to the man of common experience among horses, at once detect the cheat.

The tushes (see p. 192) are four in number, two in each jaw, situated
between the nippers and the grinders—much nearer to the former than the latter,
and nearer in the lower jaw than in the upper, but this distance increasing in
both jaws with the age of the animal. In shape it somewhat resembles a conc;
it protrudes about an inch from the gum, and _ has its extremity sharp-pointed
and curved. At the age now under consideration, the tushes are almost
peculiar to the horse, and castration does not appear to prevent or retard their
development. AJ] mares, however, have the germs of them in the chambers of
the jaw, and they appear externally in the majority of old mares. Their use is
not evident. Perhaps in the wild state of the animal they are weapons of
offence, and he isenabled by them more firmly to seize, and more deeply wound
‘his enemy.

 
THE PROCESS OF TEETHING. 199

The breeder often attempts to hasten the appearance of the tush, and he cuts
deeply through the gum to remove the opposition which that would afford.
To a little extent he succeeds. He may possibly gain a few weeks, but not
more. After all, there is much uncertainty as to the appearance of the tush,
and it may vary from the fourth year to four years and six months. It belongs,
in the upper jaw, both to the inferior and superior maxillary bones (sce n.
p. 110) ; for, while its fang is deeply imbedded in the inferior maxillary, the
tooth penetrates the process of the superior maxillary at the union of those bones,

At four years and a half, or between that and five, the last important change
takes place in the mouth of the horse. The corner nippers are shed, and the
permanent ones begin to appear. The central nippers are considerably worn,
and the next pair are commencing to show marks of usage. The tush has now
protruded, and is generally a full half-inch in height ; externally it has a rounded
prominence, with a groove on either side, and it is evidently hollowed within.
The reader needs not to be told that after the rising of the corner nipper the
animal changes its name—the colt becomes a horse, and the filly a mare.

At five years the horse’s mouth is almost perfect. The corner nippers are
quite up, with the long deep mark irregular on the inside; and the other
nippers bearing evident tokens of increasing
wearing. The tush is much grown—the
grooves have almost or quite disappeared,
and the outer surface is regularly convex.
It is still as concave within, and with the
edge nearly as sharp, as it was six months
before. The sixth molar is quite up, and the {
third molar is wanting. This last circum-
stance, if the general appearance of the
animal, and particularly his forehand and
the wearing of the centre nippers, and the
growth and shape of the tushes, are likewise
carefully attended to, will prevent deception,
if a late four-years-old is attempted to be substituted for a five. The nippers
may be brought up a few months before their time, and the tushes a few wecks,
but the grinder is with difficulty displaced. The three last grinders and the
tushes are never shed.

At six years the mark on the central nippers is worn out. There will still
be a difference of colour in the centre of the tooth. The cement filling the
hole, made by the dipping in of the
enamel, will present a browner hue
than the other part of the tooth, and
it will be evidently surrounded by an
edge of enamel, and there will even
remain a little depression in the centre,
and also a depression round the case
of enamel: but the deep hole in the
centre of the teeth, with the blackened
surface which it presents, and the
elevated edge of enamel, will have
disappeared. Persons not much accus-
tomed to horses have been puzzled,
here. They expected to find a plain
surface of a uniform colour, and knew not what conclusion to draw when
there was both discolouration and irregularity.

 

 
200 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH.

In the next incisors the mark is shorter, broader, and fainter; and in the
corner teeth the edges of the enamel are more regular, and the surface is
evidently worn. The tush has attained its full growth, being nearly or quite
an inch in length; convex outward, concave within; tending to a point, and
the extremity somewhat curved. ‘The third grinder is fairly up; and all the
grinders are level.

The horse may now be said to have a perfect. mouth. All the teeth are pro-
duced, fully grown, and have hitherto sustained no material injury. During
these important changes of the teeth, the animal has suffered less than
could be supposed possible. In children, the period of teething is franght
with danger. Dogs are subject to convulsions, and hundreds of them die, from
the irritation caused by the cutting or shedding of their teeth; but the horse
appears to feel little inconvenience. The gums and palate are occasionally
somewhat hot and swollen; but the $
slightest scarification will remove this.
The teeth of the horse are more neces-
sary to him than those of the other
animals are to them. The child may
be fed, and the dog will bolt his food ;
but that of the horse must be well
ground down, or the nutriment cannot
be extracted from it.

At seven years, the mark, in the way
in which we have described it, is worn
out in the four central nippers, and
fast wearing away in the corner teeth;
the tush also is beginning to be altered.
It is rounded at the point; rounded at the edges ; still round without; and
beginning to get round inside.

At eight years old, the tush is rounder in every way; the mark is gone
from all the bottom nippers, and it may almost be said to be out of the
mouth. There is nothing remaining in the bottom nippers that can afterwards
clearly show the age of the horse, or justify the most experienced examiner in
giving a positive opinion.

Dishonest dealers have been said to resort toa method of prolonging the
mark in the lower nippers. It is called bishoping, from the name of the
scoundrel who invented it. The horse of eight or nine years old is 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 resem-
bling 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
the gencral conf ti f the | he: MIEBGE TBD eTS; together with
pe ie ormation 0 ¢ horse, can never deceive the careful

 

 
THE PROCESS OF TEETHING. 201

Horsemen, after the animal is eight years old, are accustomed to look to the
nippers in the upper jaw, and some conclusion has been drawn from the
appearances which they present. It cannot be doubted that the mark remaing
in them some years after it has been obliterated from the nippers in the lower
jaw; because the hard substance, or kind of cement, by which the pit or funnel in
the centre of the tooth is occupied, does not reach so high, and there isa greater
depth of tooth to be worn away in order to comeat it. To this it may be added,
that the upper nippers are not so much exposed to friction and wear as the
under. The lower jaw alone is moved, and pressed forcibly upon the food : the
upper jaw is without motion, and has only to resist that pressure.

There are various opinions as to the intervals between the disappearance of
the marks from the different cutting-teeth in the upper jaw. Some have
averaged it at two years, and others atone. The author is inclined to adopt the
latter opinion, and then the age’ will be thus determined: at nine years the
mark will be worn out from the middle nippers—from the next pair at ten, and
from all the upper nippers at eleven. During these periods the tush is like-
wise undergoing a manifest change—it is blunter, shorter, and rounder. In
what degree this takes place in the different periods, long and most favourable
opportunities for observation can alone enable the horseman to decide.

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, although generally as we have described it, is frequently uncertain. 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 indications 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 commen-
cing in their width, and not in their thickness. They become a little apart from
each other, and their surfaces are rounded. At nine, the centre 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 thirteen the corner ones
have that appearance. At fourteen, the faces of the central nippers become
somewhat triangular. At seventeen, they are allso. At nineteen, the angles
begin to wear off, and the central teeth are again oval, but in a reversed direc-
tion, viz., from outward, inward; and at twenty-one they all wear this form.
This is the opinion of some Continental veterinary surgeons, and Mr. Percivall
first presented them to us in an English dress.

It would be folly to expect perfect accuracy at this advanced age of the
horse, when we are bound to confess that the rules which we have laid down
for determining this matter at an earlier period, although they are recognised
by horsemen generally and referred to in courts of justice, will not guide us in
every case. Stabled horses have the mark sooner worn out than those that are
at grass; and a crib-biter may deceive the best judge by one or two years.
The age of the horse, likewise, being formerly calculated from the Ist of May
it was exceedingly difficult, or almost impossible, to determine whether the animal
was a late foal of one year or anearly one ofthe next. At nine or ten, the bars
of the mouth become less prominent, and their regular diminution will designate
202 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH.

increasing age. At eleven or twelve, the lower nippers change their orifinal
upright direction, and project forward or horizontally, and become of a yellow
colour, They are yellow, because the teeth must grow in order to answer to their
wear and tear; but the enamel which covered their surface when they were
first produced cannot be repaired, and that which wears this yellow colour in
old age is the part which in youth was in the socket, and therefore destitute of
enamel.

The general indications of old age, independent of the teeth, are, deepening
of the hollows over the eyes; grey hairs, and particularly over the eyes and
about the muzzle; thinness and hanging down of the lips; sharpness of the
withers ; sinking of the back ; lengthening of the quarters; and the disappear-
ance of windgalls, spavins, and tumours of every kind.

Of the natural age of the horse we should form a very erroneous estimate
from the early period at which he is now worn out and destroyed. Mr, Blaine
speaks of a gentleman who had three horses that died at the ages of thirty-
five, thirty-seven, and thirty-nine. Mr. Cully mentions one that received a
ball in his neck, at the battle of Preston, in 1715, and which was extracted at
his death, in 1758 ; and Mr. Percivall gives an account of a barge-horse that
died in his sixty-second year.

There cannot be a severer satire on the English nation than this, that, from
the absurd practice of running our race-horses at two and three years old, and
working others, in various ways, long before their limbs are knit or their strength
developed, and cruelly exacting from them services far beyond their powers,
their age does not average a sixth part of that of the last-mentioned horse.
The scientific author of the “‘ Animal Kingdom” declares, that “it may be
safely asserted, that more horses are consumed in England, in every ten years,
than in any other country in the world in ten times that period, except those
which perish in war.” _

This affair has, with the English, been too long considered as one of mere
profit and loss; and it has been thought to be cheaper to bring the young
horse early into work, and prematurely to exhaust his strength, than to
maintain him for a long period, and at a considerable expense, almost useless.
The matter requires much consideration, and much reformation too.

DISEASES OF THE TEETH.

Of the diseases of the teeth in the horse we know little. Carious or hollow
teeth are occasionally but not often seen; but the edges of the grinders, from
the wearing off of the enamel or the irregular growth of the teeth, become
rough, and wound the inside of the check ; it is then necessary to adopt a sum-
mary but effectual method of cure, namely, to rasp them smooth. Many bad
ulcers have been produced in the mouth by the neglect of this.

The teeth sometimes grow irregularly in length, and this is particularly the
case with the grinders, from not being in exact opposition to each other when
the mouth is shut. The growth of the teeth still going on, and there being no
mechanical opposition to it, one of the back teeth, or a portion of one of them,
shoots up considerably above the others. Sometimes it penetrates the bars
above, and causes soreness and ulceration ; at other times it interferes partially,
or altogether, with the grinding motion of the jaws, and the animal pines away
without the cause being suspected. Here the saw should be used, and the pro-
jecting portion reduced to a level with the other teeth. The horse that has
once been subjected to this operation should afterwards be frequently examined,
and especially if he loses condition: and, indeed, every horse that gets thin or
out of condition, without fever, or other apparent cause, should have his teeth
THE TONGUE, 203

and mouth carefully examined, and especially if, without any indication of sore
throat, he quids—partly chewing and then dropping—his food, or if he holds
his head somewhat on one side, while he eats, in order to get the food between
the outer edges of the teeth. A horse that has once had very irregular teeth is
materially lessened in value, for, although they may be sawn down as carefull ly
as possible, they will project again at no great distance of time. Such a horse
is to all intents and purposes unsound. In order to be fit for service, he should
be in possession of his full natural powers, and these powers cannot be sus-
tained without perfect nutrition, and nutrition would be rendered sadly imper-
fect by any defect in the operation of mastication. Not only do some diseases
of the teeth render the act of mastication difficult and troublesome, but, from
the food acquiring a foetid odour during its detention in the mouth, the horse
acquires a distaste for aliment altogether.

The continuance of a carious tooth often produces disease of the neighbouring
ones, and of the jaw itself. It should therefore be removed, as soon as its real
state is evident. Dreadful cases of fungus hematodes have arisen from the
irritation caused by a carious tooth.

The mode of extracting the teeth requires much reformation. The hammer
and the punch should never be had recourse to. The keyed instrument of
the human subject, but on a larger scale, is the only one that should be
permitted.

This is the proper place to speak more at length of the effect of dentition on
the system generally. Horsemen in general think too lightly of it, 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 affection, which he can refer to this
cause alone. Fever, cough, catarrhal affections generally, disease of the eyes,
cutaneous affections, diarrhoea, dysentery, loss of appetite, and general derange-
ment, 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 labouring under any febrile affection, the mouth should be
examined, and if the tushes are prominent and pushing against the gums,
a crucial incision should be made across them. ‘In this way,” says Mr.
Percivall, “ I have seen catarrhal and bronchial inflammations abated, coughs
relieved, lymphatic and other glandular tumours about the head reduced, cuta-
neous eruptions got rid of, deranged bowels restored to order, appetite returned,
and lost condition repaired *.”

THE TONGUE.

The tongue is the organ of taste. It is also employed in disposing the food
for being ground between the teeth, and afterwards collecting it together, and
conveying it to the back part of the mouth, in order to be swallowed. It is like-
wise the main instrument in deglutition, and the canal through which the water
passes in the act of drinking. The root of it is firmly fixed at the bottom of
the mouth by a variety of muscles; the fore part is loose in the mouth. It is
covered by a continuation of the membrane that lines the mouth, and which,
doubling beneath, and confining the motions of the tongue, is called its frenum,
or bridle. On the back of the tongue, this membrane is thickened and rough-
ened, and is covered with numerous conical papille, or little eminences, on
which the fibres of a branch of the fifth pair of nerves expand, communicating

 

* Percivall’s Hippopathology, vol. ii., p.173.
204 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH.

the sense of taste. The various motions of the tongue are accomplished hy
means of the ninth pair of nerves. ‘The substance of the tongue is composed of
muscular fibres, with much fatty matter interposed between them, and which
gives to this organ its peculiar softness.

DISEASES OF THE TONGUE,

The tongue is sometimes exposed to injury from carelessness or violence in
the act of drenching or administering a ball, it being pressed against and cut
by the edges of the grinders. A little diluted tincture of myrrh, or alum dis-
solved in water, or even nature unassisted, will specdily heal the wound. The
horse will sometimes bite his tongue, most frequently in his sleep. If the in-
jury is trifling, it requires little care; but, in some instances, a portion of the
tongue has been deeply lacerated or bitten off. The assistance of a veterinary
practitioner is here required.

There are some interesting accounts of the results of this lesion. Mr. Dickens
of Kimbolton found a portion of the tongue of a mare, extending as far as
the frenulum bencath, lying in the manger in a strangely lacerated condition,
and fast approaching to decomposition. He had her cast, and, excising all the
unhealthy portions, he dressed the wound with chloride of soda and tincture of
myth. In less than a weck the laceration was nearly healed, and, soon after-
wards, she could eat with very little difficulty, and kcep herself in good condition.
The injury was proved to have been inflicted by a brutal horsebreaker, in revenge
for some slight affront *.

A curious case is recorded in the Memoirs of the Society of Calvados. A
horse was difficult to groom. ‘The soldier who had the care of him, in order
the better to manage him, fixed in his mouth and on his tongue a strong chain
of iron, deeply serrated, while another man gave to this chain a terrible jerk
whenever the horse was disposed to be rebellious. The animal, under such
torture, became unmanageable, and the man who held the chain sawing away
with all his strength, the tongue was completely cut off at the point which
separates its base from the free portion of it. ‘Che wound healed favour-
ably, and he was soon able to manage a mash. After that some hay was
given to him in small quantities. He took it and formed it into a kind of
pellet. with his lips, and then, pressing it against the bottom of his manger, he
gradually forced it sufficiently back into the mouth to be enabled to seize it
with his grinders.

Another horse came to an untimely end in a singular way. He had scarcely
eaten anything for three weeks. He seemed to be unable to swallow. The
channel beneath the lower jaw had much enlargement about it. ‘There was
not any known cause for this, nor any account of violence done to the tongue.
At length a tumour appeared under the jaw. Mr. Young of Muirhead pune-
tured it, and a considerable quantity of purulent matter escaped. The horse
could drink his gruel after this, but not take any solid food. A week afterwards
he was found dead. Upon separating the head from the trunk, and cutting
transversely upon the tongue, nearly opposite to the second grinder, a needle
was found lying longitudinally, and which had penetrated from the side to the
inferior portion of the tongue. It was an inch and a quarter in length, and the
neighbouring substance was in a state of gangrene,

Vesicles will sometimes appear along the under side of the tongue, which
will increase to a considerable size. The tongue itself will be much enlarged,
the animal will be unable to swallow, and a great quantity of ropy saliva will

—_—_—

* Veterinarian, vol, vi., p. 22.
THE SALIVARY GLANDS, 205

drivel from the mouth. This disease often exists without the nature of it
being suspected. If the mouth is opened, one large bladder, or a succession of
bladders, of a purple hue, will be seen extending along the whole of the under
side of the tongue. If they are lanced freely and deeply, from end to end
the swelling will very rapidly abate, and any little fever that remains may
be subdued by cooling medicine. The cause of this disease is not clearly
known.

THE SALIVARY GLANDS.

In order that the food may be properly comminuted preparatory to diges-
tion, it is necessary that it should be previously moistened. The food of the
stabled horse, however, is dry, and his meal is generally concluded without anv
fluid being offered to him. Nature has made a provision for this, She has
placed in the neighbourhood of the mouth various glands to secrete, and that
plentifully, a limpid fluid, somewhat saline to the taste. This fluid is conveyed
from the glands into the mouth, by various ducts, in the act of chewing, and,
being mixed with the food, renders it more easily ground, more easily passed
afterwards into the stomach, and better fitted for digestion.

The principal of these is the parotid gland (see cut, p.173). It is placed
in the hollow which extends from the root of the ear to the angle of the lower
iaw. A portion of it, g, is represented as turned up, to show the situation of
the blood-vessels underneath. In almost every case of. cold connected with
sore throat an enlargement of the parotid’ gland is evident to the feeling,
and even to the eye. It is composed of numerous small glands connected
together, and a minute tube proceeding from each, to carry away the secreted
fluid. These tubes unite in one common duct. At the letter u, the parotid
duct is seen to pass under the angle of the lower jaw, together with the
submaxillary artery, and a branch of the jugular vein, and they come out again
atw. At 7, the duct is seen separated from the other vessels, climbing up the
cheek, and piercing it to discharge its contents into the mouth, opposite to the
second grinder. The quantity of fluid thus poured into the mouth from each
of the parotid glands amounts to a pint and a half in an hour, during the action
of mastication ; and, sometimes, when the duct has been accidentally opened, it
has spirted out to the distance of several feet.

The parotid gland sympathises with every inflammatory affection of the
upper part of the throat, and therefore it is found swollen, hot, and tender, in
almost every catarrh or cold. The catarrh is to be treated in the usual way ;
while a stimulating application, almost amounting to a blister, well rubbed over
the gland, will best subdue the inflammation of that body.

In bad strangles, and, sometimes, in violent cold, this gland will be much
enlarged and ulcerated, or an obstruction will take place in some part of the duct,
and the accumulating fluid will burst the vessel, and a fistulous ulcer be formed
that will be very difficult to heal. A veterinary surgeon alone will be com-
petent to the treatment of either case ; and the principle by which he will be
guided, will be to heal the abscess in the gland as speedily as he can, and, pro-
bably, by the application of the heated iron: or, if the ulcer is in the duct,
either to restore the passage through the duct, or to form a new one, or to cut
off the flow of the saliva by the destruction of the gland. :

A second source of the saliva is from the submawillary glands, or the glands
under the jaw. One of them is represented at s, p. 173, The submaxillary
glands occupy the space underneath and between the sides of the lower jaw,
and consist of numerous small bodies, each with its proper duct, uniting to-
gether, and forming on each side a common duct or vessel that pierces through
the muscles at the root of the tongue, and opens in little projections, or heads,
206 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH,

upon the frenum, or bridle of the tongue, about an inch and a half from the
front tecth. When the horse has catarrh or cold, these glands, like the parotid
gland, enlarge. This is often to be observed after strangles, and several distinct
kernels are to be felt under the jaw. It has already been stated that they may
be distinguished from the swellings that accompany or indicate glanders, by
their being larger, generally not so distinct, more in the centre of the channel,
or space between the jaws, and never adhering to the jaw-bones. The farriers
call them vives, and often adopt cruel and absurd methods to disperse them,—
as burning them with a lighted candle, or hot iron, or even cutting them out,
They will, in the majority of instances, gradually disperse in proportion as the
disease which produced them subsides; or they will yield to slightly stimu-
lating embrocations ; or, if they are obstinate in their continuance, they are of
no further consequence, than as indicating that the horse has laboured under
severe cold or strangles.

During catarrh or inflammation of the mouth, the little projections marking
the opening of these ducts on cither side of the bridle of the tongue are apt to
enlarge, and the mouth under the tongue is a little red, and hot and tender.
The farriers call these swellings BaRBs or Paps; and as soon as they discover
them, mistaking the effect of disease for the cause of it, they set to work to cut
them close off. ‘The bleeding that follows this operation somewhat abates the local
inflammation, and affords temporary relief; but the wounds will not speedily
heal. The saliva continues to flow from the orifice of the duct, and, running
into the ixregularities of the wound, causes it to spread and deepen. Even
when it heals, the mouth of the duct being frequently closed, and the saliva
continuing to be secreted by the submaxillary gland, it accumulates in the duct,
until that vessel bursts, and abscesses are formed which eat deeply under the
root of the tongue and long torment the poor animal. When, after a great deal
of trouble, they are closed, they are apt to break out again for months and
years afterwards.

All that is necessary with regard to these paps or barbs is to abate the in-
flammation or ccld that caused them to appear, and they will very soon and
perfectly subside. He who talks of cutting them out is not fit ta de trusted
with a horse.

A third source of saliva is from glands under the tongue—the sublingual
glands, which open by many little orifices under the tongue, resembling little
foids of the skin of the mouth, hanging from the lower surface of this organ, or
found on the bottom of the mouth. These likewise sometimes enlarge during
catarrh or inflammation of the mouth, and are called gigs, and bladders, and flaps
in the mouth. They have the appearance of small pimples, and the farrier is
too apt to cut them away, or burn them off. The better way is to let them
alone—for in a few days they will generally disappear. Should any ulceration
remain, a little tincture of myrrh, or a solution of alum, will readily heal
them.

Beside these three principal sources of saliva, there are small glands to be
found on every part of the mouth, checks, and lips, which pour out a consider-
able quantity of fluid, to assist in moistening and preparing the food.

STRANGLES,

This is a disease principally incident to young horses—usually appearing
between the fourth and fifth year, and oftener in the spring than in any other
part of the year, It is preceded by cough, and can at first be searcely distin-
guished from common cough, except that there is more discharge from the nos-
tril, of a yellowish colour, mixed with pus, and generally without smell. ‘There

'
STRANGLES. 207

is likewise a considerable discharge of ropy fluid from the mouth, and greater
swelling than usual under the throat. This swelling increases with uncertain
rapidity, accompanied by some fever, and disinclination to eat, partly arising from
the fever, but more from the pain which the animal feels in the act of mastication.
There is considerable thirst, but after a gulp or two the horse ceases to drink, yet
is evidently desirous of continuing his draught. In the attempt to ewallow

and sometimes when not drinking, a convulsive cough comes on, which almost
threatens to suffocate the animal—and thence. probably, the name of the
disease *.

‘The tumour is under the jaw, and about the centre of the channel. It soon fills
the whole of the space, and is evidently one uniform body, and may thus be dis-
tinguished from glanders, or the enlarged glands of catarrh. In a few days it
becomes more prominent and soft, and evidently contains a fluid. This rapidly
increases ; the tumour bursts, and a great quantity of pus is discharged. As
soon as the tumour has broken, the cough subsides, and the horse speedily
mends, although some degree of weakness may hang about him for a consider-
able time. Few horses, possibly none, escape its attack ; but, the disease
having passed over, the animal is free from it for the remainder of his life.
Catarrh may precede, or may predispose to, the attack, and, undoubtedly,
the state of the atmosphere has much to do with it, for both its prevalence
and its severity are connected with certain seasons of the year and changes
of the weather. There is no preventive for the disease, nor is there any-
thing contagious about it. Many strange stories are told with regard to
this; but the explanation of the matter is, that when several horses in the
same farm, or in the same neighbourhood, have had strangles at the same
time, they have been exposed to the same powerful but unknown exciting
cause.

Messrs. Percivall and Castley have come the nearest to a satisfactory view of
the nature of strangles. Mr. Castley + says, that “the period of strangles is
often a much more trying and critical time for young horses than most people
seem to be aware of ; that when colts get well over this complaint, they gene-
rally begin to thrive and improve in a remarkable manner, or there is sometimes
as great a change for the worse: in fact, it seems to effect some decided consti-
tutional change in the animal.”

Mr. Percivall adds, “ the explanation of the case appears to me to be, that the
animal is suffering more or less from what I would call strangle-fever,—a fever
the disposition and tendency of which is to produce local tumour and abscess,
and, most commonly in that situation, underneath the jaws, in which it has
obtained the name of strangles.”

Professor Dick, of Edinburgh, adds that which is conclusive on the subject,
that “although the disease commonly terminates by an abscess under the jaw,
yet it may, and occasionally does, give rise to collections of matter on other
parts of the surface.”

To this conclusion then we are warranted in coming, that strangles is a
specific affection to which horses are naturally subject at some period of their
lives, and the natural cure of which seems to be a suppurative process. From
some cause, of the nature of which we are ignorant, this suppurative process

 

* Old Gervase Markham gives the follow- not prevented, will stop the horse's windpipe,
ing description of this disease, and of the and so strangle or choake him: from which
origin of its name. “It is,’’ saya he, “a effect, and none other, the name of this disease
great and hard swelling between a horse’s tooke its derivation.”
nether chaps, upon the rootes of his tongue, t Vet., iii, 406, and vi,, 607.
and about his throat, which swelling, if it be
268 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NOSE AND MOUTH.

usually takes place in the space between the branches of the maxillary bone,
and occurring there it appears in the mildest form, and little danger attends,
When the disease is ushered in by considerable febrile disturbance, and the
suppuration takes place elsewhere, the horse too frequently sinks under the
attack.

The treatment of strangles is very simple. As the essence of the disease
consists in the formation and suppuration of the specific tumour, the principal,
or almost the sole cttention of the practitioner, should be directed to the
hastening of these processes: therefore, as soon as the tumour of strangles is
decidedly apparent, the part should be actively blistered. Old practitioners
used to recommend poultices, which, from the thickness of the horse’s skin,
must have very little effect, even if they could be confined on the part; and
from the difficulty and almost impossibility of this, and their getting cold
and hard, they necessarily weakened the energies of nature, and delayed
the ripening of the tumour. Fomentations are little more effectual. A blister
will not only secure the completion of the process, but hasten it by many
days, and save the patient much pain and exhaustion. It will produce
another good effect—it will, previously to the opening of the tumour,
abate the internal inflammation and soreness of the throat, and thus lessen
the cough and wheezing.

As soon as the swelling is soft on its summit, and evidently contains matter, it
should be freely and deeply lanced. It isa bad, although frequent- practice,
to suffer the tumour to burst naturally, for a ragged ulcer is formed, very
slow to heal, and difficult of treatment. If the incision is deep and large enough,
no second collection of matter will be formed: and that which is already there
may be suffered to run out slowly, all pressure with the fingers being avoided.
The part should be kept clean, and a little friar’s balsam daily injected into the
wound.

The remainder of the treatment will depend on the symptoms. If there is
much fever, and evident affection of the chest, and which should carefully be
distinguished from the oppression and choking occasioned by the pressure of
the tumour, it will be proper to bleed. In the majority of cases, however
bleeding will not only be unnecessary, but injurious. It will delay the suppu
ration of the tumour, and increase the subsequent debility. A few cooling
medicines, as nitre, emetic tartar, and perhaps digitalis, may be given, as the
case requires, The appetite, or rather the ability to eat, will return with the
opening of the abscess. Bran-mashes, or fresh-cut grass or tares, should be
liberally supplied, which will not only afford sufficient nourishment to recruit
the strength of the animal, but keep the bowels gently open. If the weakness
is not great, no farther medicine will be wanted, except a dose of mild physic
in order to prevent the swellings or eruptions which sometimes succeed to
strangles. In cases of debility, a small quantity of tonic medicine, as chamo-
niile, gentian, or ginger, may be administered *,

 

* Mr. Percivall gives the following descrip-
tion of some untoward cases :—‘' The sub-
maxillary tumour is often knotted and divided
on its first appearance, as if the glands re-
teived the primary attack. As it spreads, it
becomes diffused in the cellular tissue included
in the space between the sides and branches of
the lower jaw, involving all the subcutaneous
parts contained in that interval indiscrimi.
nately in one uniform mass of tumefaction.
While this general turgescence is going on,

various parts in the immediate vicinity often
take on the same kind of action. In particu-
lar, the salivary glands, the parotid, sublingual,
the throat, the pharynx and larynx, the nose,
the lining membrane, the nostrils, the sinuses,
the mouth, the tongue, the checks, the lips—
in fine, in some violent cases, the whole head
appears to be involved in one gencral mass ot
tumefaction, while every vent is running over
with discharge. The patient experiencing this
violent form of disease is in a truly pitiable
THE PHARYNX. 206

THE PILTARYNX.

Proceeding to the back of the mouth, we find the puarnywx (carrying or
conveying the food towards the stomach). It commences at the root of the tongue
(see 7, 8, and 9, p. 111) ;_ is separated from the mouth by the soft palate (7),
which hangs down from the palatine bone at 8, and extends to the epiglottis or
covering to the windpipe. When the food has been sufficiently ground by the
teeth, and mixed with the saliva, it is gathered together by the tongue, and
by the action of the cheeks and tongue, and back part of the mouth, forced
against the soft palate, which, giving way, and being raised upwards towards the
entrance into the nostrils, prevents the food from proceeding that way. It passes
to the pharynx, and the soft palate again falling down, prevents its return to
the mouth, and also prevents, except in extreme cases, the act of vomiting in
the horse. Whatever is returned from the stomach of the horse, passes through
the nose, as the cut will make evident.

The sides of the pharynx are lined with muscles which now begin power-
fully to contract, and by that contraction the bolus is forced on until it reaches
the gullet (10), which is the termination of the pharynx. Before, however,
the food proceeds so far, it has to pass over the entrance into the windpipe
(3), and should any portion of it enter that tube, much inconvenience and
danger might result; therefore, this opening is not only lined by muscles
which close it at the pleasure of the animal, but is likewise covered by
a heart-like elastic cartilage, the epiglottis (2), with its back towards the
pharynx, and its hollow towards the aperture. The epiglottis yields to the
pressure of the bolus passing over it, and lying flat over the opening into the
windpipe, and prevents the possibility of anything entering into it. No sooner,
however, has the food passed over it, than it rises again by its own elasticity,
and Jeaves the upper part of the windpipe once more open for the purpose of
breathing. The voice of animals is produced by the passage of air through
this aperture, communicating certain vibrations to certain folds of the
membrane covering the part, and these vibrations being afterwards modified
in their passage through the cavities of the nose. In order to understand
the diseases of these parts, the anatomy of the neck generally must be
considered.

 

plight. While purulent matter is issuing in relief, so far as the breathing is concerned,

profusion from his swollen nostrils, and slaver
foams out from between his tumefied lips, it
ia distressing to hear the noise that he makes
in painful and laboured efforts to breathe.
Thore is imminent danger of suffocation in
such a caso as this ; aud even although eome

may be obtained from the operation of bron-
chotomy, yet, from the pain and irritation he
is suffering, added to the impossibility of
getting aliment into his stomach, he must
speedily sink to rise no more.’’—Veterina-
rtan, vol. vis pe G11.
210 THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NECK.

CHAPTER IX.

THE ANATOMY AND DISEASES OF THE NECK AND
NEIGHBOURING PARTS.

Tux neck of the horse, and of every animal belonging to the class mammatia,
except one species, is composed of seven bones called vertebra, moveable or
turning upon each other (see cut, p. 108). They are connected together by
strong ligaments, and form so many distinct joints, in order to give sufficiently
extensive motion to this important part of the body. The bone nearest to the
skull is called the atlas (see cut, p. 108, and g, p. 112), because, in the human
being, itsupports the head. In the horse the head is suspended from it. Itisa
mere ring-shaped bone, with broad projections sideways ; but without the sharp
and irregular processes which are found on all the others. The pack-wax, or
ligament, by which the head is principally supported (f, p. 112), and which is
strongly connected with all the other bones, passes over this without touching
it, by which means the head is much more easily and extensively moved. The
junction of the atlas with the head is the seat of a very serious and trouble-
some ulcer, termed

POLL-EVIL.

From the horse rubbing and sometimes striking his poll against the lower
edge of the manger, or hanging back in the stall and bruising the part with the
halter—or from the frequent and painful stretching of the ligaments and mus-
cles by unnecessary tight reining, and, occasionally, from a violent blow on the
poll, carelessly or wantonly inflicted, inflammation ensues, and a swelling appears,
hot, tender, and painful. It used to be a disease of frequent occurrence, but
it is now, from better treatment of the animal, of comparatively rare ccurrence.

It has just been stated, that the ligament of the neck passes over the atlas, or
first bone, without being attached to it, and the seat of inflammation is between
the ligament and the bone beneath ; and being thus deeply situated, it is serious
in its nature and difficult of treatment.

The first thing to be attempted is to abate the inflammation by bleeding,
physic, and the application of cold lotions to the part. In a very early period
of the case a blister might have considerable effect. Strong purgatives should
also be employed. By these means the tumour will sometimes be dispersed.
This system, however, must not be pursued too far. If the swelling increases,
and the heat and tenderness likewise increase, matter will form in the tumour;
and then our object should be to hasten its formation by warm fomentations,
poultices, or stimulating embrocations. As soon as the matter is formed, which
may be known by the softness of the tumour, and before it has time to spread
around and eat into the neighbouring parts, it should be evacuated. Now comes
the whole art of treating poll-evil ; the opening into the tumour must be so con-
trived that all the matter shall run out, and continue afterwards to run out as
quickly as it is formed, and not collect at the bottom of the ulcer, irritating
and corroding it. This can be effected by a seton alone. The needle should
enter at the top of the tumour, penetrate through its bottom, and be brought
cut at the side of the neck, a little below the abscess, Without anything more
than this, except frequent fomentation with warm water, in order to keep the
part clean, and to obviate inflammation, poll-evil in its early stage will fre-
quently be cured.
THE MUSCLES AND PROPER FORM OF THE NECK. 21

If the ulcer has deepened and spread, and threatens to eat into the ligaments
of the joints of the neck, it may be necessary to stimulate its surface, and
perhaps painfully so, in order to bring it to a healthy state, and dispose it to
fill up. In extreme cases, some highly stimulating application may be em-
ployed, but nothing resembling the scalding mixture of the farriers of the olden
time. Thisis abominable! horrible!! All measures, however, will be ineffectual,
unless the pus or matter is, by the use of setons, perfectly evacuated. The
application of these setons will require the skill and anatomical knowledge of the
veterinary surgeon. In desperate cases, the wound may not be fairly exposed
to the action of the caustic without the division of the ligament of the neck.
This may be effected with perfect safety ; for although the ligament is carried
on to the occipital bone, and some strength is gained by this prolongation of it,
the main stress is on the second bone ; and the head will continue to be sup-
ported. The divided ligament, also, will soon unite again, and its former use-
fulness will be restored when the wound is healed.

The second bone of the neck is the dentata, having a process like a tooth, by
which it forms a joint with the first bone. In the formation of that joint, a
portion of the spinal marrow, which runs through a canal in the centre of all
these bones, is exposed or covered only by ligament ; and by the division of the
marrow at this spot an animal is instantly and humanely destroyed. The
operation is called pithing, from the name (the pith) given by butchers to the
spinal marrow.

The other neck, or rack bones, as they ave denominated by the farrier, (B,
p. 108,) are of a strangely irregular shape, yet bearing considerable resemblance to
each other. They consist of a central bone, perforated for the passage of the
spinal marrow with a ridge on the top for the attachment of the ligament of the
neck, and four irregular plates or processes from the sides, for the attachment
of muscles ; at the base of one of which, on either side, are holes fon the passage
of the large arteries and veins. At the upper end of each, is a round head or ball,
and at the lower end, a cavity or cup, and the head of the one being received
into the cup of the other, they are united together, forming so many joints.
They are likewise united by ligaments from these processes, as well as the
proper ligaments of the joints, and so securely, that no dislocation can take
place between any of them, except the first and second, the consequence of
which would be the immediate death of the animal.

The last, or seventh bone, has the elevation on the back or top of it continued
into a long and sharp prolongation (a spinous process), and is the beginning of
that ridge of bones denominated the withers (see cut, pp. 108 and 221); and as
it is the base of the column of neck bones, and there must be a great pressure on
it from the weight of the head and neck, it is curiously contrived to rest upon
and unite with the two first ribs.

THE MUSCLES AND PROPER FORM OF THE NECK.

The bones of the ntck serve as the frame-work to which numerous muscles
concerned in the motions of the head and neck are attached. The weight of
the head and neck is supported by the ligament without muscular aid, and
without fatigue to the animal; but in order to raise the head higher, or to
lower it, or to turn it in every direction, a complicated system of muscles is
necessary. Those whose office it is to raise the head are most numerous and
powerful, and are placed on the upper and side part of the neck. The cut in
p- 172 contains a few of them. ;

¢ marks a tendon common to two of the most important of them, the splenius
or splint like muscle, and the complexus major, or larger aaa muacle,

P
212 THE MUSCLES AND PROPER FORM OF THE NHCK.,

The splenius constitutes the principal bulk of the neck above, arising from the
ligament of the neck all the way
down it, and going to the processes
of all the bones of the neck, but the
first, and tendons running from the
upper part of it, to the first bone of
the neck, and to a process of the
temporal bone of the head. Its ac-
tion is sufficiently evident, namely,
very powerfully to elevate the head
and neck. The principal beauty of
the neck depends on this muscle.
It was admirably developed in the
horse of whose neck the annexed
cut gives an accurate delineation.

' Tf the curve were quite regular
from the poll to the withers, we
should call it a perfect neck. It is
rather a long neck, and we do not
like it the less for that. In the carriage-horse, a neck that is not half concealed
by the collar is indispensable, so far as appearance goes ; and it is only the horse
with a neck of tolerable length that will bear to be reined up, so as to give this
part the arched and beautiful appearance which fashion demands. It is no
detriment to the riding-horse, and there are few horses of extraordinary speed
that have not the neck rather long. The race-horse at the top of his speed not
only extends it as far as he can, that the air-passages may be as straight as he
can make them, and that he may therefore be able to breathe more freely, but
the weight of the head and neck, and the effect increasing with their distance
from the trunk, add materially to the rapidity of the animal’s motion. 1t has
been said, that a horse with a long neck will bear heavy on the hand; neither
the length of the neck nor even the bulk of the head has any influence in causing
this. They are both counterbalanced by the power of the ligament of the neck.
The setting on of the head is most of all connected with heavy bearing on the
hand, and a short-necked horse will bear heavily, because, from the thickness
of the lower part of the neck, consequent on its shortness, the head cannot be
rightly placed, nor, generally, the shoulder.

Connected with the splenius muscle, and partly produced by it, are the
thickness and muscularity of the neck, as it springs from the shoulders, in this
cut; the height at which it comes out from them forming nearly a line with
the withers ; and the manner in which it tapers as it approaches the head.
‘The neck of a well-formed horse, however fine at the top, should be muscular
at the bottom, or the horse will generally be weak and worthless. Necks
devoid of this muscularity are called Jonse necks by horsemen, and are always
considered a very serious objection to the animal. If the neck is thin and lean
at the upper part, and is otherwise well shaped, the horse will usually carry
himself well, and the head will be properly curved for beauty of appearance
and ease of riding. When an instance to the contrary occurs, it is to be traced
to very improper management, or to the space between the jaws being unna-
turally small.

The splenius muscle, although a main agent in raising the head and neck
may be too large, or covered with too much cellular substance or fat thus
giving an appearance of heaviness or even clumsiness to the neck. . This
peculiarity of form constitutes the distinction between the perfect horse and the
mare, and also the gelding, unless castrated at a very late period.

 
THE MUSCLES AND PROPER FORM OF THE NECK, 213

This tendon, c, belongs also to another muscle, which makes up the principal
bulk of the lower part of the neck, and is called the complexus major, or larger
complicated muscle. It arises partly as low as the transverse processes of the
four or five first bones of the back, and from the five lower bones of the neck :
and, the fibres from these various sources uniting togéther, form a very large
and powerful muscle, the largest and strongest in the neck. As it approaches
the head, it lessens in bulk, and terminates partly with the splenius, in this
tendon, but is principally inserted into the back part of the occipital bone, by
the side of the ligament of the neck. In the cut, p- 154, almost its whole course
can be distinctly traced. Its office is to raise the neck and elevate the head :
and being inserted into such a part of the occiput, it will more particularly
protrude the nose, while it raises the head. Its action, however, may be too
powerful ; it may be habitually so, and then it may produce deformity. The
back of the head being pulled back, and the muzzle protruded, the horse cannot
by possibility carry his head well. He will become what is technically called
a star-gazer ;—heavy in hand, boring upon the bit, and unsafe. To remedy
this, recourse is had, and in the majority of cases without avail, to the martin-
gale, against which the horse is continually fighting, and which is often a com-
plete annoyance to the rider. Such a horse is almost useless for harness.

Inseparable from this is another sad defect, so far as the beauty of the horse
is concerned ;—he becomes ewe-necked ; i. e., he has a neck like a ewe—not
arched above, and straight below, until near to the head, but hollowed above
and projecting below ; and the neck rising low out of the chest, even lower
sometimes than the points of the shoulders. There can scarcely be anything
more unsightly in a horse. His head can never be got fairly down; and the
bearing rein of harness must be to him a source of constant torture. In regard-
ing, however, the length and the form of the neck, reference must be had to the
purpose for which the horse is intended. In a hackney few things can be more
abominable than a neck so disproportionable, so long that the hand of the rider
gets tired in managing the head of the horse. In a race-horse this lengthening
of the neck is a decided advantage.

Among the muscles employed in raising the head, are the complexus minores
(smaller complicated), and the vecti (straight), and the oblique muscles of the
upper part of the neck, and belonging principally to the two first bones of the
neck, and portions of which may be seen under the tendon of the splenius c,
and between it and the ligament a.

Among the muscles employed in lowering the head, some of which are given
in the same cut, is the sterno-mazillaris, d, belonging to the breast-bone, and
the upper jaw. It can Jikewise be traced, although not quite distinctly, in the
cut, page 212. It lies immediately under the skin. It arises from the cartilage
projecting from, or constituting the front of the breast-bone (H, p. 108), and
proceeds up the neck, of no great bulk or strength. At about three-fourths of
its length upward, it changes to a flat tendon, which is seen (d, p. 172) to
insinuate itself between the parotid and submaxillary glands, in order to be
inserted into the angle of the lower jaw. It is used in bending the head
towards the chest.

Another muscle, the termination of which is seen, is the /evator humeri, raiser
of the shoulder, 6. This is a much larger muscle than the last, because it has
more duty to perform. It rises from the back of the head and four first bones
of the neck and the ligament of the neck, and is carried down to the shoulder,
mixing itself partly with some of the muscles of the shoulder, and finally con-
tinued down to and terminating on the humerus (J, p. 109). Its office is
double. If the horse is in action, and the head and neck are fixed points, the con-
traction of this muscle will draw forward the shoulder and arm ; if the horse is
214 THR ANATOMY AND DJSEASES OF THE NECK.

standing, and the shoulder and arm are fixed points, this muscle will depress the
head and neck.

The muscles of the neck are all in pairs. One of them is found on each side
of the neck, and the office which has been attributed to them can only be
accomplished when both act together; but supposing that one alone of the
elevating muscles should act, the head would be raised, but it would at the
same time be turned towards that side. If one only of the depressor muscles
were to act, the head would be bent downwards, but it would likewise be turned
towards that side. Then it will be easily seen that by this simple method of
having the muscles in pairs, provision is made for every kind of motion, upwards,
downwards, or on either side, for which the animal can possibly have occasion.
Little more of a practical nature could be said of the muscles of the neck,
although they are proper and interesting studies for the anatomist.

This is the proper place to speak of the mane, that long hair which covers the
crest of the neck, and adds so much to the beauty of the animal. This, how-
ever, is not its only praise. In a wild state the horse has many battles to fight,
and his neck deprived of the mane would be a vulnerable part. The hair of the
mane, the tail, and the legs, is not shed in the same manner as that on the
body. It does not fall so regularly nor so often ; for if all were shed at once, the
parts would be left for a long time defenceless,

The mane is generally dressed so as to lie on the right side—some persons divide
it equally on both sides. For ponies it used to be cut off near the roots, only a
few stumps being left to stand perpendicularly. This was termed the hog-mane.
The groom sometimes bestows a great deal of pains in getting the mane of his
horse into good and fashionable order. It is wetted, and plaited, and loaded
with lead; and every hair that is a little too long is pulled out. The mane and
tail of the heavy draught-horse are seldom thin, but on the well-bred horse the
thin well-arranged mane is very ornamental *.

THE BLOOD-VESSELS OF THE NECK.

Running down the under part of the neck are the principal blood-vessels
going to and returning from the head, with the windpipe and gullet. Our cut
could not give a view of the arteries that carry the blood from the heart to
the head, because they are too leeply seated. The external arteries are the
carotid, of which there are two. They ascend the neck on either side, close to
the windpipe, until they have reached the middle of the neck, where they some-
what diverge, and lie more deeply. They are covered by the sterno-maxillaris
muscle, which has been just described, and are separated from the jugulars by
a small portion of muscular substance. Having reached the larynx, they
divide into two branches, the external and the internal ; the first goes to every
part of the face, and the second to the brain.

The vertebral arteries run through canals in the bones of the neck, supplying
the neighbouring parts as they climb, and at length enter the skull at the large
hole in the occipital bone, and ramify on and supply the brain.

Few cases can happen in which it would be either necessary or justifiable to
bleed from an artery. Even in mad-staggers the bleeding is more practicable,
safer, and more effectual, from the jugular vein than from the temporal or any
other artery. If an artery is opened in the direction in which it runs, there is
sometimes very great difficulty in stopping the bleeding ; it has even been neces-
sary to tie the vessel in order to accomplish this purpose. Ifthe artery is cut
across, its coats are so elastic that the two ends are often immediately drawn
apart under the flesh at each side, and are thereby closed; and after the first
gush of blood no more can be obtained.

* Stewart’s Stable QEconomy, p. 110,
INFLAMMATION OF THE VEIN. 218

THE VEINS OF THE NECK.

‘The external veins which return the blood from the head to the heart are
the jugulars. The horse has but one on either side. The human being and
the ox have two. The jugular takes its rise from the base of the skull; it then
descends, receiving other branches in its way towards the angle of the jaw and
behind the parotid gland; and emerging from that, as seen at z, p. 178, and
being united to a large branch from the face, it takes its course down the neck.
Veterinary surgeons and horsemen have agreed to adopt the jugular, a little
way below the union of these two branches, as the usual place for bleeding ;
and a very convenient one it is, for it is easily got at, and the vessel is large.
The manner of bleeding, and the states of constitution and disease in which it
is proper, will be hereafter spoken of ; an occasional consequence of bleeding
being at present taken under consideration.

INFLAMMATION OF THE VEIN.

It is usual and proper, after bleeding, to bring the edges of the wound care-
fully together, and to hold them in contact by inserting a pin through the skin,
with a little tow twisted round it. In ninety-nine cases out of a hundred the
wound quickly heals, and gives no trouble; but in a few instances, from using
a blunt instrument, or a dirty or rusty one; or striking too hard and bruising
the vein; or, in the act of pinning up, pulling the skin too far from the neck
and suffering some blood to insinuate itself into the cellular texture ; or neglect-
ing to tie the horse up for a little while, and thus enabling him to rub the
bleeding place against the manger and tear out the pin; or from the animal
being worked immediately afterward ; or the reins of the bridle rubbing against
it; or several blows having been clumsily given, and a large and ragged wound
made; or from some disposition to inflammation about the horse (for the
bleeder is not always in fault) the wound does not heal, or if it closes fora
little while, it re-opens. A slight bleeding appears—some tumefaction com-
mences—the edges of the orifice separate, and become swollen and red—a
discharge of sanious bloody fluid proceeds from the wound, followed, perhaps,
ina few days by purulent matter. The neck swells, and is hot and tender
both above and below the incision, The lips of the wound become everted—
the swelling increases, particularly above the wound, where the vein is most
hard and cordy—the horse begins to loathe his food, and little abscesses form
round the orifice. The cordiness of the vein rapidly increases. Not only the
vein itself has become obstructed and its coats thickened, but the cellular
tissue inftamed and hardened, and is an additional source of irritation and
torture.

The thickening of the vein extends to the bifurcation above: it occupies
both branches, and extends downwards to the chest—even to the very heart
itself, and the patient dies.

The two grand questions here are, the cause and the cure. The first would
seem to admit of an easy reply. A long list of circumstances has been just
given which would seem to refer the matter entirely to the operator; yet, on
the other hand, experience tells us that he has little to do with these morbid
effects of bleeding. Mr. Percivall states, that Mr. Cherry tried several times
to produce inflammation by the use of rusty lancets, and escharotics of various
kinds, and ligatures, and frequent separation and friction of the granulating edges,
but in vain. Professor Spooner tried to produce the disease, but could not.

On the other hand, it is well known that while inflammation rarely or never
follows the operation of bleeding by some practitioners, others are continually
216 INFLAMMATION OF THE VEIN.

getting into scrapes about it. The writer of this work had three house-pupils,
two of whom he used 'to trust to bleed his patients, and no untoward circum-
stance ever occurred ; but as surely as he sent the third, he had an inflamed
vein to take care of. : : .

There is something yet undivulged in the process of healing the vein, or in
the circumstances by which that healing is prevented. The most powerful
causes probably are, that the lips of the wound have not been brought into
immediate apposition, or that a portion of the hair—a single hair is sufficient
—has insinuated itself. The horse has not, perhaps, had his head tied up to
the rack after bleeding, which should always be done for at least an hour,
during which time the extravasated blood will become firmly coagulated, and
the flow of blood to the heart will establish its uninterrupted course. It is also
probable that atmospheric agency may be concerned in the affair, or a diseased
condition of the horse, and particularly a susceptibility of taking on inflam-
matory action, although the exciting cause may be exceedingly slight.

Of the means of cure it is difficult to speak confidently. The wound should
be carefully examined—the divided edges brought into exact apposition, and any
hair interposed between them removed—the pin withdrawn or not, according
to cireumstances—the part carefully and long fomented, and a dose of physic
administered. If two or three days have passed and the discharge still remains,
the application of the budding-iron—not too large or too hot—may produce
engorgement of the neighbouring parts, and union of the lips of the wound.
This should be daily, or every second day, repeated, according to circumstances,
A blister applied over the orifice, or as far as the mischief extends, will often
be serviceable. Here, likewise, the parts will be brought into contact with
each other, and pressed together, and union may be effected. ‘“ Sometimes,”
says Mr. Cartwright, “when the vein is in an ulcerative state, I have laid it
open, and applied caustic dressing, and it has healed up. I have lately had a
case in which five or six abscesses had formed above the original wound, and
the two superior ones burst through the parotid gland, the extent of the ulcer-
ation being evident in the quantity of saliva that flowed through each orifice*.”

The owner of the horse will find it his interest to apply to a veterinary
practitioner as soon as a case of inflamed vein occurs.

Should the vein be destroyed, the horse will not be irreparably injured, and
perhaps, at no great distance of time, scarcely injured at all; for nature is
ingenious in making provision to carry on the circulation of the blood. All
the vessels conveying the blood from the heart to the different parts of the
frame, or bringing it back again t@the heart, communicate with each other by
so many channels, and in such various ways, that it is impossible by the closure
or loss of any one of them long materially to impede the flow of the vital cur-
rent. If the jugular is destroyed, the blood will circulate through other vessels
almost as freely as before ; but the horse could not be considered as sound, for
he might not be equal to the whole of the work required of him.

THE PALATE—(nesumep).

At the back of the palate (see p. 111), and attached to the crescent-shaped
border of the palatine bone, is a dense membranous curtain. Its superior and
back surface is a continuation of the lining membrane of the nose, and its
anterior or inferior one that of the palate. It is called the velum palati, or veil
of the palate. It extends as far back as the larynx, and lies upon the dorsum,
of the epiglottis, and is a perfect veil or curtain interposed between the cavities
of the nose and mouth, cutting off all communication between them. Tied by

* Abstract of the Veterinary Medical Association, vol, iv. p. 188
THE LARYNX. 217

its attachment to the palatine bone, it will open but a little way, and that only
in one direction. 1t will permit a pellet of food to pass into the cesophagus; but
it will close when any pressure is made upon it from behind. Two singular facts
necessarily follow from this: the horse breathes through the nostrils alone
and these are capacious and easily expansible to a degree seen in no other
animal, and fully commensurate to the wants of the animal. :

It is also evident that, in the act of vomiting, the contents of the stomach
must be returned through the nostril, and not through the mouth. On this
account it is that the horse can with great difficulty be excited to vomit.
There is a structure at the entrance to the stomach which, except under very
peculiar circumstances, prevents its return to the throat, and consequently to
the mouth.

The muscles of this singular curtain are very intelligibly and correctly
described by Mr. Percivall, in his ‘“‘ Anatomy of the Horse,” to which the
reader is referred. The same remark is applicable to a very singular and
important bone, and its muscular apparatus, the os hyoides. :

THE LARYNX

Is placed on the top of the windpipe (see 1, p. 111), and is the inner guard of
the lungs if any injurious substance should penetrate so far; it is the main
protection against the passage of food into the respiratory tubes, and it is at the
same time the instrument of veice. In this last character it loses much of its
importance in the quadruped, because in the dumb animal it is a beautiful piece
of mechanism.

Tue Epierortis (see 2, p. 111) is a heart-shaped cartilage, placed at the
extremity of the opening into the windpipe, with its back opposed to the pha-
tynx, so that when a pellet of food passes from the pharynx in its way to the
esophagus, it presses down the epiglottis, and by this means, as already
described, closes the aperture of the larynx, and prevents any portion of the
food from entering it. ‘The food having passed over the epiglottis, from its own
elasticity and that of the membrane at its base, and more particularly the
power of the hyo-epiglotideus muscle, rises again and resumes its former
situation.

Tur Tuyrow Carriuace (see 1, p. 111) occupies almost the whole of the
external part of the larynx, both anteriorly and laterally. It envelopes and
protects all the rest; a point of considerable importance, considering the injury
to which the larynx is exposed, by our system of curbing and tight reining. It
also forms a point of attachment for the insertion of the greater part of the
delicate muscles by which the other cartilages are moved.

The beautiful mechanism of the larynx is governed or worked by a some-
what complicated system of muscles, for a description of which the reader is
referred to the 5th vol. of The Veterinarian, p.447. It is plentifully supplied
with nerves from the respiratory system, and there are also frequent anastomoses
with the motor nerves of the spinal cord. The sole process of respiration is
partly under the control of the will, and the muscles of the larynx concerned
in one stage of it are likewise so, but they also act independently of the will,
for during sleep and unconsciousness the machine continues to work.

The origin of the artery which supplies these parts with blood is sometimes
derived from the main trunk of the carotid, but oftener it is a branch of the
thyroideal artery.

The lining membrane is a continuation of that of the pharynx above and the
trachea below. It is covered with innumerable follicular glands, from whose
mouths there oozes a mucous fluid that moistens and lubricates its surface. It
218 THE TRACHEA OR WINDPIPE.

is possessed of very great sensibility, and its function requires it. It is, as has
been already stated, the inner guard of the lungs, and the larynx must undergo
a multitude of changes of form in order to adapt itself to certain changes in the
act of respiration, and in order to produce the voice. The voice of the horse is,
however, extremely limited, compared with that of the human being; the same
séusibility, therefore, is not required, and exposed as our quadruped slaves are
to absurd and barbarous usage, too great sensibility of any part, and particularly
of this, would be a curse to the animal.

THE TRACHEA OR WINDPIPE.

The course of the inspired air from the larynx to the lungs is now to be
traced, and it will be found to be conveyed through a singularly constructed
tube (6, p. 111), passing along the anterior portion of the neck, and reaching
from the lower edge of the cricoid cartilage (11, p. 111) to the lungs. In the
commencement of its course it is somewhat superficially placed, but as it
descends towards the thorax it becomes gradually deeper, and more concealed.
In order to discharge its functions as an air-tube, it is essential that it should
always be pervious, or, at least, that any obstruction to the process of respiration
should be but momentary. Attached to a part endowed with such extensive
motion as the neck, it is also necessary that it should be flexible. It is com-
posed of cartilage, an exceedingly elastic substance, and at the same time pos-
sessing a certain degree of flexibility.

The windpipe is composed of cartilage, but not of one entire piece, for that
would necessarily be either too thick and firm to be flexible, or if it were suffi-
ciently flexible to accommodate itself to the action of the neck, it would be too
weak to resist even common pressure or injury, and the passage through it
would often be inconveniently or dangerously obstructed. Besides, it is neces-
sary that this tube should occasionally admit of elongation to a considerable
degree. When the neck is extended in the act of grazing or otherwise, the
trachea must be lengthened. ‘

The structure of the cartilage of the windpipe is admirably adapted to effect
every purpose. It is divided into rings, fifty or fifty-two in number, each pos-
sessing sufficient thickness and strength to resist ordinary pressure, and each
constituting a joint with the one above and below, and thus admitting of all the
flexibility that could be required. These rings are connected together by an
interposed fibro-ligamentous substance, extensible, elastic, and yet so strong
that it is scarcely possible to rupture it; and the fibres of that ligament not
running vertically from one to another, and therefore admitting of little more
motion than the rotation of the head, but composed of two layers running
obliquely, and in contrary directions, so as to adapt themselves to every
variety of motion.

These rings are thickest in front, and project circularly, opposing an arch-
like form. There, too, the ligament is widest, in order to admit of the greatest
motion in the direction in which it is most needed, when the head is elevated or
depressed. JLaterally these rings are thinner, because they are, to a great
degree, protected by the surrounding parts; and, posteriorly, they overlap
each other, and the overlapping portions are connected together by a strong
ligamentous substance. This, while it does not impede the motion of the tube,
gives firmness and stability to it. :

Within the trachea is another very curious structure. At the points at
which, posteriorly, the rings begin to bend inwardly, a muscle is found stretch-
ing across the windpipe, dividing the canal into two unequal portions—the
anterior one constituting the proper air-passage, and the posterior one occupied
TRACHEOTOMY. 219

by cellular texture. It is to give additional strength to parts. It is the tie
which prevents the arch from spurring out. In the natural state of the wind-
pipe this muscle is, probably, quiescent ; but when any considerable pressure is
made on the crown of the arch at the upper part by tight reining, or at the
lower by an ill-made collar, or anywhere by brutal or accidental violence, this
muscle contracts, every serious expansion or depression of the arch is prevented,
and the part is preserved from serious injury.

It may also be readily imagined that, when in violent exertion, every part of
the respiratory canal is on the stretch, this band may preserve the windpipe
from injury or laceration. There are many beautiful points in the physiology
of the horse which deserve much greater attention than has hitherto been paid
to them.

The windpipe should project from the neck. It should almost seem asif it were
detached from the neck, for two important reasons: first, that it may easily enter
between the channels of the jaw, so that the horse may be reined up without
suffering inconvenience ; and next, that being more loosely attached to the
neck, it may more readily adapt itself to the changes required than if it were
enveloped by fat, or muscle to a certain degree unyielding: therefore, in every
well-formed neck—and it will be seen in the cut (p. 212)—it is indispensable
that the windpipe should be prominent and loose on the neck. ‘This is not
required in the heavy cart-horse, and we do not often find it, because he is not
so much exposed to those circumstances which will hurry respiration, and
require an enlargement in the size of the principal air-tube.

When the trachea arrives at the thorax, it suddenly alters its form, in order
to adapt itself to the narrow triangular aperture through which it has to pass.
It preserves the same cartilaginous structure ; for if it has not the pressure of
the external muscles, or of accidental violence, to resist, it is exposed to the
pressure of the lungs when they are inflating, and it shares in the pressure of
the diaphragm, and of the intercostal muscles, in the act of expiration. Having
entered the chest, it passes a little to the right, leaving the cesophagus, or gullet,
on the left ; it separates from the dorsal vertebre ; it passes through the dupli-
cature of the mediastinum to the base of the heart, and it divides beneath the
posterior aorta. Its divisions are called the bronchial tubes, and have much to
do with the well-being of the horse.

Its rings remain as perfect as before, but a new portion of cartilage begins to
present itself: it may be traced as high as the tenth ring from the bottom ; it
spreads over the union between the posterior terminations of the rings; it holds
them in closer and firmer connexion with each other; it discharges the duty of
the transverse muscle, which begins here to disappear, and the support of the
cervical and dorsal vertebre ; it prevents the separation of the rings when the
trachea is distended ; it spreads down upon, and defends the commencement of
the bronchial tubes. Some other small plates of cartilage reach a considerable
way down the divisions of the bronchi, and the last ring has a central triangular
projection, which covers and defends the bifurcation of the trachea.

TRACHEOTOMY.

_ The respiratory canal is occasionally obstructed, to an annoying and dangerous
degree. Polypi have been described as occupying the nostrils ; long tumours
have formed in them. Tumours of other kinds have pressed into the pharynx,
The tumour of strangles has, for a while, occupied the passage. The larynx
has been distorted ; the membrane of the windpipe, on the larynx, has been
thickened, and ulcers have formed in one or both, and have been so painful that
the act of breathing was laborious and torturing. In all these cases it has been

‘
220 TRACHEOTOMY OF THE NECK, &c.

anxiously inquired whether there might not be established an artificial opening
for the passage of the air, when the natural one could no longer be used 3 and
it has heen ascertained that it is both a simple and safe operation, to excise a
portion of the trachea, on or below the point of obstruction. :

The operation must be performed while the horse is standing, and secured by
a side-line, for he would, probably, be suffocated amidst the struggles with
which he would resist the act of throwing. The twitch is then firmly fixed on
the muzzle ; the operator stands on a stool or pail, by which means he can more
perfectly command the part, and an assistant holds a scalpel, a bistoury, scissors,
curved needles armed, and a moist sponge.

The operator should once more examine the whole course of the windpipe,and
the different sounds which he will be able to detect by the application of the
ear, and likewise the different degrees of temperature and of tenderness which
the finger will detect, will guide to the seat of the evil.

The hair is to be closely cut off from the part, the skin tightened across the
trachea with the thumb and fingers of the left hand, and then a longitudinal
incision cautiously made through the skin, three inches in length. This is
usually effected when there is no express indication to the contrary on the fifth
and sixth rings; a slip from which, and the connecting ligament above and
below, about half the width of each ring, should be excised with the intervening
ligament. The remaining portion will then be strong enough to retain the per-
fect arched form of the trachea.

If the orifice is only to be kept open while some foreign body is extracted,
or tumour removed, or ulcer healed, or inflammation subdued, nothing more
is necessary than to keep the lips of the wound a little apart, by passing some
thread through each, and slightly everting them, and tying the threads to the
mane.

If, however, there is any permanent obstruction, a tube will be necessary. It
should be two or three inches long, curved at the top, and the external orifice
turning downwards with a little ring on each side, by which, through the means
of tubes, it may be retained in its situation.

The purpose of the operation being answered, the flaps of integument must be
brought over the wound, the edges, if necessary, diminished, and the parts kept
in apposition by a few stitches, ‘The cartilage will be perfectly reproduced,
only the rings will be a little thicker and wider.

The following account will illustrate the use and the danger of the tracheo-
tomy tube. A mare at Alfort had great distortion of the rings of the trachea.
She breathed with difficulty. She became a roarer almost to suffocation, and
was quite useless. Tracheotomy was effected on the distorted rings, and a
short canula introduced. She was so much relieved that she trotted and
galloped immediately afterwards without the slighest distress. Six months
later she again began to roar. It seemed that the rings were now distorted
below the former place.

M. Barthélemy introduced another canula, seven inches long, and which
reached below the new distortion. She was once more relieved. She speedily
improved in condition, and regularly drew a cabriolet at the rate of seven or
eight miles in the hour ; and this she continued to do for three years, when the

canula became accidentally displaced in the night, and she was found dead in
the morning.

THE BRONCHIAL TUBES,

The windpipe has been traced through its course down the neck into the
chest. It is there continued through the mediastinum to the base of the heart,
and then divided into two tubes corresponding with the two divisions of the
THE CHEST, 22}

Iungs—the Broncuiat Tuzsrs. These trunks unter deeply into the substanca
ot the lungs. They presently subdivide, and the subdivision is continued in
every direction, until branches from the trachea penetrate every assignable por-
tion and part of the lungs. They are still air-passages, carrying on this fluid to
its destination, for the accomplishment ofa vital purpose.

They also continue exposed to pressure; but it is pressure of a new kind, a
pressure alternately applied and removed. The lungs in which they ane
embedded alternately contract and expand; and these tubes must contract and
expand likewise. Embedded in the lungs, the cartilaginous ring of the bronchi
remains, but it is divided into five or six segments connected with each other.
The lungs being compressed, the segments overlap each other, and fold up and
occupy little space ; but the principle of elasticity is still at work ; andas the
pressure is removed, they start again, and resume their previous form and
calibre. It is a beautiful contrivance, and exquisitely adapted to the situation
in which these tubes are placed, and the functions they have to discharge.

oe we must pause a little and consider the structure and functions of the
chest.

 

 

CHAPTER X,
THE CHEST.

UY
NW

Sat ennaai
2) FLOP RRS Bae
J

b The cartilages of the eleven hindermost, or false ribs, connected together, and uniting with
that of the seventh or last ¢rue rib.

e The breast-bone.
d The top, or point, of the withers, which are formed by the lengthened spinous, or upright

processes of the ten or eleven first bones of the back. The bones of the back are

eighteen in number.
e The ribs, usually eighteen on each side; the seven first united to the breast-bone by car-

tilage ; the cartilages of the remaining eleven united to each other, ae at 5.
f That portion of the spine where the loins commence, and composed of five bones.
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 belonging to the haunch, and consisting of five pieces.

i The bones of the tail, usually thirteen in number.

Tu chest, in the horizontal position in which it is placed in the cut, is of a
somewhat oval figure, with its extremities truncated. The spine is its roof;
the sternum, or breast, its floor ; the ribs, its sides; the trachea, cesophagus,
and great blood-vessels passing through its anterior extremity and the

   
222 THE CHEST,

diaphragm, being its posterior. It is contracted in front, broad and deep towards
the central boundary, and again contracted posteriorly. It encloses the heart
and the lungs, the origin of the arterial, and the termination of the venous
trunks and the collected vessels of the absorbents. The windpipe penetrates
into it, and the cesophagus traverses its whole extent.

A cavity whose contents are thus important should be securely defended.
The roof is not composed of one unyielding prolongation of bone, which might
possibly have been strong enough, yet would have subjected it to a thousand
rude and dangerous shocks ; but there is a curiously-contrived series of bones,
knit together by strong ligaments and dense cartilaginous substance, forming so
many joints, each possessed but of little individual motion, but the whole united
and constituting a column of such exquisitely-contrived flexibility and strength,
that all concussion is avoided, and no external violence or weight can injure
that which it protects. It is supported chiefly by the anterior extremities, and
beautiful are the contrivanees adopted to prevent injurious connexion. There is.
no inflexible bony union between the shoulders and the chest; but while the
spine is formed to neutralise much of the concussion that might be received—
while the elastic connexions between the vertebre of the back, alternately
affording a yielding resistance to the shock, and regaining their natural situa-
tion when the external force is removed, go far, by this playful motion, to
render harmless the rudest motion—there isa provision made by the attachment
of the shoulder-blade to the chest calculated to prevent the possibility of any
rude concussion reaching the thorax*.

At the shoulder is a muscle of immense strength, and tendinous elastic com-
position, the serratus major, spreading over the internal surface of the shoulder-
blade and a portion of the chest. A spring of easier play could not have been
attached to the carriage of any invalid. It is a carriage hung by sprizgs
between the scapule, and a delightful one it is for easy travelling ; while there
is combined with it, and the union is not a little difficult, strength enough to
resist the jolting of the roughest road and the most rapid pace.

Laterally there is sufficient defence against all common injury by the expan-
sion of the shoulder over the chest from between the first and second to the
seventh rib ; and behind and below that there is the bony structure of the ribs, of
no little strength ; and their arched form, although a flattened arch; and the
yielding motion at the base of each rib, resulting from its jointed connexion
with the spine above and its cartilaginous union with the sternum below.

A still more important consideration with regard to the parietes of the thorax
is the manner in which they can adapt themselves to the changing bulk of the
contents of the cavity. The capacity of the chest is little affected by the
external contraction and dilatation of the heart, for when its ventricles are
collapsed its auricles are distended, and when its auricles are compressed its
ventricles expand ; but with regard to the lungs it is a very different affair. In
their state of collapse and expansion they vary in comparative bulk, one-sixth
part or more, and, in either state, it is necessary for the proper discharge of the
function of respiration that the parietes of the chest should be in contact with
them.

The ribs are eighteen in number on either side. Nine of them ure perfect,

* “Hfad,”’ says Mr. Percival, “ the entire
rib been one solid piece of bone, « violent
blow might have broken it to pieces. On the
other hand, had the ribs been composed from
end to end of cartilage only, the form of the
arch could not have been sustained, but, sooner
or later, it must have bent inward, and so have
encroached upon the cavity of the chest as to

have compressed the organs of respiration and
circulation to that degree that could not but
have ended'in suffocation and death of the
animal. It was only the judicious and well-
arranged combination of bone and gristle in
the construction of the chest that could answer
the ends an all-wise Providence had in view.”
— Veterinarian, vol. xv. p. 184.
THE CHEST. 923

and commonly called the ¢rue, or, more properly, sternal ribs, extending from
the spine to the sternum. The remaining nine are posterior and shorter, and are
only indirectly connected with the sternum.

The ribs are united to the corresponding vertebra or bones of the spine, so aa
to form perfect joints—or, rather, each rib forms two joints. Thé head of the
rib is received between the vertebra and bones of the spine, before and behind,
so that it shall always present two articulating surfaces, one opposed to the ver-
tebra immediately before, and the other to that immediately behind, and both
forming one joint, with a perfect capsular ligament, and admitting of a rotatory
motion. The head of the rib seems to be received into the cartilaginous liga-
mentous substance between the vertebra. Nothing could be more admirably
devised for motion, so far as it is required, and for strength of union, that can
scarcely be broken.

Before the ribs reach the sternum, they terminate in a cartilaginous prolonga-
tion, or the lower part of the rib may be said to be cartilaginous. There is
between the bony part and this cartilage a joint with a true capsular ligament,
and admitting of a certain degree of motion ; and where it unites with the ster-
num there is a fourth joint, with a perfect and complete capsular ligament,

The cartilage of the posterior ribs are united to the bony portion by a kind
of joint. They are not, however, prolonged so far as the sternum; but the
extremity of one lies upon the body of that which is immediately before it,
bound down upon it by a cellular substance approaching to the nature of liga-
ment, yet each having some separate motion, and all of them connected indi-
rectly with the sternum by means of the last sternal rib. It is an admirable
contrivance to preserve the requisite motion which must attend every act of
breathing, every extension and contraction of the chest, with a degree of
strength which scarcely any accident can break through.

The sternum, or breast-bone, is more complicated than it at first appears to be.
It constitutes the floor of the chest, and is a long flat spongy bone, fixed between
the ribs on either side, articulating with these cartilages, and serving as a point
of support to them. It is composed of from seven to nine pieces, united together
by cartilage ; and whatever changes may take place in other parts of the frame,
this cartilage is not converted to bone even in extreme old age, although there
may, possibly, be some spots of ossific matter found in it.

The point of the breast-bone may be occasionally injured by blows or by the
pressure of the collar. It has been, by brutal violence, completely broken off
from the sternum; but oftener, and that from some cruel usage, a kind of
tumour has been formed on the point of it, which has occasionally ulcerated, and
proved very difficult to heal.

The front of the chest is a very important consideration in the structure of
the horse. It should be prominent and broad, and full, and the sides of it well
occupied. When the breast is narrow, the chest has generally the same appear-
ance: the animal is flat-sided, the proper cavity of the chest is diminished, and
the stamina of the horse are materially diminished, although, perhaps, his speed
for short distances may not be affected. When the chest is narrow and the fore
legs are too close together, in addition to the want of bottom they will
interfere with each other, and there will be wounds on the fetlocks, and bruises
below the knee.

Achest too broad is not desirable, but a fleshy and a prominent one ; yet even
this, perhaps, may require some explanation. When the fore legs appear to
recede and to shelter themselves under the body, there is a faulty position of the
fore limbs, a bend or standing over, an unnatural lengthiness about the fore parts
of the breast, sadly disadvantageous in progression.

There is also a posterior appendix to the sternum, which is also cartilaginous
224 THE CHEST.

It is called the ensiform cartilage, although it bears little resemblance to a
sword. It is flat and flexible, yet strong, and serves as the commencement of
the floor or support of the abdomen. It also gives insertion to some of the
abdominal muscles, and more conveniently than it could have been obtained
from the body of the sternum.

The intercostal muscles.—The borders of the ribs are anteriorly concave, thin
and sharp—posteriorly rounded, and presenting underneath a longitudinal
depression or channel, in which run both blood-vessels and nerves. The space
between them is occupied by muscular substance firmly attached to the borders
of the ribs. These muscles are singularly distributed ; their fibres cross each
each other in the form of an X. There is a manifest advantage in this, If the
fibres ran straight across from rib to rib, they might act powerfully, but their
action would be exceedingly limited. A short muscle can contract but a little
way, and only a slight change of form or dimension can be produced. By
running diagonally from rib to rib, these muscles are double the length they
could otherwise have been. It is a general rule with regard to muscular action,
that the power of the muscle depends on its bulk, and the extent of its action on
its length.

The ribs, while they protect the important viscera of the thorax from injury,
are powerful agents in extending and contracting the chest in the alternate
inspiration and expiration of air. In what proportion they discharge the labour
of respiration is a disputed question, and into the consideration of which we
cannot enter until something is known of the grand respiratory muscle, the dia-
phragm. Thus far, however, may be said, that they are not inactive in natural
respiration, although they certainly act only a secondary part ; but in hurried
respiration, and when the demand for arterialised blood is increased by violent
exertion, they are valuable and powerful auxiliaries.

This leads to a very important consideration, the most advantageous form of
the chest for the proper discharge of the natural or extraordinary functions of
the thoracic viscera. The contents of the chest are the lungs and the heart :—
the first, to render the blood nutrient and stimulating, and to give or restore to
it that vitality which will enable it to support every part of the frame in the
discharge of its function, and devoid of which the complicated and beautiful
machine is inert and dead; and the second, to convey this purified arterialised
blood to every part of the frame.

In order to produce and to convey to the various parts a sufficient quantity of
blood, these organs must be large. If it amounts not to hypertrophy, the larger
the heart and the larger the lungs, the more rapid the process of nutrition, and
the more perfect the discharge of every animal function.

Then it might be imagined that, asa circle is a figure which contains more
than any other of equal girth and admeasurement, a circular form of the chest
would be most advantageous. Not exactly so; for the contents of the chest are
alternately expanding and contracting. The circular chest could not expand,
but every change of form would be a diminution of capacity.

That form of chest which approaches nearest to a circle, while it admits of
sufficient expansion and contraction, is the best—certainly for some animals,
and for all under peculiar circumstances, and with reference to the discharge of
certain functions. This was the grand principle on which Mr. Bakewell pro-
ceeded, and on which all our improvements in the breeding of cattle were
founded.

The principle holds good with regard to some breeds of horses. We value
the heavy draught-horse not only on account of his simple muscular power, but
the weight which, by means of that power, he is able to throw into the collar.
A light horse may be preferable for light draught, but we must oppose weight
THE CHEST. 225

to weight when our loads are heavy. In the dray-horse we prize this circular
chest, not only that he may be proportionably heavier before—to him no disad-
vantage—but that, by means of the increased capacity of his chest, he may
obtain the bulk and size which best fit him for our service. But he would not
do for speed—he would not do for ordinary quick exertion, and if he were
pushed far beyond his pace, he would become broken-winded, or have inflamed
lungs.

Some of our saddle-horses and cobs have barrels round enough, and we value
them on account of it, for they are always in condition, and they rarely tire.
But when we look at them more carefally, there is just that departure from the
circular form of which mention has been made—that happy medium between
the circle and the ellipse, which retains the capacity of the one and the expan-~
sibility of the other. Such a horse is invaluable for common purposes, but he is
seldom a horse of speed. If he is permitted to go ‘his own pace, and that not a
slow one, he will work on for ever ; but if he is too much hurried, he is soon
distressed.

The Broud Deep Chest.—Then for the usual purposes of the road, and more
particularly for rapid progression, search is made for that form of the chest
which shall unite, and to as great a degree as possible, considerable capacity in
a quiescent state, and the power of increasing that capacity when the animal
requires it, There must be the broad chest for the production of muscles and
sinews, and the deep chest, to give the capacity or power of furnishing arterial
blood equal to the most rapid exhaustion of vitality.

This form of the chest is consistent with lightness, or at least with all the
lightness that can be rationally required. The broad-chested horse, or he that,
with moderate depth at the girth, swells and barrels out immediately behind
the elbow, may have as light a forehand and as elevated a wither as the horse
with the narrowest chest; but the animal with the barrel approaching too
near to rotundity is invariably heavy about the shoulders and low in the
withers. It is to the mixture of the Arabian blood that we principally owe this
peculiar and advantageous formation of the chest of the horse. The Arab is
light ; some would say tco much so before: but immediately behind the arms
the barrel almost invariably swells out, and leaves plenty of room, and where it
is most wanted for the play of the lungs, and at the same time where the
weight does not press so exclusively on the fore-legs, and expose the feet to con-
cussion and injury.

Many horses with narrow chests, and a great deal of daylight under them,
have plenty of spirit and willingness for work. They show themselves well off,
and exhibit the address and gratify the vanity of their riders on the parade or in
the park, but they have not the appetite nor the endurance that will carry
them through three successive days’ hard work.

Five out of six of the animals that perish from inflamed lungs are narrow-
chested, and it might be safely affirmed that the far greater part of those
who are lost in the field after a hard ‘day’s run, have been horses whose
training has been neglected, or who have no room for the lungs to expand.
The most important of all points in the conformation of the horse is here eluci-
dated. An elevated wither, or oblique shoulder, or powerful quarters, are great
advantages ; but that which is most of all connected with the general health
of the animal, and with combined fleetness or bottom, is a deep, and broad,
and swelling chest, with sufficient lengthening of the sternum, or breast-bone,
beneath, .

If a chest that cannot expand with the increasing expansion and labour of
the lungs is so serious a detriment to the horse, everything that interferes with
the action of thé intercostal muscles is carefully to be avoided. Tight girthing

Q
226 THE SPINE AND BACK.

ranks among these, and foremost among them. The closeness with which the
roller is buckled on in the stable must be a serious inconvenience to the horse ;
and the partially depriving these muscles of their power of action, for so many
hours in every day, must indispose them for labour when quicker and fuller
respiration is required. At all events, a tight girth, though an almost neces-
sary nuisance, is a very considerable one, when all the exertion of which he is
capable is required from the horse. Who has not perceived the address with
which, by bellying out the chest, the old horse renders every attempt to girth
him tight comparatively useless; and when a horse is blown, what immediate
relief has ungirthing him afforded, by permitting the intercostals to act with
greater power? ~

A point of consequence regarding the capacity of the chest, is the length or
shortness of the carcase; or the extent of the ribs from the elbow backward.
Some horses are what is called ribbed home ; there is but little space (see cuts
pp. 108 and 221) between the last rib and the hip-bone. In others the distance
is considerably greater, and is plainly evident by the falling in of the flank. The
question then is, what service is required from the horse? If he has to carry
a heavy weight, and has much work to do, he should be ribbed home,—the
last rib and the hip-bone should not be far from each other. There is more
capacity of chest and of belly—there is less distance between the points of
support—and greater strength and endurance. A hackney (and we would
almost say a hunter) can scarcely be too well ribbed home.

If speed, however, is required, there must be room for the full action of the
hinder limbs ; and this can only exist where there is sufficient space between
the last rib and the hip-bone. The owner of the horse must make up his mind
as to what he wants from him, and be satisfied if he obtains that; for, let
him be assured that he cannot have everything, for this would require those
differences of conformation that cannot possibly exist in the same animal.

The thorax, or chest, is formed by the spine f, above (p. 241) ; the ribs e, on
either side ; and the sternum, or breast-bone, c, beneath.

THE SPINE AND BACK.

The spine, or back, consists of a chain of bones from the poll to the
extremity of the tail. It is made up of twenty-three bones from the neck to
the haunch; eighteen, called dorsal vertebre, composing the back; and five
lumbar vertebre, occupying the loins. On this part of the animal the weight
or burden is laid, and there are two things to be principally considered, easiness
of carriage and strength. If the back were composed of unyielding materials—
if it resembled a bar of wood or iron, much jarring or jolting, in the rapid motion
of the animal, could not possibly be endured. In order to avoid this, as well as
to assist in turning, the back is divided into numerous bones; and between each
pair of bones there is interposed a cartilaginous substance, most highly elastic,
that will yield and give way to every jar, not so much as to occasion insecurity
between the bones, or to permit considerable motion between any one pair, but
forming altogether an aggregate mass of such perfect elasticity, that the rider
sits almost undisturbed, however high may be the action, or however rapid the
pace.

Strength is as important as ease; therefore these bones are united together
with peculiar firmness. The round head of one is exactly fitted to the cup or
cavity of that immediately before it; and between them is placed the elastic
ligaqentous substance, which has been just described, so strong, that in endea-
vouring to separate the bones of the back, they will break before this sub-
stance will give way. In addition to this there are ligaments running along the
broad under surface of these bones—ligaments between each of the transverse
THE SPINE AND BACK. 227

processes, or side projections of the bones—ligaments between the spinous
processes or upright projections, and also a continuation of the strong ligament
of the neck running along the whole course of the back and loins, lengthening
and contracting, as in the neck, with the motions of the animal, and forming a
powerful bond of union between the bones.

By these means the hunter will carry a heavy man without fatigue or
strain through a long chase ; and those shocks and jars are avoided which would
be annoying to the rider, and injurious and speedily fatal to the horse.

These provisions, however, although adequate to common or even severe
exertion, will not protect the animal from the consequences of brutal usage ;
and, therefore, if the horse is much overweighted, or violently exercised, or too
suddenly pulled upon his haunches, these ligaments are strained. Inflamma-
tion follows. The ligaments become changed to bone, and the joints of the
back lose their springiness and ease of motion ; or rather, in point of fact, they
cease to exist. On account of the too hard service required from them, and
especially before they had gained their full strength, there are few old horses
who have not some of the bones of the back or loins anchylosed—aunited together
by bony matter and not by ligament. When this exists to any considerable
extent the horse is not pleasant to ride—he turns with difficulty in his stall—he
is unwilling to lie down, and when down to rise again, and he has a singular
straddling action. Such horses are said to be broken-backed or chinked in the
chine.

Fracture of the bones of the back rarely occurs, on account of their being so
strongly united by ligaments, and defended by muscular substance. If a
fracture of these bones does happen, it is during the violent struggles after the
horse has been cast for an operation.

The length of the back is an important consideration. A long-backed horse
will be easy in his paces, because the increased distance between the fore and
hind legs, which are the supports of the spine, will afford greater room for the
play of the joints of the back. A long spring has much more play than a short
one and will better obviate concussion. A long-backed horse is likewise
formed for speed, for there is room to bring his hinder legs more under
him in the act of gallopping, and thus more powerfully propel or drive forward
the body: but, on the other hand, a long-backed horse will be comparatively
weak in the back, and easily overweighted. A long spring may be easily
bent or broken. The weight of the rider, likewise, placed farther from the
extremities, will act with mechanical disadvantage upon them, and be more
likely to strain them. A short-backed horse may be a good hackney, and able
to carry the heaviest weight, and possess great endurance ; but his paces will
not be so easy, nor his speed so great, and he may be apt to overreach.

The comparative advantage of a long or short carcase depends entirely on
the use for which the horse is intended. For general purposes the horse with a
short carcase is very properly preferred. He will possess health and strength ; for
horses of this make are proverbially hardy. He will have sufficient easiness of
action not to fatigue the rider, and speed for every ordinary purpose. Length
of back will always be desirable when there is more than usual substance
generally, and particularly when the loins are wide, and the muscles of the
loins large and swelling. The two requisites, strength and speed, will then
probably be united.

The back should be depressed a little immediately behind the withers ; and
then continue in an almost straight line to the loins. This is the form most
consistent with beauty and strength. Some horses have a very considerable
hollow behind the withers. They are said to be saddle-backed. It seems as 1f
a depression were purposely made for the saddle. Such horses are evidently

Q2
228 THE LOINS AND WITHERS.

easy goers, for this curve inward must necessarily increase the play of the
joints of the back: but in the same proportion they are weak and liable tc
sprain, To the general appearance of the horse, this defect is not in any great
degree injurious ; for the hollow of the back is uniformly accompanied by a
peautifully arched crest.

A few horses have the curve outward. They are said to be roach-backed,
from the supposed resemblance to the arched back of aroach. This is a very
serious defect ;—altogether incompatible with beauty, and materially diminish-
ing the usefulness of the animal. It is almost impossible to prevent the saddle
from being thrown on the shoulders, or the back from being galled ;—the elas-
ticity of the spine is destroyed ;—the rump is badly set on ;—the hinder legs
are too much under the animal ;—he is continually overreaching, and his head
is carried awkwardly low.

THE LOINS.

The loins are attentively examined by every good horseman. ‘I'hey can
scarcely be too broad and muscular. The strength of the back, and, especially,
the strength of the hinder extremities, will depend materially on this. The
breadth of the loins is regulated by the length of the transverse or side pro-
cesses of that part. The bodies of the bones of the loins are likewise larger
than those of the back; and a more dove-tailed kind of union subsists between
these bones than between those of the back. Every provision is made for
strength here. The union of the back and loins should be carefully observed,
for there is sometimes a depression between them. A kind of line is drawn across,
which shows imperfection in the construction of the spine, and is regarded as
an indication of weakness.

THE WITHERS.

The spinous or upright processes of the dorsal vertebre, or bones of the
back, above the upper part of the shoulder, are as remarkable for their length
as are the transverse or side processes of the bones of the loins. They are
flattened and terminated by rough blunted extremities. The elevated ridge
which they form is called the withers. It will be seen in the cuts (pp. 108 and
221), that the spine of the first bone of the back has but little elevation, and
is sharp and upright. The second is longer and inclined backward; the third
and fourth increase in length, and the fifth is the longest 3——they then gradually
shorten until the twelfth or thirteenth, which becomes level with the bones of
the loins.

High withers have been always, in the mind of the judge of the horse,
associated with good action, and generally with speed. The reason is plain
enough :—they afford larger surface for the attachment of the muscles of the
back ; and in proportion to the elevation of the withers, these muscles act with
greater advantage. The rising of the fore parts of the horse, even in the trot,
and more especially in the gallop, depends not merely on the action of the
muscles of the legs and shoulders, but on those of the loins, inserted into the
spinous processes of these bones of the back, and acting with greater power in
proportion as these processes, constituting the withers, are lengthened. ‘The
arm of the lever to which the power is applied will be longer; and in
proportion to the length of this arm will be the ease and the height to which
a weight is raised. Therefore good and high action will depend much on
elevated withers.

It is not difficult to understand how speed will likewise be promoted by the
same conformation. The power of the horse is in his hinder quarters. In
them lies the main spring of the frame, and the fore-quarters are chiefl y cle-
MUSCLES OF THE BACK. 229

vated and thrown forward to receive the weight forced on them by the action
of the hinder quarters. In proportion, however, as the fore-quarters are
elevated, will they be thrown farther forward, or, in other words, will the
stride of the horse be lengthened. Yet many racers have the forehand low.
The unrivalled Eclipse (see p. 69) was a remarkable instance of this; but
the ample and finely proportioned quarters, and the muscularity of the thigh
and fore-arm, rendered the aid to be derived from the withers perfectly unne-
cessary. ‘The heavy draught-horse does not require elevated withers. His
utility depends on the power of depressing his fore-quarters, and throwing their
weight fully into the collar; but for common work in the hackney, in the
farmer’s horse, and in the hunter, well-formed withers will be an essentiat
advantage, as contributing to good and safe action, and likewise to speed.

MUSCLES OF THE BACK.

The most important muscles which belong to this part of the frame are
principally those which extend from the continuation of the ligament of the
neck, along the whole of the back and loins; and likewise from the last cer-
vical bone ;—the superficialis and transversalis costarum, or superficial and
transverse muscles of the ribs, going from this ligament to the upper part of
the ribs to elevate them, and to assist in the expansion of the chest; also the
large mass of muscle, the longissimus dorsi, or longest muscle of the back, froin
the spinous and transverse processes of the vertebra to the ribs, and by which
all the motions of the spine, and back, and loins, to which allusion has been
made, are principally produced ; by which the fore-quarters are raised upon
the hind ones, or the hind upon the fore ones, according as either of them is
the fixed point. This is the principal agent in rearing and kicking.

The last muscle to be noticed is the spinalis dorsi, the spinal muscle of the
back, from the spinous processes of some of the last bones of the back to those
of the fore part ;—thick and strong about the withers, and broadly attached to
them; and more powerfully attached, and more strongly acting in proportion
to the elevation of the withers; and proceeding on to the three lowest bones of
the neck, and therefore mainly concerned, as already described, in elevating
the fore-quarters, and producing high and safe action, and contributing to speed.

Before the roof of the chest is left, some accidents or diseases to which it is
exposed must be mentioned. The first is of a very serious nature.

FISTULOUS WITHERS.

When the saddle has been suffered to press long upon the withers, a tumour
will be formed, hot and exceedingly tender. It may sometimes be dispersed
by the cooling applications recommended in the treatment of poll-evil; but
if, in despite of these, the swelling should remain stationary, and espe-
cially if it should become larger and more tender, warm fomentations and
poultices, and stimulating embrocations should be diligently applied, in order to
hasten the formation of pus. As soon as that can be fairly detected, a
seton should be passed from the top to the bottom of the tumour, so that, the
whole of the matter may be evacuated, and continue to be discharged as it is
afterwards formed; or the knife may be freely used, in order to get at the
bottom of every sinus. The knife has succeeded many a time when the seton
has failed. The after treatment must be precisely that which was recommended
for a similar disease in the poll.

In neglected fistulous withers the ulcer may be larger and deeper, and more
destructive than in poll-evil. It may burrow beneath the shoulder-blade, and
the pus appear at the point of the shoulder or the elbow ; or the bones of the

withers may become carious.
230 THE CHEST.

Very great improvement has taken place in the construction of saddles for
common use and in the cavalry service. Certain rules have now been laid
down from which the saddler should never deviate, and attending to which
the animal is saved from much suffering, and the mechanic from deserved

Ti .
Ene fit rule in the fitting of the saddle is, that it should bear upon the
back, and not on the spine or the withers, for these are parts that will not endure
ressure,
2 Next in universal application is the understanding that the saddle should
have everywhere an equal bearing, neither tilting forward upon the points nor
backward upon the seat. .

When the saddle is on, and the girths fastened, there should remain space
sufficient between the withers and the pommel for the introduction of the hand
underneath the latter. [ Seis

The points of the tree should clip or embrace the sides without pinching
them, or so standing outward that the pressure is all downwards, and upon one
place, instead of being in a direction inwards as well as downwards, so as to be
distributed uniformly over every part of the point that touches the side. Horses
that have low and thick withers are most likely to have them injured, in con-
sequence of the continual riding forward of the saddle, and its consequent
pressure upon them. Fleshy and fat shoulders and sides are also subject to
become hurt by the points of the trees either pinching them from being too
narrow in the arch, or from the bearing being directly downward upon them.

Injury occasionally results from the interruption which a too forward saddle
presents to the working or motion of the shoulder, and the consequent friction
the soft parts sustain between the shoulder-blade inwardly, and the points of the
saddle tree outwardly *.

WARBLES, SITFASTS, AND SADDLE GALLS.

On other parts of the back tumours and very troublesome ulcers may be
produced by the same cause. Those resulting from the pressure of the saddle
are called warbles, and, when they ulcerate, they frequently become sitfasts.
Warbles are small circular bruises, or extravasations of blood, where there has
been an undue pressure of the saddle or harness. If a horse is subject to these
tumours, the saddle should remain on him two or three hours after he has
returned to the stable. It is only for-acertain time, however, that this will per-
fectly succeed, for by the frequent application of the pressure the skin and the
cellular substance are bruised or otherwise injured and a permanent sore
or tumour, of a very annoying description, takes place. The centre of the sore
gradually loses its vitality. A Separation takes place from the surrounding
integument, and there is a circular piece of dried and hard skin remaining in
the centre. This is curiously called a navel gall, because it is opposite to the
navel. No effort must be made to tear or dissect it off, but stimulating poul-
tices or fomentations, or, if these fail, a mild blister, will cause a speedy separa-
tion ; and the wound will then readily heal by the use of turpentine dressings,
more or less stimulating, according to circumstances.

Saddle galls are tumours, and sometimes galls or sores, arising also from the
pressure and chafing of the saddle. They differ little from the warble, except
that there is very seldom the separation of the dead part in the centre, and the
sore is larger and varying in its form. The application of cold water, or salt
and water, will generally remove excoriations of this kind.

With regard, however, to all these tumours and excoriations, the humane man

* Percivall’s Hippopathology, vol. i., p. 199,
CHEST-FOUNDER, 231

will have the saddle eased and padded as soon as it begi
inconvenience to the horse. SS eat

MUSCLES OF THE BREAST.

There are some important muscles attached to the breast connected with that
expansion of the chest which every horse should possess. In the cut page 212
are seen a very important pair of muscles, the pectorales transversi an pectoral
muscles, forming two promtinences in the front of the chest, and extending back-
ward between the legs. They come from the fore and upper part of the breast-
bone ; pass across the inward part of the arm, and reach from the elbow almost
down to the knee. They confine the arm to the side in the rapid motion of
the horse, and prevent him from being, what horsemen would call and what
is seen in a horse pushed beyond his natural power, “all abroad.” Other
muscles, pectorales magni et parvi, the great and little pectorals, rather above.
but behind these, go from the breast-bone to the arm, in order to draw back
the point of the shoulder, and bring it upright. Another and smaller muscle
goes from the breast-bone to the shoulder, to assist in the same office. A horse.
therefore, thin and narrow in the breast, must be deficient in important
muscular power.

Between the legs and along the breast-bone is the proper place in which to
insert rowels, in cases of inflamed lungs.

CHEST-FOUNDER.

These muscles are occasionally the seat ofa singular and somewhat mysterious
disease. The old farriers used to call it anticor and chest-founder. The horse
has considerable stiffness in moving, evidently not referable to the feet. There
is tenderness about the muscles of the breast, and, occasionally, swelling. We
believe it to be nothing more than rheumatism, produced by suffering the horse
to remain too long tied up, and exposed to the cold, or riding him against a-
very bleak wind. Sometimes a considerable degree of fever accompanies this ;
but bleeding, physic, a rowel in the chest, warm embrocations over the parts
affected, warm stabling, and warm clothing, with occasional doses of antimonial
powder, will soon subdue the complaint.

CHAPTER XI.
THE CONTENTS OF THE CHEST.

—<+
THE THYMUS GLAND.

Ar the entrance of the trachea into the thorax, and ere it has scarcely pene-
trated between the first ribs in the young subject, it comes in contact with an
irregular glandular body, situated in the doubling of the anterior mediastinum.
lt is “ the thymus gland,” or, in vulgar language, the sweet-bread. In the
early period of utero-gestation, it is of very inconsiderable bulk, and confined
mostly to the chest; but, during the latter months, it strangely developes
itself,—the superior cornua protrude out of the thorax and climb up the neck,
between the carotids and the trachea, They are evidently connected with the

thymus gland, and become parts and portions of the parotid glands.

We are indebted to Sir Astley Cooper for the best account of the anatomical
232 THE CONTENTS OF THE CHEST.

structure, and possible function of the thymus gland. It presents, on being cut
into, a great number of small cavities, in which the abundant white fluid of the
gland is in part contained. From those cavities the fluid is transmitted into a
general reservoir, which forms a common connecting cavity, and is lined by a
delicate membrane. Sir Astley, and in this he is supported by Professor Miller,
believes that a peculiar albuminous fluid is conveyed by the thymus gland to
the veins, through the medium of the lymphatics. It has nothing to do with
the formation of the blood, in the fcetus or the child.

These two eminent physiologists exert the better part of discretion, by
declining to give any hypothesis of its function beyond this, that it supplies
the lymphatics with an albuminous fluid. : :

This gland continues to grow for some time after birth, and remains of con-
siderable size during the first year; it then gradually diminishes, and, about
the period of puberty, usually disappears. It has, however, been found ina
mare between five and six years old.

THE DIAPHRAGM.

Bounding the thorax posteriorly,—the base of the cone in the human sub-
ject,—the interposed curtain between the thorax and the abdomen in the horse,
is the diaphragm. It is an irregular muscular expansion, proceeding from the
inferior surface of the lumbar vertebrw posteriorly and superiorly, adhering to
the ribs on either side, and extending obliquely forward and downward to the
sternum ; or, rather it isa flattened muscle arising from all these points, with
its fibres all converging towards the centre, and terminating there in an expan-
sion of tendinous substance. It is lined anteriorly by the pleura or investing
membrane of the thoracic cavity, and posteriorly by the peritoneum or invest-
ing membrane of the abdominal cavity.

Anatomy of the Diaphragm.—In the short account which it is purposed to
give of the structure of the diaphragm, the description of Mr. Percivall will
be closely followed. ‘“ The diaphragm may be divided into the main circular
muscle, with its central tendinous expansion forming the lower part, and two
appendices, or crura, as they are called, from their peculiar shape, constituting
its superior portion. The fleshy origin of the grand muscle may be traced
laterally and inferiorly, commencing from the cartilage of the eighth rib ante-
riorly, and closely following the union of the posterior ribs with their cartilages ;
excepting, however, the two last. The attachment is peculiarly strong, it is
denticulated ; it encircles the whole of the lateral and inferior part of the chest,
as far as the sternum, where it is connected with the ensiform cartilage. Imme-
diately under the loins are the appendices of the diaphragm, commencing on
the right side, from the inferior surfaces of the five first lumbar vertebra, by
strong tendons, which soon become muscular, and form a kind of pillar; and,
on the left, proceeding from the two first lumbar vertebre only, and from the
sides rather than the bodies of these vertebra, and these also unite and form
a shorter pillar, or leg. The left crus or appendix is shorter than the right,
that it may he more out of the way of pressure from the left curvature of the
stomach, which, with the spleen, lies underneath. Opposite to the 17th dorsal
vertebra, these two pillars unite and form a thick mass of muscles, detached
from the vertebra, and leaving a kind of pouch between them and the ver-
tebra. The. not only unite, but they decussate : their fibres mingle and again
separate from each other, and then proceed onward to the central tendinous
expansion towards which the fibres from the circular muscle, and the appen-
dices, all converge.” :

The diaphragm is the main agent, both in ordinary and extraordinary respira-
tion ; it assists also in the expulsion of the urine, and it is a most powerful auxi-
THE DIAPHRAGM. 233

liary in the act of parturition. In its quiescent state, it presents its convex surface.
towards the thorax, and its concave one towards the abdomen. The anterior
convexity abuts upon the lungs ; the posterior concavity is occupied by some
of the abdominal viscera. The effect of the action of this muscle, or the con-
traction of its fibres, is to lessen the convexity towards the chest, and the
concavity towards the abdomen: or perhaps, by a powerful contraction. to
cause it to present a plane surface either way. The abdominal viscera that
must be displaced in order to effect this, have considerable bulk and weight ;
and when the stomach is distended with food, and the motion required fom
the diaphragm in rapid breathing is both quick and extensive, there needs
some strong, firm, elastic, substance to bear it. The forcible contact and
violent pressure would bruise and otherwise injure a mere muscular expan-
sion; and therefore we have this tendinous expansion, comparatively devoid of
sensibility, to stand the pressure and the shock which will always be greatest
at the centre.

Yet it is subject to injury and disease of a serious and varied character.
Whatever may be the original seat of thoracic or abdominal ailment, the
diaphragm soon becomes irritable and inflamed. This accounts for the breathing
of the horse being so much affected under every inflammation or excitement of
the chest or belly. The irritability of this muscle is often evinced by a singular
spasmodic action of a portion, or the whole of it.

Mr. Castley thus describes a case of it :—‘“ A horse had been very much dis-
tressed in a run of nearly thirteen miles, without a check, and his rider stopped
on the road towards home, to rest him a little. With difficulty he was brought
to the stable. Mr. Castley was sent for, and he says,—‘ When I first saw the
animal, his breathing and attitude indicated the greatest distress. The promi-
nent symptom, however, was a convulsive motion, or jerking of the whole
body, audible at several yards’ distance, and evidently proceeding from his
inside ; the beats appeared to be about forty in a minute. On placing my hand
over the heart, the action of that organ could be felt, but very indistinctly ;
the beating evidently came from behind the heart, and was most plainly to be
felt in the direction of the diaphragm. Again placing my hand on the abdo-
minal muscles, the jerks appeared to come from before backwards; the
impression on my mind, therefore, was, that this was a spasmodic affection of
the diaphragm, brought on by violent distress in running*.’”

Mr. Castley’s account is inserted thus at length, because it was the first
of the kind on record, .with the exception of an opinion of Mr. Apperley,
which came very near to the truth. ‘ When a horse is very much exhausted
after a long run with hounds, a noise will sometimes be heard to pro-
ceed from his inside, which is often erroneously supposed to be the beating
of his heart, whereas it proceeds from the excessive motion of the abdominal
musclest.”

Mr. Castley shall pursue his case, (it will be a most useful guide to the
treatment of these cases): ‘“ Finding that there was little pulsation to be felt
at the submaxillary artery, and judging from that circumstance that any
attempt to bleed at that time would be worse than useless, I ordered stimu-
lants to be given. We first administered three ounces of spirit of nitrous ether,
in a bottle of warm water ; but this producing no good effect, we shortly after-
wards gave two drachms of the sub-carbonate of ammonia in a ball, allowing
the patient, at the same time, plenty of white water to drink. About a quarter
of an hour after this, he broke out into a profuse perspiration, which continued
two hours, or more. The breathing became more tranquil, but the convulsive

 

* The Veterinarian, 1831, p. 247. + Nimrod on the Condition of Huntors, p. 155.
234 THE DIAPHRAGM.

motion of the diaphragm still continued without any abatement. After the
sweating had ceased, the pulse became more perceptible, and the action of the
heart more distinct, and I considered this to be the proper time to bleed.
When about ten pounds had been extracted, I thought that the beating and
the breathing seemed to increase; the bleeding was stopped, and the patient
littered up for the night. In the morning, the affection of the diaphragm was
much moderated, and about eleven o'clock it ceased, after continuing eighteen
or nineteen hours. A little tonic medicine was afterwards administered, and the
horse soon recovered his usual appetite and spirits*.”

Later surgeons administer, and with good effect, opium in small doses,
together with ammonia, or nitric ether, and have recourse to bleeding as soon
as any reaction is perceived.

Over-fatigue, of almost every kind, has produced spasm of the diaphragm,
and so has over-distension of the stomach with grass

RUPTURE OF THE DIAPHRAGM.

This is an accident, or the consequence of disease, very lately brought under
the cognizance of the veterinary surgeon. The first communication of its
occurrence was from Mr. King, a friend of Mr. Percivall +. It occurred in a
mare that had been ridden sharply for half a dozen miles when she was full of
grass. She soon afterwards exhibited symptoms of broken-wind, and, at length,
died suddenly, while standing in the stable. The diaphragm was lacerated on
the left side, through its whole extent, throwing the two cavities into one.

Since that period, from the increasing and very proper habit of examining
every dead horse, cases of this accident have rapidly multiplied. It seems that
it may follow any act of extraordinary exertion, and efforts of every kind,
particularly on a full stomach, or when the bowels are distended with green
or other food likely to generate gas{. Considerable caution, however, should
be exercised when much gaseous fluid is present, for the bowels may be
distended, and forced against the diaphragm to such a degree as to threaten
to burst.

An interesting case of rupture of the diaphragm was related by Professor
Spooner at one of the meetings of the Veterinary Medical Association. A horse
having been saddled and bridled for riding, was turned in his stall and fastened
by the bit-straps. Something frightened him—he reared, broke the bit-strap,
and fell backward. On the following morning he was evidently in great
pain, kicking, heaving, and occasionally lying down. Mr. S. was sent for to
examine him, but was not told of the event of the preceding day. He con-
sidered it to be a case of enteritis, and treated it accordingly. He bled him
largely, and, in the course of the day, the horse appeared to be decidedly better,
every symptom of pain having vanished. The horse was more lively—he ate
with appetite, but his bowels remained constipated.

On the following day there was a fearful change. The animal was suffering
sadly—the breathing was laborious, and the membrane of the nose intensely
red, as if it were more a case of inflammation of the lungs than of the bowels.
The bowels were still constipated. The patient was bled and physicked again,
but without avail. He died, and there was found rupture of the diaphragm,
protrusion of intestine into the thoracic cavity, and extensive pleural and peri-
toneal inflammation.

In rupture of the diaphragm the horse usually sits on his haunches like a dog,

 

* The Veterinarian, 1831, p. 248. Percivall’s Hi thol 1. ii., No,
+ The Veterinarian, 1828p. 101. 1; : 152, a a
RUPTURE OF THE DIAPHRAGM. 235

but this is far from being an infallible symptom of the disease. It accompanies
introsusception, as well as rupture of the diaphragm. The weight of the intes-
tines may possibly cause any protruded part of them to descend again into the
abdomen.

This muscle, so important in its office, is plentifully supplied with blood-
vessels. As the posterior aorta passes beneath the crura of the diaphragm, it
gives out sometimes a single vessel which soon bifurcates; sometimes two
branches, which speedily plunge into the appendices or crura, while numerous
small vessels, escaping from them, spread over the central tendinous expansion.
As the larger muscle of the diaphragm springs from the sides and the base of
the chest, it receives many ramifications from the internal pectoral, derived from
the anterior aorta; but more from the posterior intercostals which spring from
the posterior aorta.

The veins of the diaphragm belong exclusively to the posterior vena cava.
There are usually three on either side ; but they may be best referred to two
chief trunks which come from the circumference of the diaphragm, converge
towards the centre, and run into the posterior cava as it passes through the
tendinous expansion,

The functional nerve of the diaphragm, or that from which it derives its prin-
cipal action, and which constitutes it a muscle of respiration, is the phrenic or
diaphragmatic. Although it does not proceed from that portion of the medulla
oblongata which gives rise to the glosso-pharyngeus and the par vagum, yet
there is sufficient to induce us to suspect that it arises from, and should be
referred to, the lateral column between the superior and inferior, the sensitive
and motor nerves, and which may be evidently traced from the pons varolii to
the very termination of the spinal chord.

The diaphragm is the main agent in the work of respiration. The other
muscles are mere auxiliaries, little needed in ordinary breathing, but affording
the most important assistance, when the breathing is more than usually
hurried, The mechanism of respiration may be thus explained :—Let it be
supposed that the lungs are in a quiescent state. The act of expiration has
been performed, and all is still, From some cause enveloped in mystery—con-
nected with the will, but independent of it—some stimulus of an unexplained
and unknown kind—the phrenic nerve acts on the diaphragm, and that muscle
contracts ; and, by contracting, its convexity into the chest is diminished, and
the cavity of the chest is enlarged. At the same time, and by some consenta-
neous influence, the intercostal muscles act—with no great force, indeed, in
undisturbed breathing ; but, in proportion as they act, the ribs rotate on their
axes, their edges are thrown outward, and thus a twofold effect ensues :—
the posterior margin of the chest is expanded, the cavity is plainly en-
larged, and also, by the partial rotation of every rib, the cavity is still more
increased,

By some other consentaneous influence, the spinal accessory nerve likewise
exerts its power, and the sterno-maxillaris muscle is stimulated by the anterior
division of it, and the motion of the head and neck corresponds with and assists
that of the chest; while the posterior division of the accessory nerve, by its
anastamoses with the motor nerves of the levator humeri and the splenius, and
many other of the muscles of the neck and the shoulder, and by its direct influ-
ence on the rhomboideus, associates almost every muscle of the neck, the
shoulder, and the chest, in the expansion of the thorax. These latter are
muscles, which, in undisturbed respiration, the animal scarcely needs; but
which are necessary to him when the respiration is much disturbed, and to ob-
tain the aid of which he will, under pneumonia, obstinately stand until he falls
exhausted or to die.
236 THE OFFICE OF THE DIAPHRAGM.

The cavity of the chest is now enlarged. But this is a closed cavity and
between its contents and the parietes of the chest a vacuum would be formed ; or
rather an inequality of atmospheric pressure is produced from the moment the
chest begins to dilate. As the diaphragm recedes, there is nothing to counter-
balance the pressure of the atmospheric air communicating with the lungs
through the medium of the nose and mouth, and it is forced into the respiratory
tubes already described, and the lungs are expanded and still kept in contact
with the receding walls of the chest. There is no sucking, no inhalent power
in the act of inspiration ; it is the simple enlargement of the chest from the
entrance and pressure of the air.

From some cause, as inexplicable as that which produced the expansion of
the chest, the respiratory nerves cease to act ; and the diaphragm, by the inhe-
rent elasticity: of its tendinous expansion and muscular fibres, returns to its na~
tural form, once more projecting its convexity into the thorax. The abdominal
muscles, also, which had been put on the stretch by the forcing of the viscera
into the posterior part of the abdomen by means of the straightening of the dia-
phragm, contract, and accelerate the return of that muscle to its quiescent
figure ; and the ribs, all armed with elastic cartilages, regain their former situa-
tion and figure. The muscles of the shoulder and the chest relax, a portion of
the lungs are pressed on every side, and the air with which they were distended
is again forced out. There is only one set of muscles actively employed in
expiration, namely, the abdominal: the elasticity of the parts displaced in
inspiration being almost sufficient to accomplish the purpose.

The lungs, however, are not altogether passive. The bronchial tubes, so far
as they can be traced, are lined with cartilage, divided and subdivided for the
purpose of folding up when the lungs are compressed, but elastic enough to
afford a yielding resistance against both unusual expansion and contraction. In
their usual state the air-tubes are distended beyond their natural calibre ; for if
the parietes of the thorax are perforated, and the pressure of the atmosphere
rendered equal within and without them, the lungs immediately collapse.

THE PLEURA.

The walls of the chest are lined, and the lungs are covered, by a smooth
glistening membrane, the pleura. It is a serous membrane, so called from the
nature of its exhalation, in distinction from the mucous secretion yielded by the
membrane of the air-passages. The serous membrane generally invests the
most important organs, and always those that are essentially connected with
life ; while the mucous membrane lines the interior of the greater part of them.
The pleura is the investing membrane of the lungs, and a mucous membrane
the lining one of the bronchial tubes.

Among the circumstances principally to be noticed, with regard to the pleura,
is the polish of its external surface. The glistening appearance of the lungs,
and of the inside of the chest, is to be attributed to the membrane by which
they are covered, and by means of which the motion of the various organs is
freer and less dangerous. Although the lungs, and the bony walls which con-
tain them, are in constant approximation with each other, both in expiration and
inspiration, yet in the frequently hurried and violent motion of the animal, and,
infact, in every act of expiration and inspiration, of dilatation and contraction,
much and injurious friction would ensue if the surfaces did not glide freely over
each other by means of the peculiar polish of this membrane.

Every serous membrane has innumerable exhalent vessels upon its surface,
from which a considerable quantity of fluid is poured out. In life and during
health it exists in the chest only as a kind of dew, just sufficient to lubricate the
surfaces. When the chest is opened soon after death, we recognize it in the
THE PLEURA. 237

steam that arises, and in the few drops of fluid, which, being condensed, are
found at the lowest part of the chest.

The quantity, however, which is exhaled from all the serous membranes,
must be very great. It is perhaps equal or superior to that which is yielded by
the vessels on the surface of the body. If very little is found in ordinary cases,
it is because the absorbents are as numerous and as active as the exhalents, ands
during health, that which is poured out by the one is taken up by the other;
but in circumstances of disease, either when the exhalents are stimulated to
undue action, or the power of the absorbents is diminished, the fluid rapidly
and greatly accumulates. Thus we have hydrothorax or dropsy of the chest,
as one of the consequences of inflammation of the chest ; and the same disturbed
balance of action will produce similar effusion in other cavities,

The extensibility of membrane generally is nowhere more strikingly dis-
played than in the serous membranes, and particularly in that under considera-
tion, How different the bulk of the lungs before the act of inspiration has
commenced, and after it has been completed, and especially in the laborious
respiration of disease or rapid exertion! In either state of the lungs the pleura
is perfectly fitted to that which it envelopes.

The pleura, like other serous membranes, is possessed of very little sensibility.
Few nerves from the sensitive column of the spinal chord reach it. Acute
feeling would render these membranes generally, and this membrane in particu-
lar, unfit for the function they have to discharge. It has too much motion,
even during sleep ; and far too forcible friction with the parietes of the thorax
in morbid or hurried respiration, to render it convenient or useful for it to pos-
sess much sensation. Some of those anatomists, whose experiments on the
living animal do no credit to their humanity, have given most singular proof of
the insensibility, not only of these serous membranes, but of the organs which
they invest. Bichat frequently examined the spleen of dogs. He detached it
from some of its adhesions, and left it protruding from the wound in the abdo-
men, in order “‘ to study the phenomena ;” and he saw “ them tearing off that
organ, and eating it, and thus feeding upon their own substance.” In some
experiments, in which part of their intestines were left out, he observed them,
as soon as they had the opportunity, tear to pieces their own viscera without
any visible pain.

Although it may be advantageous that these important organs shall be thus
devoid of sensibility when in health, in order that we may be unconscious of
their action and motion, and that they may be rendered perfectly independent
of the will, yet it is equally needful that, by the feeling of pain, we should be
warned of the existence of any dangerous disease ; and thence it happens that
this membrane, and also the organ which it invests, acquire under inflammation
the highest degree of sensibility. The countenance of the horse labouring
under pleurisy or pneumonia will sufficiently indicate a state of suffering; and
the spasmed bend of his neck, and his long and anxious and intense gaze upon
his side, tell us that that suffering is extreme.

Nature, however, is wise and benevolent even here. It is not of every morbid
affection, or morbid change, that the animal is conscious. If a mucous mem-
brane is diseased, he is rendered painfully aware of that, for neither respiration
nor digestion could be perfectly carried on while there was any considerable
lesion of it ; but, on the other hand, we find tubercles in the parenchyma of the
lungs, or induration or hepatization of their substance, or extensive adhesions,
of which there were few or no indications during life.

The pleura adheres intimately to the ribs and to the substance of the lungs,
yet it isa very singular connexion. It is not a continuance of the same organ-
isation; it is not an interchange of vessels. The organ and its membrane,
238 THE PLEURA.

although so closely connected for a particular purpose, yet in very many cases,
and where it would least of all be suspected, have little or no sympathy with
each other. Inflammation of the lungs will sometimes exist, and will run on
to ulceration, while the pleura will be very little affeeted: and, much oftener,
the pleura will be the seat of inflammation and will be attended by increased
exhalation to such an extent as to suffocate the animal, and yet the lungs will
exhibit little other morbid appearance than that of mere compression. The
disease of a mucous membrane spreads to other parts—that of a serous one is
generally isolated. It was to limit the progress of disease that this difference
of structure between the organ and its membrane was contrived.

The investing membrane of the lungs and that of the heart are in continual
contact with each other, but they are as distinct and unconnected, as if they
were placed in different parts of the frame. Is there no meaning in this?

It is to preserve the perfect independence of organs equally important, yet
altogether different in structure and function—to oppose an insuperable barrier
to hurtful sympathy between them, and especially to cut off the communication
of disease.

Perhaps a little light begins to be thrown on a circumstance of which we have
occasional painful experience. While we may administer physic, or mild
aperients at least, in pleurisy, not only with little danger, but with manifest
advantage, we may just as well give a dose of poison as a physic-ball to a horse
labouring under pneumonia. The pleura is connected with the lungs, and with
the lungs alone, and the organisation is so different, that there is very little
sympathy between them. A physic-ball may, therefore, act as a counter-
irritant, or as giving a new determination to the vital current, without the pro-
pagation of sympathetic irritation ; but the lungs or the bronchial tubes that
ramify through them are continuous with the mucous membranes of the
digestive as well as all the respiratory passages; and on account of the conti-
nuity and similarity of organisation, there is much sympathy between them.
If there is irritation excited at the same time in two different portions of the
same membrane, it is probable that, instead of being shared between them, the
one will be transferred to the other—will increase or double the other, and act
with fearful and fatal violence.

THE LUNGS.

The lungs are the seat of a peculiar circulation. They convey through their
comparatively little bulk the blood, and other fluids scarcely transformed into
blood, or soon separated from it, which traverse the whole of the frame. They
consist of countless ramifications of air-tubes and blood-vessels connected together
by intervening cellular substance.

They form two distinct bodies, the right somewhat larger than the left, and
are divided from each other by the duplicature of the pleura, which has been
already described—the mediastinum. Each lung has the same structure, and
properties, and uses. Each of them is subdivided, the right lobe consisting of
three lobes, and the left of two. The intention of these divisions is probably to
adapt the substance of the lungs to the form of the cavity in which they are
placed, and to enable them more perfectly to occupy and fill the chest.

If one of these lobes is cut into, it is found to consist of innumerable
irregularly formed compartments, to which anatomists have given the name of
lobules, or little lobes. They are distinct from each other, and impervious.
On close examination, they can be subdivided almost without end. There is
no communication between them, or if perchance such communication exists,
it constitutes the disease known by the name of broken wind.

On the delicate membrane of which these cells are composed, innumerable «
THE HEART. 239

minute blood-vessels ramify. They proceed from the heart, through the
medium of the pulmonary artery—they follow all the subdivisions of the
bronchial tubes—they ramify upon the membrane of these multitudinous
lobules, and at length return to the heart, through the medium of the pul-
monary veins, the character of the blood which they contain being essentially
changed. The mechanism of this, and the effect produced, must be briefly
considered.

THE HEART.

The Heart is placed between a doubling of the pleura—the mediastinum ;
by means of which it is supported in its natural situation, and all dangerous
friction between these important organs is avoided. It is also surrounded by
a membrane or bag of its own, called the pericardium, whose office is of a
similar nature. By means of the heart, the blood is circulated through the
frame.

It is composed of four cavities—two above, called auricles, from their sup-
posed resemblance to the ear of a dog; and two below, termed ventricles,
occupying the substance of the heart. In point of fact, there are two hearts
—the one on the left side impelling the blood through the frame, the other
on the right side conveying it through the pulmonary system; but, united in
the manner in which they aré, their junction contributes to their mutual
strength, and both circulations are carried on at the same time.

The first is the arterial circulation. No function can be discharged—life
cannot exist, without the presence of arterial blood. The left ventricle that
contains it contracts, and by the power of that contraction, aided by other
means, which the limits of our work will not permit us to describe, the blood
is driven through the whole arterial circulation—the capillary vessels and the
veins—and returns again to the heart, but to the right ventricle. The other
division of this viscus is likewise employed in circulating the blood thus
conveyed to it, but is not the same fluid which was contained in the left
ventricle. It has gradually lost its vital power. As it has passed along, it has
changed from red to black, and from a vital to a poisonous fluid. Ere it can
again convey the principle of nutrition, or give to each organ that impulse or
stimulus which enables it to discharge its function, it must be materially
changed.

When the right ventricle contracts, and the blood is driven into the lungs,
it passes over the gossamer membrane of which the lobules of the lungs have
been described as consisting; these: lobules being filled with the air which
has descended through the bronchial tubes in the act of inspiration, This
delicate membrane permits some of the principles of the air to permeate it.
The oxygen of the atmosphere attracts and combines with a portion of the
superabundant carbon of this blood, and the expired air is poisoned with
carbonic acid gas. Some of the constituents of the blood attract a portion
of the oxygen of the air, and obtain their distinguishing character and properties
as arterial blood, and being thus revivified, it passes on over the membrane of
the lobes, unites into small and then larger vessels, and at length pours its full
stream of arterial blood into the left auricle, thence to ascend into the ventricle,
and to be diffused over the frame.

DISEASES OF THE HEART.

It may be readily supposed that an organ so complicated is subject to disease,
It is so to a fearful extent ; and it sympathises with the maladies of every other
part. Until lately, however, this subject has been shamefully neglected, and
240 DISEASES OF THE HEART.

the writers on the veterinary art have seemed to be unaware of the importance
of the organ, and the maladies to which it is exposed. The owner of the horse
and the veterinary profession generally, are deeply indebted to Messrs. Percival
and Pritchard* for much valuable information on this subject. The writer of this
work acknowledges his obligation to both of these gentlemen. To Dr. Hope
also, and particularly to Laennec, we owe much. Mr. Percivall well says,
“This class of diseases may be regarded as the least advanced of any in
veterinary medicine—a circumstance not to be ascribed so much to their
comparative rarity, as to their existing undiscovered, or rather being con-
founded during life with other disorders, and particularly with pulmonary
affections.” ;

The best place to examine the beating of the heart is immediately behind
the elbow, on the left side. The hand applied flat against the ribs will give
the number of pulsations. The ear thus applied will enable the practitioner
better to ascertain the character of the pulsation. The stethoscope affords an
ancertain guide, for it cannot be flatly and evenly applied.

Pericarpitis.—The bag, or outer investing membrane of the heart, is liable
to inflammation, in which the effused fluid becomes organized, and deposited in
layers, increasing the thickness of the pericardium, and the difficulty of the
expansion and contraction of the heart. ‘The only symptoms on which de-
pendence can be placed, are a quickened and irregular respiration; a bounding
action of the heart in an early stage of the disease; but that, as the fluid
increases and becomes concrete, assuming @ feeble and fluttering character.

Hyprors Pericarpi is the term used to designate the presence of the
fluid secreted in consequence of this inflammation, and varying from a pint to
a gallon or more. In addition to the symptoms already described, there is an
expression of alarm and anxicty in the countenance of the animal which no
other malady produces. The horse generally sinks from other disease, or from
constitutional irritation, before the cavity of the pericardium is filled; or if he
lingers on, most dreadful palpitations and throbbings accompany the advanced
stage of the disease. It is seldom or never that this disease exists alone, but is
combined with dropsy of the chest or abdomen.

Carprtis is the name given to inflammation of the muscular substance of
the heart. A well authenticated instance of inflammation of the substance of
the heart does not stand on record. Some other organ proves to be the chief
seat of mischief, even when the disturbance of the heart has been most
apparent.

INFLAMMATION OF THE Linine or THE Hearr.—Mr. Simpson relates, in
The Veterinarian for 1834, a case in which there were symptoms of severe
abdominal pain; the respiration was much disturbed, and the action of the
heart took on an extraordinary character. Three or four beats succeeded to
each other, so violently as to shake the whole frame, and to be visible at the
distance of several yards, with intervals of quietude of five minutes or more.
At length this violent beating became constant.

On dissection both lungs were found to be inflamed, the serum in the
pericardium increased in quantity, and the internal membrane of the heart
violently inflamed, with spots of ecchymosis.

This would seem to be a case of inflammation of the heart; but in a consi-
derable proportion of the cases of rabies, these spots of ecchymosis, and this
general inflammation of the heart, are seen.

Hyrertropay is an augmentation or thickening of the substance of the
heart ; and although not dreamed of a few years ago, seeins now to be a disease of

* See Pritchard’s papers in the Veterinarian, vol, vi., and Percivall’s Hippopathology, vol. ii.
Part I. ,
DISEASES OF THE HEART. 241

no rare oczurrence among horses. The heart has been known to acquire doubie
its natural volume, or the auricle and ventricle on one side have been thus
enlarged. Mr, Thomson of Bath relates, in The Veterinarian, a very singular
case. A horse was brought with every appearance of acute rheumatism, and
was bled and physicked. On the following day he was standing with his fore
legs widely extended, the nostrils dilated, the breathing quick and laborious,
the eyes sunk in their orbits, the pupils dilated, his nose turmed round almost
to his elbow, sighing, and his countenance showing approaching dissolution.

The pulse had a most irregular motion, and the undulation of the jugular
veins was extending to the very roots of the cars. He died a few hours
afterwards.

The lungs and pleura were much inflamed; the pericardium was inflamed
and distended by fluid; the heart was of an enormous size and greatly in-
flamed ; both the auricles and ventricles were filled with coagulated blood ;
the greater part of the chordz tendinew had given way; the valves did not
approximate to perform their function, and the heart altogether presented a
large disorganized mass, weighing thirty-four pounds. The animal worked
constantly on the farm, and had never been put to quick or very laborious
work.

Dizatation is increased capacity of the cavities of the heart, and the parietes
being generally thinned. Itis probable that this is a more frequent disease than
is generally supposed ; and from the circulating power being lessened, or almost
suspended, on account of the inability of the cavities to propei their contents,
it is accompanied by much and rapid emaciation. In the Gardens of the Zoolo-
gical Society of London this is a disease considerably frequent, and almost
uniformly fatal. It attacks the smaller animals, and particularly the quadru-
mana, and has been found in the deer and the zebra. It is characterised by
slow emaciation, and a piteous expression of the countenance; but the mis-
chief is done when these symptoms appcar.

OsstricaTIon oF THE Heart.—There are too many instances of this both in
the right and the left auricles of the heart, the aortic valves, the abdominal
aorta, and also the bronchial and other glands. Mr. Percivall observes of
oue of these cases, that ‘the cavity could have been but a passive receptacle for
the blood, and the current must have been continued without any or with
hardly any fresh impulse.”

Of ain In THE BEART destroying the horse, there are some interesting
accounts ; and also of rupture of the heart, and aneurism, or dilatation of the
aorta, both thoracic and abdominal, and even farther removed from the heart
and in the iliac artery. The symptoms that would certainly indicate the
existence of aneurism are yet unknown, except tenderness about the loins and
gradual inability to work, are considered as such; but it is interesting to know
of the existence of these lesions. Ere long the veterinary surgeon may possibly
be able to guess at them, although he will rarely have more power in averting
the consequences of aneurism than the human surgeon possesses with regard to
his patient.

This will be the proper place to describe a little more fully the circulation of
the blood, and various circumstances connected with that most important
process,

THE ARTERIES,

The vessels which carry the blood from the heart are called arteries (keeping
wir,—the ancients thought that they contained air). They are composed
of three coats; the outer or elastic is that by which they are enabled to
yield to the gush of blood, and enlarge their dimensions as it is forced along

R
242 THE PULSE.

them, and by which also they contract again as soon as the stream has passed ;.
the middle coat is a muscular one, by which this contraction is more powerfully
performed, and the blood urged on in its course ; the inner or membranous
coat is the mere lining of the tube. ee

This yielding of the artery to the gush of blood, forced into it by the con-
traction of the heart, constitutes

THE PULSE.

The pulse is a very useful assistant to the practitioner of human medicine,
and much more so to the veterinary surgeon, whose patients cannot describe
either the seat or degree of ailment or pain. The number of pulsations in any
artery will give the number of the beatings of the heart, and so express the
irritation of that organ, and of the frame generally. In a state of health, the
heart beats in a farmer’s horse about thirty-six times in a minute. In the
smaller, and in the thorough-bred horse, the pulsations are forty or forty-two.
This is said to be the standard pulse,—the pulse of health. It varies singularly
little in horses of the same size and breed, and where it beats naturally there can
be little materially wrong. The most convenient place to feel the pulse, is at
the lower jaw (p. 108) a little behind the spot where the submaxillary artery
and vein, and the parotid duct, come from under the jaw. ‘There the number
of pulsations will be easily counted, and the character of the pulse, a matter of
fully equal importance, will be clearly ascertained. Many horsemen put the
hand to the side. ‘They can certainly count the pulse there, but they can do
nothing more. We must be able to press the artery against some hard body,
as the jaw-bone, in order to ascertain the manner in which the blood flows
through it, and the quantity that flows.

When the pulse reaches fifty or fifty-five, some degree of fever may be
apprehended, and proper precaution should be taken. Seventy or seventy-five
will indicate a dangerous state, and put the owner and the surgeon not a little
on the alert. Few horses long survive a pulse of one hundred, for, by this
excessive action, the energies of nature are speedily worn out.

Some things, however, should be taken into account in forming our conclusion
from the frequency of the pulse. Exercise, a warm stable, and fear, will won-
derfully increase the number of pulsations.

When a careless, brutal fellow goes up to a horse, and speaks hastily to him,
and handles him roughly, he adds ten beats per minute to the pulse, and will
often be misled in the opinion he may form of the state of the animal. A judi-
cious person will approach the patient gently, and pat and soothe him, and even
then the circulation, probably, will be little disturbed. He should take the
additional precaution of noting the number and quality of the pulse, a second
time, before he leaves the animal.

If a quick pulse indicate irritation and fever, a slow pulse will likewise
characterise diseases of an opposite description. It accompanies the sleepy stage
of staggers, and every malady connected with deficiency of nervous energy.

The heart may not only be excited to more frequent, but also to more violent
action. It may contract more powerfully upon the blood, which will be driven
with greater force through the arteries, and the expansion of the vessels will be
greater and more sudden. Then we have the hard pulse,—the sure indicator of
considerable fever, and calling for the immediate and free use of the lancet.

Sometimes the pulse may be hard and jerking, and yet small. The stream
though forcible is not great. The heart is so irritable that it contracts before
the ventricle is properly filled. The practitioner knows that this indicates a

dangerous state of disease, It is an almost invariable accompaniment of
inflammation of the bowels.
THE PULSE. 245

A weak pulse, when the arterial stream flows slowly, is caused by the feeble
action of the heart. It is the reverse of fever, and expressive of debility.

The oppressed pulse is when the arteries seem to be fully distended with
blood. There is obstruction somewhere, and the action of the heart can hardly
force the stream along, or communicate pulsation to the current. It is the
ease in sudden inflammation of the lungs. ‘They are overloaded and gorged
with blood which cannot find its way through their minute vessels. This
accounts for the well-known fact of a copious bleeding increasing a pulse pre-
viously oppressed. A portion being removed from the distended and choked
yessels, the remainder is able to flow on.

There are many other varieties of the pulse, which it would be tedious here
to particularise; it must, however, be observed, that during the act of bleeding,
its state should be carefully observed. Many veterinary surgeons, and gentle-
men too, are apt to order a certain quantity of blood to be taken away, but
do not condescend to superintend the operation. This is unpardonable in the
surgeon and censurable in the owner of the horse. The animal is bled for some
particular purpose. There is some state of disease, indicated by a peculiar quality
of the pulse, which we are endeavouring to alter. The most experienced prac-
titioner cannot tell what quantity of blood must be abstracted in order to produce
the desired effect. The change of the pulse can alone indicate when the object
is accomplished ; therefore, the operator should have his finger on the artery
during the act of bleeding, and, comparatively regardless of the quantity, continue
to take blood, until, in inflammation of the lungs the oppressed pulse becomes
fuller and more distinct, or the strong pulse of considerable fever is evidently
softer, or the animal exhibits symptoms of faintness.

The arteries divide as they proceed through the frame, and branch out into
innumerable minute tubes, termed capillaries (hair-like tubes), and they even
become so small as to elude the sight. The slightest puncture cannot be
inflicted without wounding some of them.

In these little tubes, the nourishment of the body, and the separation of all
the various secretions is performed, and in consequence of this, the blood is
changed. When these capillaries unite together, and begin to enlarge, it is
found to be no longer arterial, or of a florid red colour, but venous, or of a
blacker hue. Therefore the principal termination of the arteries is in veins.
The point where the one ends, and the other commences, cannot be ascertained.
It is when the red arterial blood, having discharged its function by depositing
the nutritious parts, is changed to venous or black blood.

Branches from the ganglial or sympathetic nerves wind round these vessels,
and enduc them with energy to discharge their functions. When the nerves
communicate too much energy and these vessels consequently act with too
much power, inflammation is produced. If this disturbed action is confined to
a small space or a single organ, it is said to be Jocal, as inflammation of the eye,
or of the lungs; but wher this inordinate action spreads from its original seat, and
embraces the whole of the arterial system, fever is said to be present, and this
usually increases in proportion as the local disturbance is observable, and sub-
sides with it.

INFLAMMATION.

Local inflammation is characterised by redness, swelling, heat, and pain, The
redness proceeds from the greater quantity of blood flowing through the part,
occasioned by the increased action of the vessels, The swelling arises from the
same cause, and from the deposit of fluid in the neighbouring substance. The
natural heat of the body is produced by the gradual change which takes place
in the blood, in passing from en arterial to a venous state. If more blood is

n2
244 INFLAMMATION.

driven through the capillaries of an inflamed part, and in which this change is
effected, more heat will necessarily be produced there; and the pain is easily
accounted for by the distension and pressure which must be produced, and the
participation of the nerves in the disturbance of the surrounding parts.

If inflammation consists of an increased flow of blood to 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. Blood is generally abstracted from the jugular vein, and
so the general quantity may be lessened ; but if it can be taken from the neigh-
bourhood of the diseased part, it will be productive of tenfold bencfit. One quart
of blood abstracted from the foot in acute founder, by unloading the vessels of the
inflamed part, and enabling them to contract, and, in that contraction, to acquire
tone and power to resist future distension, will do more good than five quarts
taken from the general circulation. An ounce of blood obtained by scarifying
the swelled vessels of the inflamed eye, will give as much relief to that organ
as a copious bleeding from the jugular. It isa principle in the animal frame
which should never be lost sight of by the veterinary 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 bleeding 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 insufficiency 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 com-
paratively little more than one pound taken from the human being. We
can scarcely conceive of a considerable inflammation of any part of the
horse, whether proceeding from sprains, contusions, or any other cause in which
bleeding, local (if possible), or general, or both, will not be of essential service.

Next in importance to bleeding, is purging. Something may be removed
from the bowels, the retention of which would increase the general irritation
and fever. The quantity of blood will be materially lessened, for the serous
or watery fluid which is separated from it by a brisk purge, the action of which
in the horse continues probably more than twenty-four hours, is enormous.
While the blood is thus determined to the bowels, less even of that which
remains will flow through the inflamed part. When the circulation is directed
to one set of vessels, it is proportionately diminished in other parts. It was first
directed to the inflamed portions, and they were overloaded and injured,—it is
now directed to the bowels, and the inflamed parts are relieved. While the
purging continues, some degree of languor and sickness are felt, and the
force of the circulation is thereby diminished, and the general excitement
lessened. The importance of physic in every case of considerable external
inflammation, is sufficiently evident. If the horse is laid by for a few days
from injury of the foot, or sprain, or poll-evil, or wound, or almost any cause
of inflammation, a physic ball should be given.

In cases of internal inflammation, much judgment is required to determine
when a purgative may be beneficial or injurious. In inflammation of the lungs
or bowels, it should never be given. There is so strong a sympathy between
the various contents of the cavity of the chest, that no one of them can be
inflamed to any great extent, without all the others being disposed to become
so; and, therefore, a dose of physic in inflamed lungs, would perhaps be as
fatal as a dose of poison. The excitement produced on the bowels by the pur-
gative may run on to inflammation, which no medical skill can stop.
INFLAMMATION. 245

The mears of abating external inflammation are various, and seemingly
contradictory. The heat of the part very naturally and properly led to the
application of cold embrocations and lotions. Heat has a strong tendency to
equalize itself, or to leave that substance which has a too great quantity
of it, or little capacity to retain it, for another which has less of it, or more
capacity. Hence the advantage of cold applications, by which a great deal
of the unnatural heat is speedily abstracted from the inflamed part. The foot
labouring under inflammation is put into cold water, or the horse is made
to stand in water or wet clay. Various cold applications are also used to
sprains, The part is wetted with diluted vinegar, or goulard, or salt and water.
When benefit is derived from these applications, it is to be attributed to their
coldness alone. Water, especially when cooled below the natural tempera-
ture, is as good an application as any that can be used. Nitre dissolved in
water, will lower the temperature of the fluid many degrees; but the lotion
must be applied immediately after the salt has been dissolved. A bandage
may be afterwards applied to strengthen the limb, but during the continuance
of active inflammation, it would only confine the heat of the part, or prevent
it from benefiting by the salutary influence of the cold produced by the evapo-
ration of the water.

Sometimes, however, we resort to warm fomentations, and if benefit is
derived from their use, it is to be traced to the warmth of the fluid, more than to
any medicinal property in it. Warm water will do as much good to the horse,
who has so thick a skin, as any decoction of chamomile, or marsh-mallow, or
poppy heads, or any nostrum that the farrier may recommend. Fomentations
increase the warmth of the skin, and open the pores of it, and promote perspi-
ration, and thus lessen the tension and swelling of the part, assuage pain, and
relieve inflammation. Fomentations, to be beneficial, should be long and fre-
quently applied, and at as great a degree of heat as can be used without giving the
animal pain, Poultices are more permanent, or longer-continued fomentations.
The part is exposed to the influenee of warmth and moisture for many hours
or days without intermission, and perspiration being so long kept up, the dis-
tended vessels will be very materially relieved. The advantage derived from a
poultice is attributable to the heat and moisture, which, by means of it, can be
long applied to the skin, and it should be composed of materials which will
best retain this moisture and heat. The bran poultice of the farrier is, conse-
quently, objectionable. It is never perfectly in contact with the surface of the
skin, and it becomes nearly dry in a few hours, after which it is injurious
rather than beneficial. Linseed-meal is a much better material for a poul-
tice, for, if properly made, it will remain moist during many hours.

It is occasionally very difficult to decide when a cold or a hot application is
to be used, and no general rule can be laid down, except that in cases of super-
ficial inflammation, and in the early stage, cold lotions will be preferable ; but,
when the inflammation is deeper seated, or fully established, warm fomenta-
tions will be most serviceable.

Stimulating applications are frequently used in local inflammation. When
the disease is deeply seated, a stimulating application to the skin will cause some
irritation and inflammation there, and lessen or sometimes remove the original
malady ; hence the use of rowels and blisters in inflammation of the chest. In-
flammation to a high degree, cannot exist in parts that are near each other. If we
excite it in one, we shall abate it in the other, and also, by the discharge which
we establish from the one, we shall lessen the determination of blood to the other.

Stimulating and blistering applications should never be applied to a part
already inflamed. A fire is not put out by heaping more fuel upon it, Hence
the mischief which the farrier often does by rubbing his abominable oils on a
246 FEVER.

recent sprain, hot and tender. Many a horse has been ruined by this absurd
treatment. When the heat and tenderness have disappeared by the use of cold
lotions or fomentations, and the leg or sprained part remains enlarged, or bony
matter threatens to be deposited, it may be right to excite inflammation of the
skin by a blister, in order to rouse the deeper-seated absorbents to action, and
enable them to take up this deposit ; but, except to hasten the natural process
and effects of inflammation, a blister, or stimulating application, should never
be applied to a part already inflamed.

FEVER.

Fever is general increased arterial action, either without any local affection,
or in consequence of the sympathy of the system with inflammation in some
particular part.

The first is pure fever. Some have denied that that exists in the horse, but
they must have been strangely careless observers of the diseases of that animal.
The truth of the matter is, that the usual stable management and general treat-
ment of the horse are so absurd, and various parts of him are rendered so liable
to take on inflammation, that pure fever will exist a very little time without
degenerating into inflammation. The lungs are so weakened by the heated and
foul air of the ill-ventilated stable, and by sudden changes from almost insuffer-
able heat to intense cold, and the feet are so injured by hard usage and injudi-
cious shoeing, that, sharing from the beginning in the general vascular excite-
ment which characterises fever, they soon become excited far beyond other
portions of the frame ; and that which commenced as fever becomes inflamma-
tion of the lungs or feet. Pure fever, however, is sometimes seen, and runs its
course regularly.

It frequently begins with a cold or shivering fit, although this is not essen-
tial to fever. The horse is dull, unwilling to move, has a staring coat, and cold
legs and feet. This is succeeded by warmth of the body ; unequal distribution
of warmth to the legs ; one hot, and the other three cold, or one or more unnatu-
rally warm, and the others unusually cold, but not the deathlike coldness of in-
flammation of the lungs ; the pulse quick, soft, and often indistinct ; the breathing
somewhat laborious ; but no cough, or pawing, or looking at the flanks. The
animal will scarcely eat, and is very costive. While the state of pure fever lasts,
the shivering fit returns at nearly the same hour every day, and is succeeded by
the warm one, and that often by a slight degree of perspiration; and these alter-
nate during several days until local inflammation appears, or the fever gradually
subsides. No horse ever died of pure fever. If he is not destroyed by
inflammation of the lungs, or feet, or bowels succeeding to the fever, he
gradually recovers.

What has been said of the treatment of local inflammation will sufficiently
indicate that which should be resorted to in fever. Fever is general increased
action of the heart and arteries, and therefore evidently appears the necessity
for bleeding, regulating the quantity of blood by the degree of fever, and
usually keeping the finger on the artery until some evident and considerable
impression is made upon the system. The bowels should be gently opened ;
but the danger of inflammation of the lungs, and the uniformly injurious conse-
quence of purgation in that disease, will prevent the administration of an active
purgative. A small quantity of aloes may be given morning and night with
the proper fever medicine, until the bowels are slightly relaxed, after which
nothing more of an aperient quality should be administered. Digitalis, emetic
tartar, and nitre should be given morning and night, in proportions regulated
by the circumstances of the case. The horse should be warmly clothed, but be
placed in a cool and well-ventilated stable.
THE VEINS. 247

Symptomatic fever is increased arterial action, proceeding from some local
cause. No organ of consequence can be much disordered or inflamed without
the neighbouring parts being disturbed, and the whole system gradually parti-
cipating in the disturbance. Inflammation of the feet or of the lungs never
existed long or to any material extent, without being accompanied by some
degree of fever.

The treatment of symptomatic fever should resemble that of simple fever,
except that particular attention must be paid to the state of the part originally
diseased. If the inflammation which existed there can be subdued, the general
disturbance will usually cease.

The arteries terminate occasionally in openings on different surfaces of the
body. On the skin they pour out the perspiration, and on the different cavities
of the frame they yield the moisture which prevents friction. In other parts
they terminate in glands, in which a fluid essentially different from the blood is
secreted or separated : such are the parotid and salivary glands, the kidneys,
the spleen, and the various organs or laboratories which provide so many and
such different secretions, for the multifarious purposes of life; but the usual
termination of arteries is in veins.

THE VEINS.

These vessels carry back to the heartthe blood which had been conveyed to the
different parts by the arteries. They have two coats, a muscular and a mem-
branous one. Both of them are thin and comparatively weak. They are more
numerous and much larger than the arteries, and consequently the blood, less-
ened in quantity by the various secretions separated from it, flows more slowly
through them, It is forced on partly by the first impulse communicated to it
by the heart ; also, in the extremities and external portions of the frame, by
the pressure of the muscles; and in the cavity of the chest, its motion is assisted
or principally caused by the sudden expansion of the ventricles of the heart,
after they have closed upon and driven out their contents, and thereby causing
a vacuum which the blood rushes on to fill. There are curious valves in various
parts of the veins which prevent the blood from flowing backward to its source.

BOG AND BLOOD SPAVIN.

The veins of the horse, although their coats are thin compared with those of
the arteries, are not subject to the enlargements (varicose veins) which are so
frequent, and often so painful, in the legs of the human being. The legs of the
horse may exhibit many of the injurious consequences of hard work, but the
veins will, with one exception, be unaltered in structure. Attached to the
extremities of most of the tendons, and between the tendons and other parts, are
little bags containing a mucous substance to enable the tendons to slide over
each other without friction, and to move easily on the neighbouring parts.
From violent exercise these vessels are liable to enlarge. Windgalls and thorough-
pins are instances of this. There is one of them on the inside of the hock at its
bending. This sometimes becomes considerably increased in size, and the
enlargement is called a bog-spavin. A vein passes over this bag, which is
pressed between the enlargement and the skin, and the passage of the blood
through it is impeded ; the vein is consequently distended by the accumulated
blood, and the distension reaches from this bag as low down as the next valve.
This is called a blood-spavin. Blood-spavin then ia the consequence of bog-
spavin. It very rarely occurs, and is, in the majority of instances, confounded
with bog-spavin. :

Blood-spavin does not always cause lameness, except the horse is very hard-
worked, and then it is doubtful whether the lameness should not be attributed
248 S BLEEDING.

to the enlarged mucous bag rather than to the distended vein, Both of these
diseases, however, render a horse unsound, and materially lessen his value.

Old farriers used to tie the vein, and so cut off altogether the flow of the blood
Some of them, a little more rational, dissected out the bag which caused the
distension of the vein: but the modern and more prudent way is to endeavour
to promote the absorption of the contents of the bag. This may be attempted
by pressure long applied. A bandage may be contrived to take in the whole of
the hock, except its point ; and a compress made of folded linen being placed on
the bog-spavin, may confine the principal pressure to that part. It is, however,
very difficult to adapt a bandage to a joint which admits of such extensive
motion ; therefore most practitioners apply two or three successive blisters over
the enlargement, when it usually disappears. Unfortunately, however, it returns
if any extraordinary exertion is required from the horse,

BLEEDING.

This operation is performed with a fleam or a lancct. The first is the com-
mon instrument, and the safest, except in skilful hands, The lancet, however,
has a more surgical appearance, and will be adopted by the veterinary practi-
tioner. A bloodstick—a piece of hard wood loaded at one end with lead—is
used to strike the fleam into the vein. This is sometimes done with too great
violence, and the opposite side of the coat of the vein is wounded Bad cases
of inflammation have resulted from this. If the fist is doubled, and the fleam
is sharp and is struck with sufficient force with the luwer part of the hand, the
bloodstick may be dispensed with.

For general bleeding the jugular vein is selected. The horse is blindfolded
on the side on which he is to be bled, or his head turned well away. The hair
is smoothed along the course of the vein with the moistened finger ; then, with
the third and little fingers of the left hand, which holds the fleam, pressure is
made on the vein sufficient to bring it fairly into view, but not to swell it too
much, for then, presenting a rounded surface, it would be apt to roll or slip
under the blow. The point to be sclected is about two inches below the union
of the two portions of the jugular at the angle of the jaw (see cut, p. 248). The
fleam is to be placed in a direct line with the course of the vein, and over the
precise centre of the vein, as close to it as possible, but its point not absolutely
touching the vein. A sharp rap with the bloodstick or the hand on that part
of the back of the fleam immediately over the blade, will cut through the vein,
and the blood will flow. A fleam with a large blade should always be pre-
ferred, for the operation will be materially shortened, and this will be a matter
of some consequence with a fidgety or restive horse. A quantity of blood drawn
speedily will also have far more effect on the system than double the weight
slowly taken, while the wound will heal just as readily as if made by a smaller
instrument. There is no occasion to press so hard against the neck with the
pail, or can, as some do ; a slight pressure, if the incision has been large enough
and straight, and in the middle of the vein, will cause the blood to flow sufficiently
fast ; or, the finger being introduced into the mouth between the tushes and
the grinders, and gently moved about, will keep the mouth in motion, and hasten
the rapidity of the stream by the action and pressure of the neighbouring muscles.

When sufficient blood has been taken, the edges of the wound should be
brought closely and exactly together, and kept together by a small sharp pin
being passed through them. Round this a little tow, or a few hairs from the
mane of the horse, should be wrapped, so as to cover the whole of the incision ;
and the head of the horse should be tied up for several hours to prevent his.
rubbing the part against the manger. In bringing the edges of the wound
together, and introducing the pin, care should be taken not to draw the skin
BLEEDING. 249

too much from the neck, otherwise blood will insinuate itself between it and
the muscles beneath, and cause an unsightly and sometimes‘ troublesome
swelling. ;

The blood should be received into a vessel the dimensions of which are
exactly known, so that the operator may be able to calculate at every period
of the bleeding the quantity that is subtracted. Care likewise should be taken
that the blood flows in a regular stream into the centre of the vessel, for if it
is suffered to trickle down the sides, it will not afterwards undergo those changes
by which we partially judge of the extent of inflammation. The pulse, how-
ever, and the symptoms of the case collectively, will form a better criterion than
any change in the blood. Twenty-four hours after the operation, the edges of
the wound will have united, and the pin should be withdrawn. 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
instrument is adopted, too much care cannot be taken to have it perfectly
clean, and very sharp. It should be carefully wiped and dried immediately after
the operation, otherwise, ina very short time, the edges will begin to be corroded.

For general bleeding the jugular vein is selected as the largest superficial
one, and most easily got at, In every affection of the head, and in cases of
fever or extended inflammatory action, it is decidedly the best place for bleeding.
In local inflammation, blood may be taken from any of the superficial veins.
In supposed affections of the shoulder, or of the fore-leg or foot, the plate vein,
which comes from the inside of the arm, and runs upwards directly in front ot
it towards the jugular, may be opened. In affections of the hind extremity,
blood is sometimes extracted from the saphena, or thigh-vein, which runs
across the inside of the thigh. In foot cases it may be taken from the coronet,
or, much more safely, from the toe; not by cutting out, as the farrier does,
a piece of the sole at the toe of the frog, which sometimes causes a wound diffi-
cult to heal, and followed by festering, and even by canker; but cutting down
with a fine drawing-knife, called a searcher, at the union between the crust and
the sole at the very toe until the blood flows, and, if necessary, encouvaging its
discharge by dipping the foot in warm water. The mesh-work of both arterics
and veins will be here divided, and blood is generally obtained in any quantity
that may be needed. The bleeding may be stopped with the greatest ease,
by placing a bit of tow in the little groove that has been cut, and tacking the
shoe over it*.

 

* A great improvement has lately been in-
troduced in the method of arresting arterial
hemorrhage. The operation is very simple,
and, with common care, successful. The in-
strument is a pair of artery forceps, with rather
sharper teeth than the common forceps, and
the blades held close by a slide. The vessel
is laid bare, detached from the cellular sub-
stance around it, and the artery then grasped
by the forceps, the instrument deviating a very
little from the line of the artery. The vessel
is now divided close to the forceps, and behind
them, and the forceps are twisted four or five
times round. The forceps are then loosened,
and, generally speaking, not more than a drop
ar two of blood will have been lo:t, This

method of arresting bleeding has been applied
by several scientific and benevolent men with
almost constant success. It has heen readily
and effectually practised in docking, and our
patients have escaped much torture, and teta-
nus lost many a victim. The forceps have
been introduced, and with much success, in
castration, and thus the principal danger of
that operation, as well as the most painful
part of it, is removed. The colt will bo a
fair subject for this expcriment, On the
sheep and the calf it may be readily per-
formed, and the operator will have the pleas.
ing consciousness of rescuing many a pool
animal from the unnecessary infliction of tor
ture.
230 THE MEMBRANE OF THE NOSE.

CHAPTER XII.

We now proceed to the consideration of the diseases of the respiratory
system.
THE MEMBRANE OF THE NOSE.

The mucous membrane of the nose is distinguished from other mucous
surfaces, not only by its thickness, but its vascularity. The bloodvessels are
likewise superficial ; they are not covered even by integument, but merely by
an unsubstantial mucous coat. They are deeper seated, indeed, than in the
human being, and they are more protected from injury ; and therefore there
is far less hemorrhage from the nostril of the horse than from that of the
human being, whether spontaneous or accidental. Lying immediately under the
mucous coat, these vessels give a peculiar, and, to the horseman, a most important
tinge to the membrane, and particularly observable on the septum. They present
him with a faithful indication of the state of the circulation, and especially in
the membranes of the other respiratory passages with which this is continuous,

The horseman and the veterinary surgeon do not possess many of the
auxiliaries of the human practitioner. Their patients are dumb; they can
neither tell the seat nor the degree of pain; and the blunders of the practitioner
are seldom buried with the patient. Well, he must use greater diligence in
availing himself of the advantages that he does possess; and he has some, and
very important ones too. The varying hue of the Schneiderian membrane is
the most important of all; and, with regard to the most frequent and fatal
diseases of the horse—those of the respiratory passages—it gives almost all the
information with regard to the state of the circulation in those parts that can
possibly be required. Veterinarians too generally overlook this. It has not
yet been sufficiently taught in our schools, or inculcated in our best works on
the pathology of the horse.

It is the custom with almost every horseman who takes any pains to
ascertain the state of his patient, to turn down the lower eyelid, and to form
his opinion of the degree of general inflammation by the colour which the
lining membrane of the lid presents. If it is very red, he concludes that there
is considerable fever ; if it is of a pale pinkish hue, there is comparatively little
danger. This is a very important examination, and the conclusion Which he
draws from it is generally true: but-on the septum of the nose he has a mem-
brane more immediately continuous with those of the respiratory organs—
more easily got at—presenting a larger surface—the ramifications of the blood-
vessels better seen, and, what is truly important, indicating not only the general
affection of the membranes, but of those with which he is most of all concerned.

We would then say to every horseman and practitioner, study the character of
that portion of the membrane which covers the lower part of the membrane of
the nose—that which you can most readily bring into view. Day after day, and
under all the varying circumstances of health and disease, study it until you are
enabled to recognise, and you soon will, and that with a degree of exactitude
you would have scarcely thought possible, the pale pink hue when the horse
is in health—the increasing blush of red, and the general and uniform painting
of the membrane, betokening some excitement of the system—the streaked
appearance when inflammation is threatening or commencing—the intensely
florid red of inflammation becoming acute—the starting of the vessels from
their gossamer coat, and their seeming to run bare over the membrane, when
the inflammation is at the highest—the pale ground with patches of vivid red,
CATARRH, OR COLD. 251

showing the half-subdued but still existing fever—the uniform colour, but
somewhat redder than natural, indicating a return toa healthy state of the
circulation—the paleness approaching to white, accompanying a state of debility,
and yet some radiations of crimson, showing that there is still considerable
irritability, and that mischief may be in the wind—the pale livid colour warn-
ing you that the disease is assuming a typhoid character—the darker livid
announcing that the typhus is established, and that the vital current is stag-
nating—and the browner, dirty painting, intermingling with and subduing the
lividness, and indicating that the game is up. These appearances will be guides
to our opinion and treatment, which we can never too highly appreciate,

CATARRH, OR COLD.

Catarrh, or Cold, is attended by a slight defluxion from the nose—now and
then, a slighter weeping from the eyes, and some increased labour of breathing,
on account of the uneasiness which the animal experiences from the passage of
the air over the naturally sensitive and now more than usually irritable surface,
and from the air-passage being diminished by.a thickening of the membrane.
When this is a simply local inflammation, attended by no loss of appetite or
increased animal temperature, it may speedily pass over.

In many cases, however, the inflammation of a membrane naturally so
sensitive, and rendered so morbidly irritable by our absurd treatment, rapidly
spreads, and involves the fauces, the lymphatic and some of the salivary glands,
the throat, the parotid gland, and the membrane of the larynx. We have then
increased discharge from the nose, greater redness of the membrane of the nose,
more defluxion from the eyes, and loss of appetite from a degree of fever asso-
ciating itself with the local affection, and there also being a greater or less degree
of pain in the act of swallowing, and which if the animal feels this he will never
eat. Cough now appears more or less frequent or painful; but with no great
acceleration of the pulse, or heaving of the flanks.

Catarrh may arise from a thousand causes. Membranes subjected to so many
sources of irritation soon become irritable. Exposure to cold or rain, change of
stable, change of weather, change of the slightest portion of clothing, neglect of
grooming, and a variety of circumstances apparently trifling, and which they
who are unaccustomed to horses would think could not possibly produce any
injurious effect, are the causes of catarrh. In the spring of the year, and while
moulting, a great many young horses have cough; and in the dealers’ stables,
where the process of making up the horse for sale is carrying on, there is
scarcely one of them that escapes this disease.

In the majority of cases, a few warm mashes, warm clothing, and a warm
stable—a fever-ball or two, with a drachm of aloes in each, and alittle antimony
in the evening, will set all right. Indeed, all would soon be right without any
medicine ; and much more speedily and perfectly than if the cordials, of which
grooms and farriers are so fond, had been given. Nineteen horses out of twenty
with common catarrh will do well ; but in the twentieth case, a neglected cough
may be the precursor of bronchitis, and pneumonia. These chest affections
often insidiously creep on, and inflammation is frequently established before any
one belonging to the horse is aware of its existence. If there is the least fever,
the horse should be bled. A common cold, attended by heat of the mouth or in-
disposition to feed, should never pass without the abstraction of blood. A physic-
ball, however, should not be given in catarrh without much consideration. It
can scarcely be known what sympathy may exist between the portion of mem-
brane already affected, and the mucous membranes generally. In severe tho-
racic affection, or in that which may soon become so, a dose of physic would be
little better than a dose of poison. If, however, careful investigation renders it
evident that there is no affection of the lungs, and that the disease has not pro-
252 INFLAMMATION OF THE LARYNX.

ceeded beyond the fauces, small doses of alocs may with advantage be united
with other medicines in order to evacuate the intestinal canal, and reduce the
faecal discharge to a pultaceous form.

If catarrh is accompanied by sore throat ; if the parotids should enlarge and
become tender—there are no tonsils, amygdale, in the horse—or if the sub-
maxillary glands should be inflamed, and the animal should quid his food and
gulp his water, this will be an additional reason for bleeding, and also for warm
clothing and a comfortable stable. A hot stable is not meant by the term com-
fortable, in which the foul air is breathed over and over again, but a tempera-
ture some degrees above that of the external air, and where that determination
to the skin and inereased action of the exhalent vessels, which in these cases are
so desirable, may take place. Every stable, both for horses in sickness and in
health, should have in it a thermometer.

Some stimulating liniment may be applied over the inflamed gland, consisting
of turpentine or tincture of cantharides diluted with spermaceti or neat’s-foot
oil—strong enough to produce considerable irritation on the skin, but not to
blister, or to destroy the hair. An embrocation sufficiently powerful, and yet
that never destroys the hair, consists of equal parts of hartshorn, oil of turpen-
tine, and camphorated spirit, with a small quantity of laudanum.

INFLAMMATION OF THE LARYNX.

Strictly speaking, this refers to inflammation confined to the larynx, but
either catarrh or bronchitis, or both, frequently accompany the complaint.

Its approach is often insidious, scarcely to be distinguished from catarrh ex-
cept by being attended with more soreness of throat, and less enlargement of the
parotid glands. There are also more decided and violent paroxysms of cough-
ing 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
referrible to the larynx. The breathing is shorter and quicker, and evidently
more painful than in catarrh ; the membrane of the nose is redder ; it is of a
deep modena colour; 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 difficulty of swallow-
ing. Considerable swelling of the larynx and the pharynx ensue, and also of
the parotid, sublingual and submaxillary glands. As the inflammation increases
the cough becomes hoarse and feeble, and in some cases altogether suspended.
At the commencement there is usually little or no nasal defluxion, but the
secretion soon appears, either pure cr mixed with an unusual quantity of saliva.

Auscultation is a very important aid in the discovery of the nature and
serious or trifling character of this disease. It cannot be too often repeated that
it is one of the most valuable means which we possess of detecting the seat,
intensity and results, of the maladies of the respiratory passages. No instru-
ment is required ; the naked ear can be applied evenly and flatly, and with a
very slight pressure, on any part that it is of importance to examine. The
healthy sound, when the ear is applied to the windpipe, is that of a body of air
passing uninterruptedly through a smooth tube of somewhat considerable cali-
bre: it very much resembles the sound of a pair of forge bellows, when not too
violently worked.

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 gra-
INFLAMMATION OF THE TRACHEA. 263

dually proceed up the neck with his car still upon the windpipe. Perhaps he soon
begins to recognise a little gurgling, grating sound. As he continues to ascend.

that sound is more decisive, mingled with an occasional wheezing, whistling
noise. He can have no surer proof that here is the impediment to the passage
of the air, proceeding from the thickening of the membrane and diminution of
the passage, or increased secretion of mucus, which bubbles 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 profes-
sional advice the better.

Chronic laryngitis is of more frequent occurrence than acute, Many of the
roughs that are most troublesome are to be traced to this source.

In violent cases laryngitis terminates in suffocation ; in others, in thick wind
or in roaring. Occasionally it is necessary to have recourse to the operation of
tracheotomy.

In acute laryngitis the treatment to be pursued is sufficiently plain. Blood
must be abstracted, and that from the jugular vein, for there will then be the
combined advantage of general and local bleeding. The blood must be some-
what copiously withdrawn, depending on the degree of inflammation— the
practitioner never for a moment forgetting that he has to do with inflammation
of a mucous membrane, and that what he does he must do quickly He will
have lost the opportunity of struggling successfully with the disease when it has
altered its character and debility has succeeded. The cases must be few and far
between when the surgeon makes up his mind to any determinate quantity of
blood, and leaves his assistant or his groom to abstract it; he must himself
bleed, and until the pulse flutters or the constitution is evidently affected.

Next must be given the fever medicine already recommended: the digitalis,
nitre, and emetic tartar, with aloes. Aloes may here be safely given, because
the chest is not yet implicated. To this must be added, and immediately, a
blister, and a sharp one. The surgeon is sure of the part, and he can bring his
counter-irritant almost into contact with it.

Inflammation of the larynx, if not speedily subdued, produces sad disorganiza-
tion in this curiously formed and important machine. Lymph is effused, mor-
bidly adhesive, and speedily organised—the membrane becomes thickened, con-
siderably, permanently so—the submucous cellular tissue becomes oedematous ;
the inflammation spreads from the membrane of the larynx to the cartilages, and
difficulty of breathing, and at length confirmed roaring, ensue.

INFLAMMATION OF THE TRACHEA.

Inflammation of the membrane of the larynx, and especially when it has run
on to ulceration, may rapidly spread, and involve the greater part or the whole
of the lining membrane of the trachea. Auscultation will discover when this is
taking place. If the disease is extending down the trachea, it must be followed.
A blister must reach as low as the rattling sound can be detected, and some-
what beyond this. The fever medicines must be administered in somewhat
increased doses; and the bleeding must be repeated, if the state of the pulse
does not indicate the contrary. .

Generally speaking, however, although the inflammation is now approaching
the chest, its extension into the trachea is not an unfavourable symptom. It
is spread over a more extended surface, and is not so intense or untractable.
It is involving a part of the frame less complicated, and where less mischief
can be effected. True, if the case is neglected, it must terminate fatally ; but
it is coming more within reach, and more under command, and, the proper
means being adopted, the change is rather a favourable one,
254 ROARING,

The disorganizations produced in the trachea are similar to some which have.
been described in the larynx. The same formation of organised bands of coagu-
lated lymph, the same thickening of membrane, diminution of calibre, and
foundation for roaring.

ROARING.

The present will be the proper place to speak of that singular impairment
of the respiratory function recognised by this name. It is an unnatural, loud
grunting sound made by the animal in the act of breathing when in quick action
or on any sudden exertion. On carefully listening to the sound, it will appear
that the roaring is produced in the act of inspiration and not in that of expira-
tion. If the horse is briskly trotted on a level surface, and more particularly
if he is hurried up hill, or if he is suddenly threatened with a stick, this pecu-
liar sound will be heard and cannot be mistaken. When dishonest dealers are
showing a horse that roars, but not to any great degree, they trot away gently, and
as soon as they are too far for the sound to be heard, show off the best paces of
the animal: on returning, they gradually slacken their speed when they come
within a suspicious distance. This is sometimes technically called “the dealers’
long trot.”

Roaring is exceedingly unpleasant to the rider, and it is manifest unsound-
ness. It is the sudden and violent rushing of the air through a tube of dimi-
nished calibre; and if the impediment, whatever it is, renders it so difficult for
the air to pass in somewhat increased action, sufficient cannot be admitted to
give an adequate supply of arterialized blood in extraordinary or long-continued
exertion. Therefore, as impairing the function of respiration, although, some-
times, only on extraordinary occasions, it is unsoundness, In as many cases as
otherwise, it is a very serious cause of unsoundness. The roarer, when hardly
pressed, is often blown even to the hazard of suffocation, and there are cases
on record of his suddenly dropping and dying when urged to the top of his
speed.

rte must not, however, be taken fer granted that the roarer is always worth-
less. There are few hunts in which there is not one of these horses, who acquits
himself very fairly in the field; and it has occasionally so happened that the
roarer has been the very crack horse of the hunt ; yet he must be ridden with
judgment, and spared a little when going up-hill. There is a village in the
West Riding of Yorkshire, through which a band of smugglers used frequently
to pass in the dead of night ; the horse of the leader, and the best horse of the
troop, and on which his owner would bid defiance to all pursuit, was so rank a
roarer, that he could be heard at a considerable distance. The clattering of all
the rest scarcely made so much noise as the roaring of the captain’s horse
When this became a little too bad, and he did not fear immediate pursuit, the
smuggler used to halt the troop at some convenient hayrick on the roadside, and,
having suffered the animal to distend his stomach with this dry food, as he was
always ready enough to do, he would remount and gallop on, and, for a while,
the roaring was scarcely heard. It is somewhat difficult to account for this. Per-
haps the loaded stomach now pressing against the diaphragm, that muscle had
harder work to displace this viscus in the act of enlarging the chest and produc-
ing an act of inspiration, and accomplished it more slowly, and therefore, the
air passing more slowly by, the roaring was diminished. We do not dare to cal-
culate what must have been the increased labour of the diaphragm in moving
the loaded stomach, nor how much sooner the horse must have been exhausted.
This did not enter into the owner's reckoning, and probably the application of
whip and spur would deprive him of the means of forming a proper calcula-
tion of it.

Eclipse was a “ high-blower.” He drew his breath hard, and with apparent
ROARING. 255

difficulty. The upper air-passages, perhaps those of the head, did not corres-
pond with his unusually capacious chest ; yet he was never beaten. It is said
that he never met with an antagonist fairly to pnt him to the top of his speed,
and that the actual effect of this disproportion in the two extremities of the
respiratory apparatus was not thoroughly tested. Mares comparatively seldom
become roarers. It appears to be difficult, if not impossible, to assign any
satisfactory reason for this; but the fact is too notorious among horsemen, to
admit of doubt.

Roaring proceeds from obstruction in some portion of the respiratory canal,
and oftenest in the larynx, for there is least room to spare—that cartilaginous box
being occupied by the mechanism of the voice: next in frequency it is in the
trachea, but, in fact, obstruction any where will produce it. Mr. Blaine,
quoting from a French journalist, says, that a piece of riband lodged within
one of the nasal fosse produced roaring, and that even the displacement of a
molar tooth has been the supposed cause of it. Polypi in the nostrils have
been accompanied by it. Mr. Sewell found, as an evident cause of roaring, an
exostosis between the two first ribs, and pressing upon the trachea; and Mr.
Percivall goes farther, and says that his father repeatedly blistered and fired a
horse for bad roaring, and even performed the operation of tracheotomy, and at
length the roaring being so loud when the horse was led out of the stable, that
it was painful to hear it—the poor animal was destroyed. No thickening of
the membrane was found, no disease of the larynx or trachea; but the lungs
were hepatized throughout the greater part of their substance, and many of the
smaller divisions of the bronchi were so compressed, that they were hardly
pervious.

Bands of Coagulated Lymph.—A frequent cause of roaring is bands of coagu-
lated lymph, morbidly viscid and tenacious, adhering firmly on one side, and
by some act of coughing brought into contact with and adhering to the other
side, and becoming gradually organized. At other times there have been rings
of coagulated lymph adhering to the lining of the trachea, but not organized.
In either case they form a mechanical obstruction, and will account for the
roaring noise produced by the air rushing violently through the diminished
calibre, in hurried respiration. Thickening of the membrane is a more fre-
quent cause of roaring than the transverse bands of coagulated lymph. In
many morbid specimens it is double or treble its natural thickness, and covered
with manifold ulcerations. This is particularly annoying in the upper part
of the windpipe, where the passages, in their natural state, are narrow. Thus
it is that roaring is the occasional consequence of strangles and catarrh, and
other affections of the superior passages.

There is scarcely a horse of five or six years old who has not a portion of the
thyroid cartilage ossified. In some cases the greater part of the cartilages are
becoming bony, or sufficiently so to weaken or destroy their clastic power, and
consequently to render it impossible for them to be freely and fully acted upon
by the delicate muscles of the larynx.

Chronic cough occasionally terminates in roaring. Some have imagined that
the dealers’ habit of coughing the horse, i. e. pressing upon the larynx to mako
him cough, in order that they may judge of the state of his wind by the sound
that is emitted, has produced inflammation about the larynx, which has termi-
nated in roaring, or assisted in producing it. That pain is given to the animal
by the rough and violent way in which the object is sometimes attempted to be
accomplished, is evident enough, and this must, in process of time, lead to mis-
chief ; but sufficient inflammation and subsequent ossification of the cartilages
would scarcely be produced, to be a cause of roaring.

The Disease of Draught-Horees generally.—There can be no doubt of the
256 ROARING.

fact, that the majority of roarers are draught-horses, and horses of quick draught.
They are not only subject to the usual predisposing causes of this obstrue-
tion, but there is something superadded,—resulting from their habits or
mode of work,—not indeed necessarily resulting, but that which the folly as
well as cruelty of man has introduced—the system of tight-reining. Toa
certain extent, the curb-rein is necessary. Without it there would be scarcely
any command over a wilful horse, and it would need a strong arm occasionally
to guide even the most willing. Without the curb-rein the horse would carry
himself low ; he would go carelessly along ; he would become a stumbler; and
if he were disposed at any time to run away, the strongest arm would have
little power to stop him: but there is no necessity for the tight rein, and for
the long and previous discipline to which the carriage horse is subjected. There
is no necessity that the lower jaw, whether the channel is wide or narrow,
should be so forced on the neck, or that the larynx and the portion of the wind-
pipe immediately bencath it should be flattened, and bent, and twisted, and the
respiratory passage not only obstructed, but in a manner closed. The mischief
is usually done when the horse is young. It is effected in some measure by the
impatience of the animal, unused to control, and suffering pain. In the violent
tossing of his head he bruises the larynx, and produces inflammation. The
head of the riding-horse is gradually brought to its proper place by the hands
of the breaker, who skilfully increases or relaxes the pressure, and humours and
plays with the mouth; but the poor carriage-horse is confined by a rein that
never slackens, and his nose is bent in at the expense of the larynx and wind-
pipe. The injury is materially increased if the head is not naturally well set
on, or the neck is thick, or the jaws narrow.

Connected with this is the common notion that crib-biting is a cause of roar-
ing. That is altogether erroneous. There is no possible connexion between
the complaints: but one of the methods that used to be resorted to in order to
cure crib-biting might be a cause of roaring, namely, the strap so tightly
buckled round the upper part of the neck as to compress, and distort, and para-
lyse the larynx.

Facts have established the hereditary predisposition to roaring, beyond the
possibility of doubt.

In France it is notorious that three-fourths of the horses from Cottentin are
roarers, and some of them are roarers at six months old ; but about La Hague
and Le Bocase, not a roarer isknown. There is certainly a considerable differ-
ence in the soil of the two districts; the first is low and marshy, the latter
elevated and dry: but tradition traces it to the introduction of some foreign
horses into Cottentin, who bequeathed this infirmity to their progeny.

In our own country, there is as decisive a proof. There was a valuable
stallion in Norfolk, belonging to Major Wilson, of Didlington. He was a great
favourite, and seemed to be getting some excellent stock ; but he was a roarer,
and some of the breeders took alarm at this. They had occasionally too painful
experience of the communication of the defects of the parent to his progeny ;
and they feared that roaring might possibly be among these hereditary evils.
Sir Charles Bunbury was requested to obtain Mr. Cline’s opinion on the subject.
Mr. Cline was a deservedly eminent human surgeon: he had exerted himself
in the establishment of the Veterinary College: he was an examiner of veteri-
nary pupils, and therefore it was supposed that he must be competent to give an
opinion. He gave one, and at considerable length :—“ The disorder in the
horse,” said he, “ which constitutes a roarer, is caused by a merabranovs pro-
jection in a part of the windpipe, and is the consequence of that part having been
inflamed from a cold, and injudiciously treated. A roarer, therefore, is not a
diseased horse, for his lungs and every other part may be perfectly sound. The
ROARING. 257

existence of roaring in a stallion cannot be of any consequence. It cannot
be propagated any more than a broken bone, or any other accident.”’—A fair
specimen of the horse-knowledge of one of the best of the medical examiners of
veterinary pupils.

Sir Charles returned full of glee; the good people of Norfolk and Suffolk
were satisfied ; Major Wilson’s horse was in high request: but in a few years a
great part of the two counties was overrun with roarers, and many a breeder
half ruined. Roaring is not, however, necessarily hereditary. Mr. Goodwin
whose name is great authority, states that Taurus, a celebrated. racer that
had become a roarer, had covered several mares, and their produce all turned
out well, aud had won several races. Inno instance did his progeny exhibit this
defect, notwithstanding that his own family were notorious for being roarers.
Eclipse also is said to have been a roarer.

What then is to be done with these animals? Abandon them to their fate ?
No, not so; but there is no necessity rashly to undertake a hopeless affair. All
possible knowledge must be obtained of the origin of the disease. Did it follow
strangles, catarrh, bronchitis, or any affection of the respiratory passages? Is it
of long standing? Is it now accompanied by cough or any symptoms of general
or local irritation? Can any disorganization of these parts be detected ? Any
distortion of the larynx? Did it follow breaking-in to harness? The answer
to these questions will materially guide any future proceedings. If there is
plain distortion of the larynx or trachea, or the disease can be associated, in
point of time, with breaking-in to harness, or the coachman or proprietor has
been accustomed to rein the animal in too tightly or too cruelly, or the sire was a
roarer, it is almost useless to have anything to do with the case. But if it is
of rather recent date, and following closely on some disease with which it can
be clearly connected, careful examination of the patient may be commenced.
Is there cough? Can any heat or tenderness be detected about the larynx or
trachea? Is there in every part the same uniform rushing noise ; or, on some
particular spot, cana more violent breathing, a wheezing or whistling, or a
rattling and guggling, be detected? Is that wheezing or rattling either confined
to one spot, or less sonorous as the ear recedes from that spot above or below;
or is it diffused over a considerable portion of the trachea ?

In these cases it would be fair to bleed, purge, and most certainly to blister.
The ear will guide to the part to which the blister should be applied. The
physic having set, a course of fever medicine should be commenced. It should
be considered as a case of chronic inflammation, and to be subdued by a con-
tinuance of moderate depletory measures. Probably blood should again be
abstracted in less quantity ; a second dose of physic should be given, and, most
certainly, the blister should be repeated, or kept discharging by means of some
stimulating unguent. The degree of success which attends these measures
would determine the farther pursuit of them. Ifno relief is obtained after a
fortnight or three weeks, perhaps the experimenter would ponder on another
mode of treatment. He would again carefully explore the whole extent of the
trachea, and if he could yet refer the rattle or wheezing to the same
point at which he had before observed it, he would boldly propose tracheotomy,
for he could certainly cut upon the seat of disease.

If he found one of these organised bands, the removal of it would afford im-
mediate relief; or if he found merely a thickened membrane, no harm would
be done; or the loss of blood might abate the local inflammation. No one
would eagerly undertake a case of roaring ; but, having undertaken it, he should
give the measures that he adopts a fair trial, remembering that, in every
chronic case like this, the only hope of success depends on perseverance.

s
258 EPIDEMIC CATARRH.

BRONCHOCELE.

Mr. Percivall is almost the only author who takes notice of enlargement of
the thyroid glands—two oval bodies below the larynx, and attached to the tra~
chea, The use of them has never been satisfactorily explained. They some-
times grow to the size of an egg, or larger, but are unattended by cough or fever,
and are nothing more than an eye-sore. The iodine ointment has occasionally
been applied with success. The blister or the seton may also be useful.

EPIDEMIC CATARRH.

Various names are given to this disease—influenza, distemper, catarrhal fever,
and epidemic catarrh. Its usual history is as follows.

In the spring of the year—a cold wet spring—and that succeeding to a mild
winter, and especially among young horses, and those in high condition, or made
up for sale, or that have been kept in hot stables, or exposed to the usual causes
of inflammation, this disease principally, and sometimes almost exclusively,
prevails. Those that are in moderate work, and that are correspondingly fed,
generally escape; or even when it appears in most of the stables in a narrower
or wider district, horses in barracks, regularly worked and moderately fed,
although not entirely exempt, are comparatively seldom diseased.

If it has been observed from the beginning, it will be found that the attack
is usually sudden, ushered in by shivering, and that quickly succeeded by acce-
leration of pulse, heat of mouth, staring coat, tucked-up-belly, diminution of
appetite, painful but not loud cough, heaving at the flanks, redness of the
membrane of the nose, swelled and weeping eye, dejected countenance—these
are the symptoms of catarrh, but under a somewhat aggravated form.

It clearly is not inflammation of the lungs; for there is no coldness of the
extremities, no looking at the flanks, no stiff immovable position, no obstinate
standing up. It is not simple catarrh ; for as early as the second day there is
evident debility. The horse staggers as he walks,

It is inflammation of the respiratory passages generally. It commences in
the membrane of the nose, but it gradually involves the whole of the respiratory
apparatus. Before the disease has been established four-and-twenty hours,
there is frequently sore throat, The horse quids his hay, and gulps his water.
There is no great enlargement of the glands; the parotids are a little tumefied,
the submaxillary somewhat more so, but not at all equivalent to the degree of
soreness. That soreness is excessive, and day after day the horse will obstinately
refuse to eat. Discharge from the nose soon follows in considerable quantity:
thick, very early purulent, and sometimes foetid. The breathing is accelerated
and laborious at the beginning, but does not always increase with the progress
of the disease—nay, sometimes, a deceitful calm succeeds, and the pulse,
quickened and full at first, soon loses its firmness, and although it usually
maintains its unnatural quickness, yet it occasionally deviates from this, and
subsides to little more than its natural standard. The extremities continue tc
be comfortably warm, or at least the temperature is variable, and there is nof
in the manner of the animal, or in any one symptom, a decided reference to any
particular part or spot as the chief seat of disease.

Thus the malady proceeds for an uncertain period : occasionally for several
days—in not a few instances through the whole of its course, and the animal
dies exhausted by extensive or general irritation: but in other cases the
inflammation assumes a local determination, and we have bronchitis or pneu-
monia, but of no very acute character, yet difficult to treat, from the general
debility with which it is connected. Sometimes there are considerable swellings
ia various parts, as the chest, the belly, the extremities, and particularly the
EPIDEMIC CATARRH. 259

head. The brain is occasionally affected; the horse grows stupid; the
conjunctiva is alarmingly red; the animal becomes gradually unconscious

and delirium follows. A curious thickening, that may be mistaken for severe.
sprain, is sometimes observed about the tendons, It is seen under the knee or
about the fetlock. Itis hot and tender, and the lameness is considerable. The feet
occasionally suffer severely. There isa determination of fever to them far more
violent than the original disease, and separation of the lamina and descent of the
soleensue. It may be easily imagined how roaring may be connected with
epidemic catarrh ; but it is rarely or never followed by glanders. These changes
of situation are not fatal, but the practitioner is rather glad to see them, except
indeed when the feet are attacked ; for the disease seems inclined to shift its

situation or character, and is more easily subdued.

The most decided character in this disease is debility. Not the stiff,
unwilling motion of the horse with pneumonia, and which has been mistaken
for debility—every muscle being needed for the purposes of respiration, and
therefore imperfectly used in locomotion—but actual loss of power in the mus-
cular system generally. The horse staggers from the second day. He threatens
to fall if he is moved. He is sometimes down, permanently down, on the third
or fourth day. The emaciation is also occasionally rapid and extreme.

At length the medical treatment which has been employed succeeds, or
nature begins to rally. The cough somewhat subsides ; the pulse assumes its
natural standard ; the countenance acquires a little more animation ; the horse
will eat a small quantity of some choice thing ; and health and strength slowly,
very slowly indeed, return : but at other times, when there had been no decided
change during the progress of the disease, no manageable metastasis of inflam-
mation while there was sufficient power left in the constitution to struggle with
it, a strange exacerbation of symptoms accompanies the closing scene. The
extremities become deathy cold; the flanks heave; the countenance betrays
greater distress ; the membrane of the nose is of an intense red; and inflam-
‘nation of the substance of the lungs and congestion and death speedily follow.

At other times the redness of the nostril suddenly disappears; it becomes
purple, livid, dirty brown, and the discharge is bloody and foetid, the breath and
all the excretions becoming foetid too. The mild character of the disease gives
way to malignant typhus: swellings, and purulent ulcers, spread over different
parts of the frame, and the animal is svon destroyed.

Post-mortem Examination.—Examination after death sufficiently displays
the real character of the disease, inflammation first of the respiratory
passages, and, in fatal or aggravated cases, of the mucous membranes
generally. From the pharynx, to the termination of the small intestines, and
‘often including even the larger ones, there will not be u part free from inflam-
mation ; the upper part of the trachea will be filled with adhesive spume, and
the lining membrane thickened, injected, or ulcerated ; the lining tunic of
the bronchi will exhibit unequivocal marks of inflammation ; the substance of
the lungs will be engorged, and often inflamed; the heart will partake of the
same affection ; its external coat will be red, or purple, or black, and its internal
one will exhibit spots of ecchymosis ; the pericardium will be thickened, and
the pericardiac and pleuritic bags will contain an undue quantity of serous, or
bloody-serous, or purulent fluid.

The cesophagus will be inflamed, sometimes ulcerated—the stomach always
so; the small intestines will uniformly present patches of inflammation or
ulceration. The liver will be inflamed—the spleen enlarged—no part, indeed,
will have escaped ; and if the malady has assumed a typhoid form in its
latter stages, the universality and malignancy of the ulceration will be
excessive.

32
260 EPIDEMIC CATARRH.

This disease is clearly attributable to atmospheric influence, but of the precise.

nature of this influence we are altogether ignorant. It is some foreign inju-
rious principle which mingles with and contaminates the air, but whence this
‘poison is derived, or how it is diffused, we know not. It is engendered, or it
is most prevalent, in cold ungenial weather ; or this weather may dispose the
patient for catarrh, or prepare the tissues to be affected by causes which would
‘otherwise be harmless, or which may at all times exist.

It is most frequent in the spring of the year, but it occasionally rages in
autumn and in winter. It is epidemic ; it spreads over large districts. I+
sometimes pervades the whole country. Scarcely astable escapes. Its appear-
ance is sudden, its progress rapid. Mr. Wilkinson had 36 new cases in one day,
It is said that a celebrated practitioner in London had nearly double that num-
ber in less than twenty-four hours.

At other times it is endemic. It pervades one town; one little tract of
country. It is confined to spots exceedingly circumscribed. It is dependent
on atmospheric agency, but this requires some injurious adjuvant and the prin-
ciple of contagion must probably be called into play. It has been rife enough in
the lower parts of the metropolis, while in the upper and north-western districts
scarcely acase has occurred. It has occasionally been confined toa locality not
extending half-a-mile in any direction. In one of the cavalry barracks the
majority of the horses on one side of the yard were attacked by epidemic
catarrh, while there was not a sick horse on the other side. These prevalences
of disease, and these exceptions, are altogether unaccountable. The stables,
and the system of stable management, have been most carefully inquired into
in the infected and the healthy districts, and no satisfactory difference could be
ascertained. One fact, however, has been established, and a very important one
it is to the horse proprietor as well as the practitioner. The probability of the
disease seems to be in proportion to the number of horses inhabiting the
stable. T'wo or three horses shut up in a comparatively close stable may
escape. Out of thirty horses, distributed through ten or fifteen little stables, not
one may be affected; but in a stable containing ten or twelve horses the
disease will assuredly appear, although it may be proportionally larger and well
ventilated. It is on this account that postmasters and horse-dealers dread its ap-
pearance. In a sickly season their stables are never free from it; and if, per-
chance, it does enter one of their largest stables, almost every horse will be
‘affected. Therefore also it is that grooms have so much dread of a distempered
‘stable, and that the odds are so seriously affected if distemper has broken out in
a racing establishment.

Does this lead to the conclusion that epidemic catarrh is contagious? Not neces-
sarily, but it excites strong suspicion of its being so; and there are so many facts of
the disease following the introduction of a distempered horse into an establish-
ment, that this malady must rank among those that are both contagious and
epidemic. There are few well-informed grooms, or extensive owners of horses,
and living much among them, or veterinary surgeons of considerable practice,
-who entertain the least doubt about the matter. ‘Then every necessary pre-
caution should be adopted. The horse that exhibits symptoms of epidemic
vatarrh should be removed as soon as possible. The affected horses should be
removed, and not the sound ones, for they, although apparently sound, may
a the malady lurking about them, and may more widely propagate the
disease.

With regard to the treatment of epidemic catarrh there may be, and is at
times, considerable difficulty. It isa disease of the mucous membrane, and
thus connected with much debilit ; but it is also a disease of a febrile character,
and the inflammation is occasionally intense. The veterinary surgeon, there-
EPIDEMIC CATARRH. 261

fore, must judge for himself, Is the disease in its eArliest stage marked by
evident inflammatory action? Is there much redness of the membrane of the
nose—much acceleration of the pulse—much heaving of the flanks? If go,

blood must be abstracted. The orifice should be large that the blood may flow
quickly, and the circulation be sooner affected; and the medical attendant
should be present at this first venesection that he may close the orifice as soon as
the pulse begins to falter. This attention to the first bleeding is indispensable.
It is the carelessness with which it is performed—the ignorance of the object to
be accomplished, and the effect actually produced, that destroys half the
horses that are lost from this malady. The first falter of the pulse is the
signal to suspend the bleeding. Every drop lost afterwards may be wanted.

If there is no appearance of febrile action, or only a very slight one,
small doses of aloes may be given, combined with the fever medicines recom-
mended for catarrh. As soon as the feeces are pultaceous, or even before that, the
aloes should be omitted and the fever medicine continued. It will rarely be
prudent to continue the aloes beyond the third drachm.

A stricter attention must be paid to diet than the veterinarian usually
enforces, or the groom dreams of. No corn must be allowed, but mashes and
thin gruel. The water should be entirely taken away, and a bucket of gruel sus-
pended in the box. This is an excellent plan with regard to every sick horse
that we do not wish to reduce too much; and when he finds that the morning
and evening pass over, and his water is not offered to him, he will readily take
to the gruel, and drink as much of it as is good for him. Green meat should be
early offered; such as grass, tares (the latter especially), lucerne, and, above
all, carrots. If these cannot be procured, a little hay may be wetted, and
offered morsel after morsel by the hand. Should this be refused, the hay may
be damped with water slightly salted, and then the patient will generally seize it
with avidity.

Should the horse refuse to eat during the two or three first days, there is no
occasion to be in a hurry to drench with gruel; it will make the mouth sore,
and the throat sore, and tease and disgust : but if he should long continue obsti-
nately to refuse his food, nutriment must be forced upon him. Good thick gruel
must be horned down, or, what is better, given by means of Read’s pump.

The practitioner will often and anxiously have recourse to auscultation. He
will listen for the mucous rattle, creeping down the windpipe, and entering the
bronchial passages. If he cannot detect it below the larynx, he will apply a
strong blister, reaching from ear to ear, and extending to the second or third ring
of the trachea. Ifhe can trace the rattle in the windpipe, he must follow it,—
he must blister as far as the disease has spread. This will often have an excel~
lent effect, not only as a counter-irritant, but as rousing the languid powers of
the constitution. A rowel of tolerable size between the fore legs cannot do harm.
[t may act as a derivative, or it may take away a disposition to inflammation in
the contiguous portion of the chest.

The inflammation which characterizes the early stage of this disease is at first
confined to the membrane of the mouth and the fauces. Can fomentations be
applied? Yes, and to the very part, by means of a hot mash, not thrown into
the manger over which the head of the horse cannot be confined, but placed in
that too-much-undervalued and discarded article of stable-furniture, the nose-
bag. The vapour of the water will, at every inspiration, pass over the inflamed
surface. In the majority of cases relief will speedily be obtained, and that
suppuration from the part so necessary to the permanent removal of the inflam-
mation—a copious discharge of mucus or purulent matter from the nostrils—.
will be hastened. If the discharge does not appear so speedily as could be
wished, a stimulant should be applied to the part. The vapour impregnated with
262 EPIDEMIC CATARRII.

turpentine arising from fresh yellow deal saw-dust, used instead of bran, will
have very considerable effect in quickening and increasing the suppuration. It
may even be resorted to almost from the beginning, if there is not evidently
much irritability of membrane.

A hood is a useful article of clothing in these cases. It increases the perspi-
ration from the surface covering the inflamed part—a circumstance always of
considerable moment.

An equable warmth should be preserved, if possible, over the whole body.
‘The hand-brush should be gently used every day, and harder and more effectual
rubbing applied to the legs. The patient should, if possible, be placed in a
loose box, in which he may toddle about, and take a little exercise, and out o1
which he should rarely, if at all, be taken. The exercise of which the groom
is so fond in these cases, and which must in the most peremptory terms be
forbidden, has destroyed thousands of horses. The air should be fresh and
uncontaminated, but never chilly; for the object is to increase and not to
repress cutaneous perspiration ; to produce, if possible, a determination of blood
to the skin, and not to drive it to the part already too much overloaded. In
order to accomplish this, the clothing should be rather warmer than usual.

The case may proceed somewhat slowly, and not quite satisfactorily to the
practitioner or his employer. There is not much fever—there is little or no
local inflammation; but there is.great emaciation and debility, and total loss of
appetite. The quantity of the sedative may then be lessened but not omitted alto-
gether ; for the fire may not be extinguished, although for a little while con-
cealed. There are no diseases so insidious and treacherous as these. Mild and
vegetable tonics, such as gentian and ginger, may be given. Two days after
this the sedative may be altogether omitted, and the tonic gradually increased.

The feeding should now be sedulously attended to. Almost every kind of
green meat that can be obtained should be given, particularly carrots nicely
scraped and sliced. The food should be changed as often as the capricious
appetite prompts ; and occasionally, if necessary, the patient should be forced with
gruel as thick as it will run from the horn, but the gradual return of health
should be well assured, before one morsel of corn is given*,

A very few weeks ago, the author received from his friend, Mr. Percivall, the
following account of a new and destructive epidemic among horses :—

“ From the close of the past year and the beginning of the present, up to
the time I am writing, the influenza among horses has continued to prevail in
the metropolis and different parts of the country with more or less fatality. In
London it has assumed the form of laryngitis, associated in some instances with
bronchitis ; in others—in all I believe where it has proved fatal—with pleurisy.
The parenchymatous structure of the lungs has not partaken of the disease, or
but consecutively and slightly. The earliest and most characteristic symptom
has been sore throat ; causing troublesome dry short cough, but rarely occa-
sioning any difficulty of deglutition, and, in no instance that I have seen,
severe or extensive enough to produce anything like disgorgement or return of
the masticated matters through the nose, and yet the slightest pressure on the
larynx has excited an act of coughing. But seldom has any glandular enlarge-
ment appeared. The symptom secondarily remarkable after the sore throat
and cough has been a dispiritedness or dulness, for which most epidemics of the
kind are remarkable. The animal, at the time of sickening, has hung his
head under the manger, with his eyes half shut, and his lower lip pendent,
without evincing any alarm or even much notice, though a person entered his

 

* An interesting account of epidemic A work, by the author of this volume, is in
among horses will be found in the Association preparation, on the epidemics that have pre-
Part of “ The Veterinarian,” vols. xii.andxv. vailedamong all our domesticated animals.
EPIDEMIC CATARRH. 263

ubode or approached him; and if in a box, his head is often found during
nis illness turned towards the door or window. Fever, without any disturb-
ance of the respiration, has always been present ; the pulse has been acce-
lerated, though rather small and weak in its beat than indicative of strength;
the mouth has been hot, sometimes burning hot, afterwards moist, and perhaps
saponaceous ; the skin and extremities in general have been warm. Now and
then the prostration and appearance of debility have been such, and so rapid in
their manifestation, that, shortly after being attacked, a horse has staggeringly
walked twenty yards only—the distance from his stable into an infirmary-box.
The appetite, though impaired much, has seldcm been altogether lost. Gene-
rally, if a little fresh hay has been offered, it has been taken and eaten; but to
mashes there has been commonly great aversion. During the long continuance
of the wind in the east, the sore throat and cough have been unattended by any
flux from the nose ; but since the wind has shifted within this last fortnight or
three weeks, discharges from the nostrils have appeared, profuse even in quan-
tity, and purulent in their nature; in fact, the disease has assumed a more
catarrhal character—ergo, I might add, a more favourable one.

“The disorder has exhibited every phase and degree of intensity, from the
slightest perceivable dulness, which has passed off with simply a change in the
diet, to an insidious, unyielding, unsubduable pleurisy, ending: in hydrothorax,
in spite of everything that could be done, and most timely done. So long as
the disease has confined itself to the throat, and that there has been along with
that only dejection, prostration, and fever, there has existed no cause for alarm ;
but when such symptoms have, after some days’ continuance, not abated, and
have, on the contrary, rather increased, and others have arisen which but too
well have authorised suspicions that ‘mischief was brewing in the chest,’
then there became the strongest reasons for alarm for the safety of the patient.
What is now to be done? . The practitioner durst not bleed a second time, at
least not generally, for the patient’s strength would not endure it, although he
is certain a pleurisy is consuming his patient. He possesses no effectual means
for topical blood-letting. Neither blisters nor rowels, nor plugs nor setons, will
take any effect. Cathartic medicine he must not administer; nauseants are
uncertain and doubtful in their efficacy ; sedatives, tonics, and stimulants, and
narcotics, appear counter-indicated, inflammation existing, and, when tried
under such circumstances, have, I believe, never failed to do harm.

“Dissatisfied with one and all of these remedies in the late influenza—though the
losses I have experienced have, after all, not been so very comparatively great,
being no more, since the beginning of the year, than three out of nearly forty cases
—I repeat, having, as I thought, reason to be dissatisfied for losing even these three
cases, considering that they came under my care at the earliest period of indis-
position, I determined, in any similar cases that might occur, to have recourse
to that medicine which, in all membranous inflammations in particular, is the
physician’s sheet-anchor, and which I had exhibited, and still continue to do,
myself, in other disorders, though I had never given it a fair trial in epidemics
having that tendency which I have described the present one uniformly to have
indicated, viz., the destruction of life by an inflammation attacking membranous
parts, of a nature over which, being forbidden to bleed, we appeared to possess
little or no power. Could we have drawn blood from the sides or breast, by
cupping or by leeches, in any tolerable quantity, we might have had some con-
trol over the internal disease; but barred from this, and without any remedy
save a counter-irritant, which we could not make act, or an internal medi-
cine, whose action became extremely dubious, if not positively hurtful, what
was to he done? I repeat, I made up my mind to experiment with the
surgeon's remedy in the same disease, namely, mercury; and that I have
264 THE MALIGNANT EPIDEMIC.

had reason to feel gratified at the result will, I think, appear from the fol-
lowing cases :— ;

“Case I.—April 8. Every symptom of the prevailing epidemic: and consider-
ably aggravated on the 10th, when the horse laboured under much prostration
of strength, and staggered considerably in his gait. The following ball was
then ordered to be given him twice aday: R Hydrarg. chlorid. 3, farin. avene
3 ss, terebinth. vulg. q. s. ut fiat bol. One to be given morning and night. He
soon began to improve ; and was returned to the stable on the 26th, convalescent.
A second patient of the same character was cured in eighteen days, and a third
in nineteen days.” The author of this work had the pleasure of witnessing
these cases.

Mr. Percivall adds, “Lest it should be said, after the perusal of these three
cases, that they do not appear to have been of a dangerous character, or to have
required anything out of the ordinary line of treatment, I beg to observe, that
at the periods at which I submitted them to the action of mercury, they so
much resembled three others that had preceded them, and the disease had
proved fatal, that, under a continuance of treatment of any ordinary kind, 1
certainly should have entertained fears for their safety. ‘

“It must be remembered that they were cases in which blood-letting, except
at the commencement, was altogether forbidden ; and that at the critical period
when mercury was introduced they had taken an unfavourable turn, and that
nothing in the shape of remedy appeared available save internal medicine and
counter-irritation, and that the latter had not and did not show results betoken-
ing the welfare of the patients. Under these circumstances the mercury was
exhibited. That it entered the system, and must have had more or less influence
on the disease, appears evident from its effect on the gums. That it proved the
means of cure, I cannot, from so few cases, take upon myself to assert; but I
would recommend it in similar cases to the notice of practitioners.”

THE MALIGNANT EPIDEMIC.

Continental veterinarians describe a malignant variety or termination of this
disease, and the imperfect history of veterinary medicine in Britain is not with-
out its records of it. So lately as the year 1815, an epidemic of a malignant
character reigned among horses. Three out of five who were attacked died.
It reappeared in 1823, but was not so fatal. It was said that the horses that
died were ultimately farcied: the truth was, that swellings and ulcerations, with
foetid discharge, appeared in various parts, or almost all over them—the natural
swellings of the complaint which has just been considered, but aggravated and ma-
lignant. Our recollection of the classic lore of our early years will furnish us
with instances of the same pest in distant times and countries. We have not
forgotten the vivid description of Apollo darting his fiery arrows among the
Greeks, and involving in one common destruction the human being, the mule,
the horse, the ox, and the dog. Lucretius, when describing the plague at
Athens, speaks of a malignant epidemic affecting almost every animal—

Nor longer birds at noon, nor beasts at night
Their native woods deserted ; with the pest

Remote they languished, and full frequent died :
But chief the dog his generous strength resigned.

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 countries, with but short intervals, for fifty years afterwards. Out
of evil, however, came good. The continental agriculturists were alarmed by
this destruction of their property. The different governments participated in
the terror, and veterinary schools were established, in which the anatomy and
THE MALIGNANT EPIDEMIC, 265

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 sci-
ence 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 are far too fatal, we
must endeavour to collect the symptoms, and point out the treatment of them.

The malignant epidemic was almost uniformly ushered in by inflammation
of the mucous membrane of the respiratory passages, but soon involving other
portions, and then ensued a diarrhoea, which no art could arrest. The fever,
acute at first, rapidly 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 tumours: sometimes
there were pustular eruptions, but, oftener, deep-seated tumours rapidly proceed-
ing to suppuration. Connected with this was a strong tendency to decomposi-
tion, and unless the animal was relieved by some critical flux or evacuation,
malignant typhus was cstablished, and the horse speedily sunk.

The most satisfactory account of one of these epidemics is given us by Pro-
fessor 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 tormented by colic, and
he gazed alternately at both flanks. In the moments of comparative ease, there
were universal twitchings 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 afterwards 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, stag-
gering, and threatening to fall every moment. The mouth was dry, the tongue
white, and the breath foetid ; a discharge of yellow or bloody foetid matter pro-
ceeded from the nose, and fcetid blood from the anus. The duration of the dis-
ease did not usually exceed twelve or twenty-four hours; or if the animal lin-
gered 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 engorged, black, and gangrenous. The membrane of
the nose and the 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. :

It commenced in March 1783. The barracks then contained one hundred
and sixteen horses; all but thirteen were attacked, and seventy-eight of them
died. ‘The horses of both the officers and men were subject to the attack of it ;
and three horses from the town died, two of which had drawn the carts that con-
veyed the carcasses away, and the other stood under a window, from which the
dung of an infected stable had been thrown out. The disease would probably
have spread, but the most summary measures for arresting its progress were
adopted ; every horse in the town was killed that had had the slightest com -
munication with those in the barracks. One horse was inoculated with the pus
discharged from the ulcer of an infected horse, and he died. A portion
of his thymus gland was introduced under the skin of another horse, and
he also died.

Cause.—The disease was supposed to be connected with the food of the
horses. All the oats had been consumed, and the lolium temulentum, or awned,
266 BRONCHITIS.

darnel, had been given instead. It is said that the darnel is occasionally used by
brewers to give an intoxicating quality to their malt liquor. For fifteen
days no alteration of health was perceived, and then, in less than eighteen
hours, nearly forty perished. The stables were not crowded, and there was no
improper treatment. A man disinterred some of the horses to get at the fat ;
swellings rapidly appeared in his throat, and he died in two days. A portion of
their flesh was given to two pigs and some dogs, and they died.

M. Brugnone found that bleeding only accelerated the death of the
patient. He afterwards tried, and ineffectually, acids, cordials, purgatives,
vesicatories, and the actual cautery ; and he frankly attributes to the power of
nature the recovery of the few who survived.

Gilbert's Account of the Epidemic of 1795.—M. Gilbert describes a malignant
epidemic which appeared in Paris in 1795, characterized by dulness, loss of
appetite, weakness, pulse at first rapid and full, and afterwards continuing
rapid, but gradually becoming small, weak, and intermittent. The bowels at
first constipated, and then violent purging succeeding. The weakness rapidly
increasing, accompanied by foetid breath, and foetid evacuations. Tumours soon
appeared about the limbs, under the chest, and in the head, the ueck and loins.
If they suppurated and burst, the animal usually did well; but otherwise he
inevitably perished. The formation of these tumours was critical. If they
yapidly advanced, it was considered as a favourable symptom ; but if they con-
tinued obscure, a fatal termination was prognosticated.

Bleeding, even in an early stage, seemed here also to be injurious, and
increased the debility. Physic was given, and mild and nutritious food, gruel,
and cordials. Deep incisions were made into the tumours, and the cautery
applied. Stimulating frictions were also used, but all were of little avail.

These cases have been narrated at considerable length, in order to give some
idea of the nature of this discase, and because, with the exception of a short but
very excellent account of the malignant epidemic in the last edition of Mr.
Blaine’s Veterinary Outlines, there will not be found any satisfactory history of
it in the writings of our English veterinarians, It is evidently a disease of the
mucous membranes, both the respiratory and digestive. It is accompanied by
early and great debility, loss of all vital power, vitiation of every secretion, effu-
sions and tumours everywhere, and it runs its course with fearful rapidity. If
it was seen at its outset, the practitioner would probably bleed ; but if a few
hours only had elapsed, he would find, with Messrs, Brugnone and Gilbert, that
venesection would only hasten the catastrophe. Stimulants should be admninis-
tered mingled with opium, and the spirit of nitrous ether in doses of three or
four ounces, with an ounce or more of laudanum. The quantity of opium should
be regulated by the spasms and the diarrhoea. These medicines should be
repeated in a few hours, combined, perhaps, with ginger and gentian. If these
failed, there is little else to be done. Deep incisions into the tumours, or blis-
ters over them, might be proper measures; but the principal attention should
be directed to the arresting of the contagion. The infected should be immedi-
ately removed from the healthy. All offensive matter should be carefully
cleared away, and no small portion of chloride of lime used in washing the
animal, and particularly his ulcers. It might with great propriety be adminis-
tered internally, while the stable and everything that belonged to the patient.
should undergo a careful ablution with the same powerful disinfectant. :

BRONCHITIS,
This is not generally a primary disease. That inflammation of the superior
respiratory passages, constituting catarrh, gradually creeps downwards and
involves the larynx and the trachea, and at length, possibly, the farthest and
BRONCHITIS. 267

the minutest ramifications of the air-tubes. When it is found to be thus
advancing, its progress should be carefully watched by the assistance of auscul-
tation. The distant murmur of the healthy lung cannot be mistaken, nor the
crepitating sound of pneumonia; and in bronchitis the blood may be heard
filtering or breaking through the divisions of the lobuli, and accounting for
that congestion or filling of the cells with mucus and blood, which is found after
intense inflammation. Inflammation precedes this increased discharge of mucus.
Even that may be detected. The inflamed membrane is thickened and tense.
Tt assumes an almost cartilaginous structure, and the murmur is not only louder,
but has a kind of snoring sound. Some have imagined that a sound like a
metallic ring is mingled with it; but this is never very distinct,

The interrupted whizzing sound has often and clearly indicated a case of
bronchitis, and there are many corroborative symptoms which should be regarded.
The variable temperature of the extremities will be an important guide—not
deathy cold as in pneumonia, nor of increased temperature as often in catarrh,
but with a tendency to coldness, yet this varying much. The pulse will assist
the diagnosis—more rapid than in catarrh, much more so than in the early
stage of pneumonia: not so hard as in pleurisy, more so than in catarrh, and
much more so than in pneumonia. The respiration should next be examined,
abundantly more rapid than in catarrh, pneumonia, or pleurisy ; generally as
rapid and often more so than the pulse, and accompanied by a wheezing sound,
heard at some distance. Mr. Percivall relates a case in which the respiration
was more than one hundred in a minute. Mr. C. Percivall describes an inte-
resting case in which the respiration was quick in the extreme ; and he remarks,
that he does “not remember to have seen a horse with his respiration so
disturbed.”

In addition to these clearly characteristic symptoms, will be observed a hag-
gard countenance, to which the anxious look of the horse labouring under
inflammation of the lungs cannot for a moment be compared ; also an evident
dread of suffocation, expressed, not by inability to move, as in pneumonia, but
frequently an obstinate refusal to do so; cough painful in the extreme; breath
hot, yet no marked pain in the part, and no looking at the side or flanks.

As the disease proceeds, there will be considerable discharge from the nos-
trils, much more than in catarrh, because greater extent of membrane is affected.
It will be muco-purulent at first, but will soon become amber-coloured or
green, or greyish green; and that not from any portion of the food being
returned, but from the peculiar hue of the secretion from ulcers in the bronchial
passages. Small organised pieces will mingle with the discharge,—portions of
mucus condensed and hardened, and forced from the inside of the tube. If the
disease proceeds, the discharge becomes bloody, and then, and sometimes earlier,
it is footid.

The natural termination of this disease, if unchecked, is in pneumonia,
Although we cannot trace the air-tubes to their termination, the inflammation
will penetrate into the lobuli, and affect the membranes of the air-cells or divi-
sions which they contain. There is metastasis of inflammation oftener here
than in pure pneumonia, and the disease is most frequently transferred to the
feet. If, however, there is neither pneumonia nor metastasis of inflammation,
and the disease pursues its course, the animal dies from suffocation. If the air-
passages are clogged, there can be no supply of arterialized blood. San

Like every other inflammation of the respiratory passages, bronchitis is
clearly epidemic. There is a disposition to inflammation in the respiratory
apparatus generally, but it depends on some unknown atmospheric influence
whether this shall take on the form of catarrh, bronchitis, or pneumonia. It
has not, however, been yet proved to be contagious.
268 PNEUMONIA.—INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS.

Here again the first step will he to bleed ; and here too will be the paramount
necessity of the personal attendance of some well-informed person while the
animal is bled. ‘This is a disease of'a mucous,—and an extended mucous surface ;
and while our measures must be prompt, there is a tendency to debility which
we should never forget. Although the horse may be distressed quite to the
extent which Mr. Charles Percivall describes, yet he would not bear the loss of
four pounds of blood without fainting. No determinate quantity of blood will
therefore be taken, but the vein will not be closed untilthe pulse falters, aad
the animal staggers, and in a minute or two would fall. This may probably
effect the desired object ; if it does not, it is possible that the practitioner may
not have a second opportunity.

The medical attendant should be cautious in the administration of purgatives,
for the reasons that have again and again been stated ; but if the bowels are
evidently constipated, small doses of aloes must be given with the febrifuge
medicine, and their speedy action promoted by injections, so that a small quan-
tity may suffice.

A blister is always indicated in bronchitis. It can never do harm, and it not
unfrequenly affords decided relief. It should extend over the brisket and sides,
and up the trachea to the larynx. The food, if the horse is disposed to eat,
should be mashes. No corn should be offered, nor should the horse be coaxed
to eat,

PNEUMONIA—INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS.

The intimate structure of the lungs has never been satisfactorily demon-
strated. They appear, however, to be composed of minute cells or pouches,
into which the air is at length conducted, and over the delicate membrane con-
stituting the divisions of which myriads of minute blood-vessels are ramifying.
The blood is not merely permeating them, but it is undergoing a vital change in
them ; there is a constant decomposition of the air, or of the blood, or of both ;
and, during the excitement of exercise, that decomposition proceeds with fearful
rapidity. Then it can readily be conceived that a membrane so delicate as this
must be, in order that its interposition shall be no hindrance to the arterialisation
of the blood ; so fragile also, and so loaded with blood-vessels, will be exceedingly
subject to inflammation, and that of a most dangerous character.

Inflammation of the substance of the lungs is the not unfrequent conse-
quence of all the diseases of the respiratory passages that have been treated on.
Catarrh, influenza, bronchitis, if neglected or badly managed, or, sometimes
in spite of the most skilful treatment, will spread along the mucous membrane,
and at length involve the termination of the air-passages. At other times, there
is pure pneumonia. This cellular texture is the primary seat of inflammation.
It is often so in the over-worked horse. After a long and hard day’s hunt, it
is very common for horses to be attacked by pure pneumonia. A prodigiously
increased quantity of blood is hurried through these small vessels, for the vast.
expenditure of arterial blood in rapid progression must be provided for. These
minutest of the capillaries are distended and irritated, their contractile power
is destroyed, inflammation is produced, mechanical injury is effected, the vessels
are ruptured, blood is poured into the interstitial texture, and intense infamma-
tion and congestion, with all their train of fatal consequences, ensue.

The following are the most frequent causes of pneumonia. A sudden tran-
sition from heat to cold; a change from a warm stable to a colder one; a
neglect of the usual clothing; a neglect even of some little comforts; riding
far and fast against a cold wind, especially in snowy weather; loitering about
when unusual perspiration has been excited ; loitering tediously by the side of
a covert on a chilly blowing morning.
PNEUMONIA,—INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. 269

It has not unfrequently happened that when horses have been turned out too
early to grass, or without gradual preparation, pneumonia has supervened.
Few are, under any Management, so subject to pneumonia as those who, in
poor condition and without preparation, are turned into a salt-marsh.

On the other hand, a sudden and considerable change from cold to heat may
be followed by inflammation of the lungs. Many horses perish in the dealers’
stables from this cause. The circulation is considerably quickened ; more
blood, and that with more than natural rapidity, is driven through the lungs
previously disposed to take on inflammatory action. The sudden removal from
a heated stable to the cold air, for the purpose of examination, has also much
to do with the production of disease.

Whether it is the consequence of previous disease of the respiratory passages,
or that inflammation first appears in the cellular texture of the lungs, pneumo-~
nia is usually ushered in by a shivering fit. The horse is cold all over 3 this,
however, soon passes off, and we have general warmth, or heat of the skin
above the usual temperature, but accompanied by coldness of the extremities
intense deathy coldness. This is a perfectly diagnostic symptom. It will
never deceive, It is an early symptom. It is found when there is little or no
constitutional disturbance ; when the pulse is scarcely affected, and the flanks
heave not at all, but the horse is merely supposed to be dull and off his feed.
It is that by which the progress of the disease may be unhesitatingly marked,
when many scarcely suspect its existence.

The pulse is not always at first much increased in rapidity, and but rarely or
never hard ; but it is obscure, oppressed. The heart is labouring to accomplish
its object; the circulation through the lungs is impeded; the vessels are
engorged—they are often ruptured ; blood is extravasated into the air-cells; it
accumulates in the right side of the heart and in the larger vessels; and in the
venous circulation generally there is a mechanical obstruction which the heart
has not power to overcome. Hence the obscure, oppressed pulse; the inef-
fectual attempt to urge on the blood; and hence, too, the remarkable result of
bleeding in inflammation of the lungs, for the pulse becomes rounder, fuller,
quicker. When blood is abstracted, a portion of the opposing force is removed,
and the heart being enabled to accomplish its object, the pulse is developed.

It is only, however, in the early insidious stage that the flanks are occasionally
quiet. If the compressibility of the lungs is diminished by the thickening of
the membrane, or the engorgement of the vessels, or the filling of the cells, it
will be harder work to force the air out ; there must be a stronger effort, and
that pressure which cannot be accomplished by one effort is attempted over and
over again. The respiration is quickened—laborious; the inspiration is
lengthened ; the expiration is rapid; and when, after all, the lungs cannot be
compressed by the usual means, every muscle that can be brought to bear upon
the part is called into action. Hence the horse will not lie down, for he can use
the muscles of the spine and the shoulder with most advantage as he stands ;
hence, too, the very peculiar stiffness of position—the disinclination to move.
The horse with decided pneumonia can scarcely be induced to move at all; he
cannot spare for a moment the assistance which he derives from certain muscles,
and he will continue obstinately to stand until he falls exhausted or dying.
How eagerly does the veterinarian ask when he goes into the stable—“ Was he
down last night ?” And he concludes, that much progress has not been made
towards amendment in the case when the answer is in the negative. When the
patient, wearied out, lies down, it is only for a moment ; for if the inflamma-
tion is not subdued, he cannot dispense with the auxiliary muscles. He fre-
quently, and with doleful expression, looks at his sides—at one side or at both,
accordingly as one or both are involved. There is not, however, the decidedly
270 PNEUMONIA.—INFLAMMATION*OF THE LUNGS.

haggard countenance of bronchitis ; and in bronchitis the horse rarely or never
gazes at his fanks. His is a dread of suffocation more than a feeling of pain.
‘Che head is protraded, and the nostrils distended, and the mouth and the breath
intensely hot. ‘The nose is injected from the earliest period ; and soon after-
wards there is not merely injection, but the membrane is uniformly and
intensely red. The variation in this intensity is anxiously marked by the
observant practitioner ; and he regards with fear and with despair the livid or
dirty brownish hue that gradually creeps on.

The unfavourable symptoms are, increased coldness of the ears and feet, if
that be possible; partial sweats, grinding of the teeth, evident weakness, stag-
gering, 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 miuute, 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 pneu-
monia in twelve hours, The vessels ramifying over the cells have yielded
to the fearful impulse of the blood, and the lungs have presented one mass of
congestion.

The favourable symptoms are, the return of a little warmth to the extremities
—the circulation beginning again to assume its natural character, and, next to
this, the lying down quietly and without uneasiness; showing 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 accompanies common inflammation—but their
parietes are necessarily 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 effused 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, for
in 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 considerable resemblance to liver.

In every case of pneumonia early and anxious recourse should be had to aus-
cultation. Here, again, is the advantage of being perfectly acquainted with the
deep distant murmur presented by the healthy lung. This sound is most
distinct in the young horse, and especially if he is a little out of condition. On
such a horse the tyro should commence his study of the exploration of the
chest. There he will make himself best acquainted with the respiratory mur-
mur in its full state of development, He should next take an older and some-
what fatter horse ; he will there recognize the same sound, but fainter, more
distant. In still older animals, there will sometimes be a little difficulty in
detecting it at all. Repeated experiments of this kind will gradually teach the
examiner what kind of healthy murmur he should expect from every horse that
is presented to him, and thus he will be better enabled to appreciate the different
sounds exhibited under disease.

If pneumonia exists to any considerable degree, this murmur is soon changed
for, or mingled with, a curious crepitating sound, which, having been once
heard, cannot afterwards be mistaken. It is caused by the infiltration of blood
into the air-cells. Its loudness and perfect character will characterize the inten-
PNEUMONIA.—INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS. ari

sity of the disease, and the portion of the chest at which it can be distinguished
will indicate its extent.

The whole lung, however, is not always affected, or there are only portions
or patches of it in which the inflammation is so intense as to produce congestion
and hepatization. Enough remains either unaffected, or yet pervious for the
function of respiratioa to be performed, and the animal lingers on, or perhaps
recovers. By careful examination with the ear, this also may be ascertained.
Where the lung is impervious—where no air passes—no sound will be heard,
not even the natural murmur. Around it the murmur will be heard, and
loudly. It will be a kind of rushing sound; for the same quantity of blood
must be arterialized, and the air must pass more rapidly and forcibly through
the remaining tubes. If there is considerable inflammation or tendency to
congestion, the crepitating, crackling sound will be recognized, and in propor-
tion to the intensity of the inflammation. ‘The advantages to be derived from
the study of auscultation are not overrated. It was strong language lately
applied by an able critic to the use of auscultation, that “ it converts the organ
of hearing into an organ of vision, enabling the listener to observe, with the
clearness of ocular demonstration, the ravages which disease occasionally com-
mits in the very centre of the rib-cased cavity of the body.”

A horse with any portion of the lungs hepatized cannot be sound. He can-
not be capable of continued extra exertion. His imperfect and mutilated lung
cannot supply the arterialized blood which long continued and rapid progression
requires, and that portion which is compelled to do the work of the whole lung
must be exposed to injury and inflammation from many a cause that would
otherwise be harmless.

Another consequence of inflammation of the substance of the lungs is the
formation of tubercles. A greater or smaller number of distinct cysts are formed—
cells into which some fluid is poured in the progress of inflammation: these
vary in size from a pin’s point to a large egg. By degrees the fluid becomes
concrete ; and so it continues for a while—the consequence and the source of
inflammation. It occupies a space that should be employed in the function of
respiration, and by its pressure it irritates the neighbouring parts, and exposes
them to inflammation.

By and by, however, another process, never sufficiently explained, commences.
The tubercle begins to soften at its centre,—a process of suppuration is set up,
and proceeds until the contents of the cyst become again fluid, but of a different
character, for they now consist of pus. The pus increases; the cyst becomes
more and more distended ; it encroaches on the substance of the lungs ; it comes
into contact with other tubercles, and the walls opposed to each other are
absorbed by their mutual pressure ; they run together, and form one cyst, or
regular excavation, and this sometimes proceeds until a considerable portion of
the lung is, as it were, hollowed out. By and by, however, the vomica presses
upon some bronchial passage; the cyst gives way, and the purulent contents
are poured into the bronchiw, and got rid of by the act of coughing. At other
times the quantity is too great to be thus disposed of, and the animal is suffo-
cated. Occasionally it will break through the pleuritic covering of the lung,
and pour its contents into the thorax.

Abscesses may exist in the Lungs undiscovered.—It is scarcely conceivable
to what extent they sometimes exist in animals of slow work, without
being detected by the usual means of examination. Mr. Hales says that he
gave a physic ball to a cart-mare with a bad foot, and she soon afterwards died
suddenly. When inquiring as to the cause of death, he was told, and not very
good-humouredly, that his physic had killed her. He asked, if it had purged
her violently ?-“ No!” it was replied, “it had not operated at all.” She was
272 PNEUMONIA.—INFLAMMATION OF THE LUNGS.

opened, and the mystery was all unravelled. The thorax was deluged with
pus, and there were then in the lungs several large abscesses, one of which con-
tained at least a quart of pus. The mare had not shown a symptom of chest
affection, and the gentleman to whom she belonged declared that he had believed
her to be as sound as any horse he had in his possession.

The resolution or gradual abatement of inflammation is the termination most
to be desired in this state of disease, for then the engorgement of the vessels
will gradually cease, and the thickening of the membrane and the interstitial
deposit be taken up, and the effusion into the cells likewise absorbed, and the
lungs will gradually resume their former cellular texture, yet not perfectly ; for
there will be some induration, slight but general ; or some more perfect indura-
tion of certain parts ; or the rupture of some of the air-cells ; or an irritability of
membrane predisposing to renewed inflammation. The horse will not always
be as useful as before ; there will be chronic cough, thick wind, broken wind ;
but these merit distinct consideration ; and, for the present, we proceed to the
treatment of pneumonia.

There is inflammation of that organ through which all the blood in the
frame passes—that organ most of all subject to congestion. Then nothing
can be so important as to lessen the quantity of blood which the heart is
endeavouring to force through the minute vessels of the lungs, distended,
irritated, breaking. Immediate recourse must be had to the lancet, and the
stream of blood must be suffered to flow on until the pulse falters, and the
animal bears heavy upon the pail. This blood must be extracted as quickly
as possible, and the lancet should be broad-shouldered, and the orifice large.
This is the secret of treating inflammation of a vital organ. The disease is
weakened or destroyed without permanently impairing the strength of the
patient ; whereas by small bleedings, and with a small stream, the strength of
the patient is sapped, while the disease remains untouched.

Next comes purging, if we dared ; for by having recourse to it some cause of
excitement would be got rid of, the circulating fluid would be lessened, and a
new determination of the vital current produced; but experience teaches, that
in pneumonia there is so much sympathy with the abdominal viscera,—there is
such a fatal tendency in the inflammation to spread over every mucous mem-
brane, that purging is almost to a certainty followed by inflammation, and
that inflammation bids defiance to every attempt to arrest it. It may be
said with perfect confidence that, in the majority of cases, a physic ball would
be a dose of poison to a horse labouring under pneumonia.

May we not relax the bowels? Yes, if we can stop there. We may, after
the inflammation has evidently a little subsided, venture upon, yet very
cautiously, small doses of aloes in our fever medicine, and we may quicken their
operation by frequent injections of warm soap and water ; omitting the purga-
tive, however, the moment the faces are becoming pultaceous. We must,
however, be assured that the inflammation is subsiding, and there must be con-
siderable constipation, or the purgative had better be let alone.

1f’we must not give physic, we must endeavour to find some other auxiliary
to the bleeding, and we have it in the compound of digitalis, nitre, and emetic
tartar, which has been so often recommended.

The greatest care should be taken of the patient labouring under this com-
plaint. His legs should be well hand-rubbed, in order to restore, if possible, the
circulation to the extremities. Comfortable flannel rollers should encase the
legs from the foot to the knee. He should be covered up warm. There can-
not be a doubt about this. As for air, in warm weather he cannot have too
ouch. In cold weather his box must be airy, but not chilly. We want to
determine the blood to the extremitics and the skin, but not all the clothing in
CHRONIC COUGH. 273

the world will keep our patient warm, if he is placed in a cold and uncomfort-
able situation.

As for food, we think not of it. In nine cases out of ten he will not touch
anything ; or if he is inclined to eat, we give him nothing but a bran-mash, or
a little green-meat, or a few carrots.

We now look about us for some counter-irritant. We wish to excite some
powerful action in another part of the frame, and which shall divert the current
of blood from that which was first affected. We recognise it as a law of nature,
and of which we here eagerly avail ourselves, that if we have a morbid action in
some vital organ—an unusual determination of blood to it—we can abate, perhaps
we can at once arrest, that morbid action by exciting a similar or a greater dis-
turbance in some contiguous and not dangerous part. Therefore we blister the
sides and the brisket, and produce all the irritation we can on the integument ;
and in proportion as we do so, we abate, or stand a chance of abating, the inflam-
mation within.

We have recourse to a blister in preference to a seton; and decidedly
so, for our stimulus can be spread over a larger surface,—there is more chance
of its being applied to the immediate neighbourhood of the original inflamma-
tion—and, most assuredly, from the extent of surface on which we can act, we
can employ a quantity of stimulus beyond comparison greater than a scton would
permit us to do. Rowels are frequently excellent adjuvants to the blister,
but should not be depended upon alone.

In the Jatter stage of disease the blister will not act, because the powers of
nature are exhausted. We must repeat it,—we must rouse the sinking

“energies of the frame, if we can, although the effort will generally be fruitless.
The not rising of a blister, in the latter stage of the disease, may, too often, be
regarded as the precursor of death, especially if it is accompanied by a livid or
brown colour of the membrane of the nose.

Pneumonia, like bronchitis, requires anxious watching. The first object is to
subdue the inflammation, and our measures must be prompt and decisive. If
the mouth continues hot, and the extremities cold, and the nose red, we must
bleed again and again, and that in rapid succession. The good which we can do
must be done at first, or not at all.

When we have obtained a little returning warmth to the extremities, we must
continue to administer our sedative medicines without one grain of a carmina-
tive or a tonic ; and the return of the deathy-cold foot will be a signal for farther
depletion.

The commencement of the state of convalescence requires the same guarded
practice, as in bronchitis. As many horses are lost by impatience now, as
hy want of decision at first. If we have subdued the disease, we should let
well alone. We should guard against the return of the foe by the continued
administration of our sedatives in smaller quantities ; but give no tonics unless
debility is rapidly succeeding. When we have apparently weathered the storm,
we must still be cautious; we must consider the nature and the seat of, the
disease, and the predisposition to returning inflammation. If the season will
permit, two or three months’ run at grass should succeed to our medical treat-
ment; but if this is impracticable, we must put off the period of active work as
long as it can be delayed ; and even after that, permit the horse to return as
gradually as may be to his usual employment and food.

Most frequent in occurrence among the consequences of inflammation of the
lungs, is

CHRONIC COUGH.

It would occupy more space than can be devoted to this part of our subject, to

treat of all the causes of obstinate cough. The irritability of so great a portion
Tt
274 CHRONIC COUGH.

of the air-passages, occasioned by previous and violent inflammation of them, is.
the most frequent. It is sometimes connected with worms. There is much
sympathy between the lungs and the intestines, and the one readily participates
in the irritation produced in the other. That it is caused by glanders can be
easily imagined, because that disease is, in its early stage, seated in or near the
principal air-passages, and little time passes before the lungs become affected.
It is the necessary attendant of thick wind and broken wind, for these proceed
from alterations of the structure of the lungs.

Notwithstanding the clearness of the cause, the cure is not so evident. Ifa
harsh hollow cough is accompanied by a staring coat, and the appearance of
worms,—a few worm-balls may expel. these parasites, and remove the irritation
of the intestinal canal. If it proceeds from irritability of the air-passages,
which will be discovered by the horse coughing after drinking, or when he first
goes out of the stable in the morning, or by his occasionally snorting out thick
mucus from the nose, medicines may be given, and sometimes with advantage,
to diminish irritation generally. Small doses of digitalis, emetic tartar, and
nitre, administered every night, frequently have a beneficial effect, especially
when mixed with tar, which seems to have a powerful influence in allaying the
irritation. These balls should, if necessary, be regularly given for a con-
siderable time. They are sufficiently powerful to quiet slight excitement ot
this kind, but not to nauseate the horse, or interfere with his food or his work.
A blister, extending from the root of one ear to that of the other, taking in the
whole of the channel, and reaching six or eight inches down the windpipe, has
been tried, and often with good effect, on the supposition that the irritation
may exist in the fauces or the larynx. The blister has sometimes been extended
through the whole course of the windpipe, until it enters the chest.

Feeding has much influence on this complaint. Too much dry meat, and
especially chaff, increase it. It is aggravated when the horse is suffered to
eat his litter; and it is often relieved when spring tares are given. Carrots
afford decided relief.

The seat of the disease, however, is so uncertain, and all our means and
appliances so inefficacious, and the cough itself so little interfering, and some-
times interfering not at all with the health of the animal, that it is scarcely worth
while to persevere in any mode of treatment that is not evidently attended with
benefit. The principal consideration to induce us to meddle at all with chronic
cough is the knowledge that horses afflicted with it are more liable than others
to be affected by changes of temperature, and that inflammation of the lungs, or
of the respiratory passages, often assumes in them a very alarming character ;
to which, perhaps, may be added, that a horse with chronic cough cannot be
warranted sound.

When chronic cough chiefly occurs after eating, the seat of the disease is
evidently in the substance of the lungs. The stomach distended with food
presses upon the diaphragm, and the diaphragm upon the lungs; and the lungs,
already labouring under some congestion, are less capable of transmitting the
air. In the violent effort to discharge their function, irritation is produced
and the act of coughing is the consequence of that irritation.

The Veterinary Surgeon labours under great disadvantage in the treatment
of his patients. He must not only subdue the malady, but he must remove all
its consequences. He must leave his patient perfectly sound, or he has done
comparatively nothing. This is a task always difficult, and sometimes impossible
to be accomplished. The two most frequent consequences of severe chest
affections in the horse are recognised under the terms thick wind and broken
wind. The breathing is hurried in both, and the horse is generally much dis-
tressed when put upon his speed ; but it is simply quick breathing in the first,
THICK-WIND. 275

with a peculiar sound like half’ roaring—the inspirations and expirations being
rapid, forcible, but equal. In the second, the breathing is also hurried, but the
inspiration does not differ materially from the natural one, while the expiration
is difficult, or doubly laborious. The changes of structure which accompany
these states of morbid respiration are as opposite as can be imagined. Indura.
tion of the substance of the lungs, diminution of the number or the caliber of
the air-passages, are the causes of thick-wind, If the portion of lung employed
is lessened, or the bronchial tubes will not admit so much air, the quick succes-
sion of efforts must make up for the diminished effect produced by each. In
broken-wind there is rupture of the air-cells, and an unnatural inter-com-
munication between them in the same lobule, or between those of the neigh-
bouring lobuli. The structure of the lung, and the discharge of function,
and the treatment, too, being so different, these diseases require separate con-
sideration.

THICK-WIND.

When treating of pneumonia, it was observed, that not only are the vessels
which ramify over the delicate membrane of the air-cells gorged with blood, but
they are sometimes ruptured, and the cells are filled with blood. The black,
softened, pulpy appearance of the lungs thus produced, is the vottenness of the
groom and farrier, proving equally the intensity of the inflammation and that
it is of recent date. If the horse is not speedily destroyed by this lesion of the
substance of the lungs, the serous portion of the effused blood is absorbed, and
the solid becomes organised. The cells are obliterated, and the lung is
hepatized,—its structure bears considerable resemblance to that of the liver.
This may occur in patches, or it may involve a considerable portion of
the lung.

If a portion of the lung is thus rendered impervious, the remainder will have
additional work to perform. The same quantity of blood must be supplied with
air; and if the working part of the machine is diminished, it must move with
greater velocity as well as force—the respiration must be quicker and more
laborious. This quick and laboured breathing can be detected even when the
animal is at rest, and it is indicated plainly enough by his sad distress when he
is urged to unusual or continued speed. The inspirations and the expirations
are shorter, as well as more violent ; the air must be more rapidly admitted
and more thoroughly pressed out ; and this is accompanied by a peculiar sound
that can rarely be mistaken.

We may guess at the commencement of the evil, by the laborious heaving of
the flanks; but by auscultation alone can we ascertain its progress. The in-
crease of the crepitus will tell us that the mischief is beginning, and the cessation
of the murmur will clearly mark out the extent of the congestion.

The inflammatory stage of the disease having passed, and comparative health
being restored, and some return to usefulness having been established,—the
horse being now thick-winded, auscultation will be far more valuable than is
generally imagined. It will faithfully indicate the quantity of hepatization,
and so give a clue to the degree of usefulness, or the extent to which we may
tax the respiratory system ; and it will also serve to distinguish, and that very
clearly, between this cause of thick-wind, and the morbid changes that may
have resulted from bronchitis, or thickening of the parietes of the air-passages,
and not the obliteration of the air-cells.

Of the Treatment little can be said. We know not by what means we can
excite the absorbents to take up the solid organised mass of hepatization, or restore
the membrane of the cells and the minute vessels ramifying over them, now
confounded and lost. We have a somewhat better chance, and yet not much,

T2
276 BROKEN WIND.

in removing the thickening of the membrane, for counter-irritants, extensively
and perseveringly applied to the external parietes of the chest, may do some-
thing. If thick-wind immediately followed bronchitis, it would certainly be
justifiable practice to blister the brisket and sides, and that repeatedly ; and to
administer purgatives if we dared, or diuretics, more effectual than the pur-
gatives and always safe.

Our attention must be principally confined to diet and management. A thick-
winded horse should have his full proportion, orrather more than his proportion of
zorn, and a diminished quantity of less nutritious food, in order that the stomach
may never be overloaded, and press upon the diaphragm, and so upon the lungs,
and increase thelabour of these already over-workedorgans. Particular care should
be taken that the horse is not worked immediately after a full meal. The over-
coming of the pressure and weight of the stomach will be a serious addition to the
extra work which the lungs already have to perform from their altered structure,

Something may be done in the palliation of thick-wind, and more than has
been generally supposed, by means of exercise. If the thick-winded horse is
put, as it were, into a regular system of training ; if he is daily exercised to the
fair extent of his power, and without seriously distressing him, his breathing
will become freer and deeper, and his wind will materially improve. We shall
call to our aid one of the most powerful excitants of the absorbent system—
pressure, that of the air upon the tube—the working part of the lung upon the
disorganised—and, adjusting this so as not to excite irritation or inflammation,
we may sometimes do wonders. This is the very secret of training, and the
power and the durability of the hunter and the racer depend entirely upon this.

Thick wind, however, is not always the consequence of disease. ‘There are
certain cloddy, round-chested horses, that are naturally thick-winded, at least
toa certain extent. They are capable of that slow exertion for which nature
designed them, but they are immediately distressed if put a little out of their
usual pace. A circular chest, whether the horse is large or small, indicates
thick-wind. The circular chest is a capacious one, and the lungs which fill it
are large, and they supply sufficient arterialised blood to produce plenty of flesh
and fat, and these horses are always fat. This is the point of proof to which
we look, when all that we want from the animal is flesh and fat; but the
expanding form of the chest is that which we require in the animal of speed—
the deep as well as the broad chest—always capacious for the purpose of mus-
cular strength, and becoming considerably more so when arterialised blood is
rapidly expended in quick progression. We cannot enlarge the capacity of a
circle ; and if more blood is to be furnished, that which cannot be done by increaes
of surface must be accomplished by frequency of action. Therefore it is that
all our heavy draught-horses are thick-winded. It is of little detriment to them,
for their work is slow; or rather it is an advantage to them, for the circular
chest, always at its greatest capacity, enables them to acquire that weight which
it is so advantageous for them to throw into the collar.

BROKEN-WIND.

This is immediately recognisable by the manner of breathing. The in-
spiration is performed in somewhat less than the natural time, and with an
increased degree of labour: but the expiration has a peculiar difficulty accom-
panying it. It is accomplished by a double effort, in the first of which, as
Mr. Blaine has well explained it, “ the usual muscles operate ; and in the other
the auxiliary muscles, particularly the abdominal, are put on the stretch to
complete the expulsion more perfectly ; and, that being done, the flank falls, or
the abdominal muscles relax with a kind of jerk or spasm.”

The majority of veterinary surgeons attribute broken wind to an emphyse-
BROKEN WIND. 277

matous state of the lungs. In almost every broken-winded horse which he has
examined after death, the author of this work has found dilatation of some of
the air-cells, and particularly towards the edges of the lobes. There has been
rupture through the parietes of some of the cells, and they have evidently com-
municated with one another, and the air could be easily forced from one portion of
the cells to another. There was also a crepitating noise while this pressure was
made, as if the attenuated membrane of some of the cells had given way. ‘These
were the true broken cells, and hence the derivation of the name of the disease.

Broken-wind is preceded or accompanied by cough—a cough perfectly cha-
racteristic, and by which the horseman would, in the dark, detect the existence
of the disease. It is short—seemingly cut short—grunting, and followed by
wheezing. When the animal is suddenly struck or threatened, there is a low
grunt of the same nature as that of roaring, but not so loud. Broken-wind is
usually preceded by cough ; the cough becomes chronic, leads on to thick-wind,
and then there is but a step to broken-wind. It is the consequence of the
cough which accompanies catarrh and bronchitis oftener than that attending or
following pneumonia; and of inflammation, and, probably, thickening of the
membrane of the bronchiz, rather than of congestion of the air-cells,

Laennec, whose illustrations of the diseases of the chest are invaluable to the
human surgeon, comes to our assistance, and, while describing emphysema of
the lungs of the human being, gives us an explication of broken-wind, more
satisfactory than is to be found in any of our veterinary writers. Hc attributes
what he calls dry catarrh “ to the partial obstruction of the smaller bronchial
tubes, by the swelling of their inner membrane. The muscles of inspiration are
numerous and powerful, while expiration is chiefly left to the elasticity of the
parts: then it may happen that the air which, during inspiration, had overcome
the resistance opposed to its entrance by the tumid state of the membrane,
is unable to force its way through the same obstacle during expiration, and
remains imprisoned in the cells, as it were, by a valve. The succeeding inspi-
rations introduce a fresh supply of air, and gradually dilate the cells to ¢
greater or less extent ; and if the obstruction is of some continuance, the dilated
condition of the cells becomes permanent.”

Some circumstances attending this disease may now, probably, be accounted
for. A troublesome cough, and sometimes of long continuance, is the foundation
of the disease, or indicates that irritable state of the bronchial membrane
with which broken wind is almost necessarily associated. Horses that are
greedy feeders, or devour large quantities of slightly nutritious food, or
are worked with a stomach distended by this food, are very subject to
broken-wind. More depends upon the management of the food and exercise
than is generally supposed. The post-horse, the coach-horse, and the racer,
are comparatively seldom broken-winded. ‘They are fed, at stated periods, on
nutritious food that lies in little compass, and their hours of feeding and of
exertion are so arranged that they seldom work on a full stomach. The agri-
cultural horse is too often fed on the very refuse of the farm, and his hours of
feeding, and his hours of work, are frequently irregular ; and the carriage-
horse, although fed on more nutritious food, is often summoned to work, by his
capricious master, the moment his meal is devoured.

A rapid gallop on a full stomach has often produced broken-wind. When the
exertion has been considerable and long continued, we can easily conceive a rup-
ture of the air-cells of the soundest lungs ; but we are inclined to believe, that, were
the history of these cases known, there would be found to have been a gradual
preparation for this result. There would have been chronic cough, or more than
usually disturbed respiration after exercise, and then it required little more
to perfect the mischief. Galloping after drinking has been censured as a causo
278 BROKEN WIND.

of broken-wind, yet we cannot think that it is half so dangerous as galloping
with a stomach distended by solid food. It is said that broken-winded horses
are foul feeders, because they devour almost everything that comes in their
way, and thus impede the play of the lungs ; but there is so much sympathy
between the respiratory and digestive systems, that one cannot be much
derange® without the other evidently suffering. Flatulence, anda depraved
appetite, may be the consequence as well as the cause of broken-wind ; and
there is no pathological fact of more frequent occurrence than the co-existence
of indigestion and flatulence with broken wind. Flatulence seems so invariable
a concomitant of broken-wind, that the old farriers used to think the air found
its way from the lungs to the abdomen in some inexplicable manner; and
hence their “ holes to let out broken wind.” They used literally to make a
hole near to or above the fundament in order to give vent to the imprisoned
wind. The sphincter muscle was generally divided ; and although the trump-
ing ceased, there was a constant, although silent, emission of foetid gas, that
made the remedy worse than the disease.

The narrow-chested horse is more subject to broken-wind than the broader
and deeper chested one, for there is not so much room for the lungs to expand
when rapid progression requires the full discharge of their function.

Is broken-wind hereditary? We believe so. It may be referred to heredi-
tary conformation—to a narrower chest, and more fragile membrane—and
predisposition to take on those inflammatory diseases which end in broken-
wind ; and the circular chest, which cannot enlarge its capacity when exertion
requires it, must render both thick and broken wind of more probable ov-
currence.

Is there any cure for broken-wind? None! No medica] skill can repair
the broken-down structure of the lungs.

If, however, we cannot cure, we may in some degree palliate broken-wind ;
and, first of all, we must attend carefully to the feeding. The food should
lie in little compass,—plenty of oats and little hay, but no chaff. Chaff is par-
ticularly objectionable, from the rapidity with which it is devoured, and the
stomach distended. Water should be given in moderate quantities, but the
horse should not be suffered to drink as much as he likes until the day’s work
is over. Green meat will always be serviceable. Carrots are particularly
useful. They are readily digested, and appear to have a peculiarly beneficial
effect on the respiratory system.

It is from the want of proper attention to the feeding that many horses
become broken-winded, even in the straw-yard. There is little nutriment in the
provender which they find there ; and in order to obtain enough for the support
of life, they are compelled to keep the stomach constantly full, and pressing
upon the lungs. It has been the same when they have been turned out in
coarse and innutritive pasturage. The stomach was perpetually gorged, and
the habitual pressure on the lungs cramped and confined their action, and inevi-
tably ruptured the cells when the horse gambolled with his companions, or was
wantonly driven about.

Next in importance stands exercise. The pursive or broken-winded horse
should not stand idle in the stable a single day. It is almost incredible
how much may be done by attention to food and exercise. The broken-
winded horse may thus be rendered comfortable to himself, and no great
nuisance to his owner ;—but inattention to feeding, or one hard journey—the
animal unprepared, and the stomach full,—may bring on inflammation, con-
gestion, and death. Occasional physic, or alterative medicine, will often give
considerable relief,

Thick-wind and broken-wind exist in various degrees, and many shades of
PHTHISIS PULMONALIS, OR CONSUMPTION. 279

difference. Dealers and horsemen generally have characterised them by names
that can boast no elegance, but are considerably expressive of the state of the
animal. Our readers should not be ignorant of them. Some horses make a
shrill noise when in quick action—they are said to be Pipers. This is a species
of Roaring. There is usually a ring of coagulated matter round the inside
of the windpipe, by which the cavity is materially diminished, and the sound
produced in quick breathing must evidently be shriller. Sometimes the
piping is produced by a contraction of the small passages of the lungs.

The Wueezer utters a sound not unlike that of an asthmatic person when
alittle hurried. This is a kinfl of thick-wind, and is caused by the lodgment
of some mucous fluid in the small passages of the lungs. It frequently accom-
panies bronchitis. Wheezing can be heard at all times, even when the horse is
at rest in the stable; roaring is confined to the increased breathing of consi-
derable exertion.

The Wuistter utters a shriller sound than the wheezer, but only when in
exercise, and that of some continuance. A sudden motion will not always
produce it. It seems to be referable to some contraction in the windpipe
or the larynx. The sound is a great nuisance to the rider, and the whistler
very speedily becomes distressed. A sharp gallop up-hill will speedily detect
the ailment,

When the obstruction seems to be principally in the nose, the horse loudly
puffs and blows, and the nostrils are dilated to the utmost, while the flanks are
comparatively quiet. This animal is said to be a Higs-siowrr. With all
his apparent distress, he often possesses great speed and endurance. The sound
is unpleasant, but the lungs may be perfectly sound.

Every horse violently exercised on a full stomach, or when overloaded with fat,
will grunt almost like a hog. The pressure of the stomach on the lungs, or that
of the fat accumulated around the heart, will so much impede the breath-
ing, that the act of forcible expiration will be accompanied by this kind of
sound: but there are some horses who will at all times emit it, if suddenly
touched with the whip or spur. They are called Gruntenrs, and should be
avoided. There is some altered structure of the lungs, which prevents them
from suddenly accommodating themselves to an unexpected demand for exer-
tion. It is the consequence of previous disease, and is frequently followed by
thick or broken wind, or roaring.

PHTHISIS PULMONALIS, OR CONSUMPTION.

When describing the accompaniments and consequences of inflammation of
the lungs in the horse, mention was made of this fatal complaint. It is usually
connected with or the consequence of pneumonia or pleurisy, and especially in
horses of a peculiar formation or temperament.

If a narrow-chested, flat-sided horse is attacked by inflammation of the
lungs, or severe catarrhal fever, experience tells us that we shall have more
difficulty in subduing the disease in him, than in one deeper in the girth or
rounder in the chest. The lungs, deficient in bulk according to the dimi-
nished contents of the chest, have been overworked in supplying the quantity
of arterial blood expended in the various purposes of life, and particularly that
which has been required under unusual and violent exertion. Inflammation of
the lungs has consequently ensued, and that inflammatory action has acquired
an intense character, under circumstances by which another horse would be
scarcely affected.

When this disease has been properly treated, and apparently subdued, this
horse cannot be quickly and summarily dismissed to his work. He is sadly
emaciated—he long continues so—his coat stares—his skin clings to his ribs—
280 PHTHISIS PULMONALIS, OR CONSUMPTION.

his belly is tucked up, notwithstanding that he may have plenty of mashes,
and carrots, and green meat, and medicine—his former gaiety and spirit do
not return, or if he is willing to work he is easily tired, sweating on the least
exertion, and the sweat most profuse about the chest and sides—his appetite
is not restored, or, perhaps, never has been good, and the slightest exertion
puts him completely off his feed. Pace

We observe him more attentively, and, even as he stands quiet in his stall,
the flanks heave a little more laboriously than they should do, and that heav-
ing is painfully quickened when sudden exertion is required. He coughs
sorely, and discharges from the nose a mucu® tinged with blood, or a fluid
decidedly purulent—the breath becomes offensive—the pulse is always above 40,
and strangely increased by the slightest exertion.

When many of these symptoms are developed, the animal will exhibit consider-
able pain on being gently struck on some part of the chest ; the cough then be-
comes more frequent and painful ; the discharge from the nose more abundant
and foetid, and the emaciation and consequent debility more rapid, until death
closes the scene.

The lesions that are presented after death are very uncertain. Generally
there are tubercles ; sometimes very minute, at other times large in size. They
are in different states of softening, and some of them have burst into the bron-
chial passages, and exhibit abscesses of enormous bulk. Other portions of the
lungs are shrunk, flaccid, indurated or hepatized, and of a pale or red-brown
colour; and there are occasional adhesions between the lungs and the sides of
the chest.

Is this an hereditary disease? There is some difficulty in deciding the
point. It has been scarcely mooted among horsemen. One thing only is
known, that the side has been flat, and the belly tucked up, and the animal has
had much more ardour and willingness than physical strength. These con-
formations, and this disposition, we know to be hereditary, and thus far phthisis
may be said to be so too. Low and damp situations, or a variable and ungenial
climate, may render horses peculiarly susceptible of chest affections. All the
absurd, or cruel, or accidental causes of pneumonia lay the foundation for
phthisis ; and, particularly, those causes which tend to debilitate the frame
generally, render the horse more liable to chest affections, and less able to ward
off their fatal consequences. The most numerous instances of phthisis occur
in those poor persecuted animals that are worn out before their time, and they
are frequent enough among cavalry horses after the deprivations and fatigues of
a long campaign.

What is the medical treatment of confirmed phthisis? The practitioner
must be guided by circumstances. If the horse is not very bad, and it is the
spring of the year, a run at grass may be tried. It will generally seem to
renovate the animal, but the apparent amelioration is too often treacherous. It
should always be tried, for it is the best foundation for other treatment. The
summer, however, having set in, the medicinal effect of the grass ceases, and
the flies tease and irritate the animal.

The medical treatment, if any is tried, will depend on two simple and un~
erring guides, the pulse and the membrane of the nose. If the first is quick
and hard, and the second streaked with red, venesection should be resorted to.
Small bleedings of one or two quarts, omitted when the pulse is quieted and
the nostril is pale, may be effeced. Counter-irritants will rarely do harm.
They should he applied in the form of blisters, extending over the sides, and
thus brought as near as possible to the affected part. Sedative medicines should
be perseveringly administered; and here, as in acute inflammation, the chief
dependence will be placed on digitalis. It should be given in small doses until
PLEURISY. 281

aslightly intermittent pulse is produced, and that state of the constitution should
be maintained by a continued exhibition of the medicine. Nitre may be added
as a diuretic, and pulvis antimonialis as a diaphoretic.

Any tonics here? Yes, the tonic effect of mild and nutritious food—green
meat of almost every kind, carrots particularly, mashes, and now and then a malt
mash. Nothing further than this?) We may try, but very cautiously, those
tonics which stimulate the digestive system, yet comparatively little affect the
circulatory one. Small doses of camomile and gentian may be given, but carefully
watched and omitted if the flanks should heave more, or the cough be aggravated.

The treatment of phthisis is a most unsatisfactory subject of consideration as
it regards the practice of the veterinarian. If, after the human being has been
subjected to medical treatment for a long course of time and at very considcrable
expense, he so far recovers that life is rendered tolerably comfortable to him,
he and his connexions are thankful and satisfied, and he will submit to many a
privation in order to ward off the return of a disease, to which he is conscious there
will ever be a strong predisposition : but the case is different with the horse; and
this, the scope and bound of the human practitioner’s hope, is worthless to the
veterinarian. His patient must not only live, but must be sound again. Every
energy, every capability must be restored. Can we cause the tubercles of the
lungs to be absorbed 2? Can we disperse or dispel the hepatization? Can we
remodel the disorganised structure of the lungs? Our consideration, then, will
be chiefly directed to the detection of the disease in its earliest state, and the
allaying of the irritation which causes or accompanies the growth of the
tubercles. This must be the scope and bound of the veterinarian’s practice—
slways remembering that the owner should be forewarned of the general hope-
lessness of the case, and that the continuance of his efforts should be regulated
by the wish of the proprietor and the value of the patient.

PLEURISY.

The investing membrane of the lungs, and of the thoracic cavity, namely,
the pleura, now demands consideration. We are indebted to Mr. John Ficld,
one of the noblest ornaments of the veterinary profession—but cnt off in the
prime of his days—for the greater part of our knowledge of this disease, and
for the power of distinguishing between it and pneumonia, as readily and as
surely as we do between pneumonia and bronchitis and epidemic catarrh.

The prevailing causes of pleurisy are the same as those which produce pneu-
monia—exposure to wet and cold, sudden alternations of temperature, partial
exposure to cold, riding against a keen wind, immersion as high as the chest in
cold water, drinking cold water, and extra work of the respiratory machine.
To these may be added, wounds penetrating into the thorax and lacerating the
pleura, fracture of the ribs, or violent contusions on the side, the inflammation
produced by which is propagated through the parietes of the chest.

It is sometimes confined to one side, or to one of the pleurz on either
side, or even to patches on that pleura, whether pulmonary or costal. The
inflammation of the lungs which occasionally accompanies rabies is characterised
by a singular patchy appearance. «That produced on the costal pleura, arising
froma violence or other causes, rarely reachés the pulmonary covering ; and that
which is communicated to the tunic of the lungs, by means of the intensity of
the action within, does not often involve the costal pleura. In some cases,
however, it affects both pleurs and both sides, and spreads rapidly from one to
the other.

The first symptom is rigor, followed by increased heat and partial sweats,
to these succeed loss of appetite and spirits, and a low and painful cough.
The inspiration is a'short, sudden effort, and broken off before it is fully
282 PLEURISY.

accomplished, indicating the pain felt from the distention of the irritable,
because inflamed, membrane. This symptom is exceedingly characteristic. In
the human being it is well expressed by the term stitch, and an exceedingly
painful feeling it is. The expiration is retarded, as much as possible, by the
use of all the auxiliary muscles which the animal can press into the service
but it at length finishes abruptly in a kina of spasm. This peculiarity of
breathing, once carefully observed, cannot be forgotten. The next character is
found in the tenderness of the sides when the costal pleura is affected. This
tenderness often exists to a degree scarcely credible. If the side is pressed upon,
the horse will recede with a low painful grunt; he will tremble, and try to get
out of the way before the hand touches him again. Then comes another indi-
cation, both of pain and the region of that pain,—the intercostal muscles,
affected by the contiguous pleura, and in their turn affecting the panniculus
carnosus, or subcutaneous muscular expansion without—there are twitchings
of the skin on the side—corrugations—waves creeping over the integument.
This is never seen in pneumonia. There is, however, as we may expect,the same
disinclination to move, for every motion must give intense pain.

The pulse should be anxiously studied. It presents a decided difference of
character from that of pneumonia. It is increased in rapidity, but instead of
being oppressed and sometimes almost unappreciable, as in pneumonia, it is
round, full, and strong. Even at the last, when the strength of the constitu-
tion begins to yield, the pulse is wiry, although small.

The extremities are never deathy cold; they may be cool, they are oftener
variable, and they sometimes present increased heat. The body is far more
liable to variations of temperature ; and the cold and the hot fit more frequently
succeed each other. The mouth is not so hot as in pncumonia, and the breath
is rarely above its usual temperature.

A difference of character in the two diseases is here particularly evident on
the membrane of the nose. Neither the crimson nor the purple injection of
pneumonia is seen on the lining of the nose, but a somewhat darker, dingier hue.

Both the pneumonic and pleuritic horse will look at his flanks, thus pointing
out the seat of disease and pain ; but the horse with pneumonia will turn himself
more slowly round, and long and steadfastly gaze at his side, while the action of
the horse with pleurisy is more sudden, agitated, spasmodic. The countenance
of the one is that of settled distress; the other*brightens up occasionally.
The pang is severe, but it is transient, and there are intervals of relief. While
neither will lie down or willingly move, and the pneumonic horse stands fixed
as a statue, the pleuritic one shrinks, and crouches almost to falling. If he
lies down, it is on the affected side, when the disease is confined to one side
only. The head of the horse, with inflammation of the substance of the lungs,
hangs heavily; that of the other is protruded.

We here derive most important assistance from Auscultation. In a case
of pleurisy we have no crepitating, crackling sound, referable to the infiltration
of the blood through the gossamer membrane of the air-cells; we have not
even a louder and distincter murmur. Perhaps there is no variation from the
sound of health, or, if there is any difference, the murmur is fainter; for the
pleural membrane is thickened, and its elasticity is impaired, and the sound is
not so readily transmitted. There is sometimes a slight rubbing sound, and
especially towards the superior region of the chest, as if there was friction
between the thickened and indurated membranes.

To this may be added the different character of the cough, sore and painful
enough in both, but in pneumonia generally hard, and full, and frequent. In
pleurisy it is not so frequent, but faint, suppressed, cut short, and rarely attended
by discharge from the nose.
PLEURISY. 283

‘These are sufficient guides in the early stage of the disease, when it is most
of all of importance to distinguish the one from the other.

If after a few days the breathing becomes a little more natural, the inspira-
tion lengthened and regular, and the expiration, although still prolonged, is
suffered to be completed—if the twitchings are less evident and less frequent—
if the cough can be fully expressed—if the pulse softens, although it may not
diminish in frequency, and if the animal begins to lie down, or walks about of
his own accord, there is hope of recovery. But if the pulse quickens, and,
although smaller, yet possesses the wiry character of inflammation—if the
gaze at the flanks, previously by starts, becomes fixed as well as anxious,
and the difficulty of breathing continues (the difficulty of accomplishing it,
aithough the efforts are oftener repeated)—if patches of sweat break out, and
the animal gets restless—paws—shifts his posture every minute—is unable longer
to stand yet hesitates whether he shall lie down—determines on it again and again,
but fears, and at length drops, rather than lies gently down, a fatal termination
is at hand. For some time before his death, the effusion and its extent will be
evident enough. He not only walks unwillingly, but on the slightest exercise
his pulse is strangely accelerated ; the feeling of suffocation comes over him, and
he stops all of a sudden, and looks wildly about and trembles; but he quickly
recovers himself and proceeds. There is also, when the effusion is confirmed,
@dema of some external part, and that occasionally to a very great extent.
This is oftenest observed in the abdomen, the chest, and the point of the breast.

The immediate cause of death is effusion in the chest, compressing the lungs
on every side, rendering expiration difficult and at length impossible, and
destroying the animal by suffocation. The very commencement of effusion
nay be detected by auscultation. ‘There will be the cessation of the respira-
tory murmur at the sternum, and the increased grating—-not the crepitating,
srackling noise as when congestion is going on—not the feebler murmur as
congestion advances; but the absence of it, beginning from the bottom of thechest.

It is painfully interesting to watch the progress of the effusion—how the
stillness creeps up, aud the murmur gets louder above, and the grating sound
louder too, until at length there is no longer room for the lungs to play, and
suffocation ensues.

The fluid contained in the chest varies in quantity as well as appearance and
consistence. Many gallons have been found in the two sacs, pale, or yellow, or
bloody, or often differing in the two sides of the thorax ; occasionally a thick
adventitious coat covering the costal or the pulmonary pleura—rarely much
adhesion, but the lungs purple-coloured, flaccid, compressed, not one-fourth
of their usual size, immersed in the fluid, and rendered incapable of expanding
by its pressure.

Here, as in pneumonia, the bleeding should be prompt and copious.
Next, and of great importance, aperient medicine should be administered
—that, the effect of which is so desirable, but which we do not dare to
give when the mucous membrane of the respiratory passages is the seat of
disease. Here we have to do with a serous membrane, and there is less sym-
pathy with the mucous membranes of either cavity. Small doses of aloes
should be given with the usual fever medicine, and repeated morning and night
until the dung becomes pultaceous, when it will always be prudent to stop.
The sedative medicine is that which has been recommended in pneumonia, and
in the same doses. Next should follow a blister on the chests and sides. It is
far preferable to setons, for it can be brought almost into contact with the
inflamed surface, and extended over the whole of that surface. An airy, but
a comfortable box, is likewise even more necessary than in pneumonia, and the
practice of exposure, uncovered, to the cold even more absurd and destructive.
284 PLEURISY.

The blood, repelled from the skin by the contractile, depressing influence of
the cold, would rush with fatal impetus to the neighbouring membrane, to
which it was before dangerously determined. Warm and comfortable clothing
cannot be dispensed with in pleurisy.

The sedative medicines, however, should be omitted much sooner than in
pneumonia, and succeeded by diuretics. The common turpentine is as good as
any, made into a ball with linseed meal, and given in doses of two or three
drachms twice in the day. If the constitution is much impaired, tonics may
be cautiously given, as soon as the violence of the disease is abated. The
spirit of nitrous ether is a mild stimulant and a diuretic. Small quantities of
gentian and ginger may be added, but the turpentine must not be omitted.

By auscultation and other modes of examination, the existence of effusion in
the chest is perhaps ascertained, and, possibly, it is-increasing. Is there any
mechanical way of getting rid of it? There is one to which recourse should
be had as soon as it is evident that there is considerable fluid in the chest. The
operation of Paracentesis, or tapping, should be performed ; it is a very simple
one. The side-line may be had recourse to, or the twitch alone may be used.
One of the horse’s legs being held up, and, counting back from the sternum to
between the seventh and eighth ribs, the surgeon should pass a moderate-sized
trochar into the chest immediately above the cartilages. He will not have
selected the most dependent situation, but as near it as he could with safety
select ; for there would not have been room between the cartilages if the
puncture had been lower; and these would have been injured in the forcing
of the instrument between them, or, what is worse, there would have been
great hazard of wounding the pericardium, for the apex of the heart rests on
the stenum. Through this aperture, close to the cartilages, the far greater
part of the fluid may be evacuated. The operator will now withdraw the
stilette, and let the fluid run through the canula. He will not trouble him-
self afterwards about the wound; it will heal readily enough; perhaps too
quickly, for, could it be kept open a few days, it might act asa very useful
drain. Jt should be attempted early. Recourse should be had to the operation
as soon as it is ascertained that there is considerable fluid in the chest, for the
animal will at least be relieved for a while, and some time will have been given
for repose to the overlaboured lungs, and for the system generally to be
recruited. The fluid will be evacuated before the lungs are too much debi-
litated by laborious action against the pressure of the water, anda state of
collapse brought on, from which they will be incapable of recovering. They
only who have seen the collapsed and condensed state of the lung that had
been long compressed by the fluid, can conceive of the extent to which this is
carried. It should be added —a fact important and alarming — that the
records of veterinary surgery contain very few cases of permanently successful
performance of the operation. This should not discourage the practitioner
from attempting it, but should induce him to consider whether he may not
perform it under happier auspices, before the lungs and the serous membrane
which lines the cavity have been too much disorganised, and the constitution itself
sadly debilitated. There could not be any well-founded objection to an earlier
resort to paracentesis, and he must be a bungler indeed who wounded any
important part.

It should be ascertained by auscultation whether there is fluid in both cavi-
ties. If there should be, and in considerable quantity, it will not be prudent
to operate on both sides at once. If much fluid is discharged, there will be
acceleration and difficulty of respiration to a very great degree. The practi-
tioner must not be alarmed at this ; it will pass over, and on the next day he may
attack the other side; or open both at once, if there is but little fluid in either.
THE STOMACH. 285

Having resorted to this operation, a course of diuretics with tonics should be
immediately commenced, and the absorbents roused to action before the cavity
fills again.

There is in pleurisy a far greater tendency to relapse than in pneumonia.
The lungs do not perfectly recover from their state of collapse, nur the serous
membrane from its long maceration in the effused fluid: oedema, cough, disin-
clination to work, incapability of rapid progression, colicky pains—as the unob-
servant practitioner would call them—but in truth pleuritic stitches ; these are
the frequent sequel of pleurisy. This will afford another reason why the
important operation of paracentesis should not be deferred too long.

There is much greater disposition to metastasis than in pneumonia: indeed it
is easy to imagine that the inflammation of a mere membrane may more readily
and oftener shift than that of the substance of so large a viscus as the lungs.
The inflammation shifting its first ground, attacks almost every part indiscri-
minately, and appears under a strangely puzzling variety of forms. Dropsy is
the most frequent change. Effusion in the abdomen is substituted for that of
the chest, or rather the exhalent or absorbent vessels of the abdomen, or both
of them, soon sympathise in the debility of those of the thorax.

CHAPTER XIII.
THE ABDOMEN AND ITS CONTENTS.

ae
THE STOMACH.

  

a The esophagus 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. .
-¢ The portion of the stomach which is covered by cuticle, or insensible skin.
dd The margin, which separates the cuticular from the villous portion. oh ER bs
e ¢ The mucous, or villous (velvet) portion of the stomach, in which the food is principally
digested.
286 THE STOMACH.

Jf The communication between the stomach and the first intestine.

g The common orifice through which the bile and the secretion from the pancreas pass into
the first intestine. The two pins mark the two tubes here united.

kh A smaller orifice, through which a portion of the secretion of the pancreas enters the
intestines.

Tue cesophagus, as has already been stated, consists of a muscular mem-
branous tube, extending from the posterior part of the mouth down the left,
side of the neck, pursuing its course through the chest, penetrating through
the crura of the diaphragm, and reaching to and terminating in the stomach.
It does not, however, enter straight into the stomach, and with a large open
orifice ; but there is an admirable provision made to prevent the regurgitation of
the food when the stomach is filled and the horse suddenly called upon to per-
form unusually hard work. The oesophagus enters the stomach in a somewhat
curved direction—it runs obliquely through the muscular and cuticular coats for
some distance, and then its fibres arrange themselves around the opening into the
stomach. Close observation has shown, that they form themselves into seg-
ments of circles, interlacing each other, and by their contraction plainly and
forcibly closing the opening, so that the regurgitation of the food is almost
impossible.

The following is a simple but accurate delineation of the structure of the
termination of the cesophagus, and
the manner in which it encircles
the orifice of the stomach. We
are indebted to Mr. Ferguson, of
Dublin, for this interesting dis-
covery.

A microscope of very feeble
power will beautifully show this
singular construction. It is not
precisely either a sphincter inuscle
ora valve, but it is a strong and
almost insuperable obstacle to the
regurgitation of the food. The
left side of the stomach is in con-
tact with the diaphragm. It is
pressed upon by every motion of the diaphragm, and hence the reason why the
stomach is so smal] compared with the size of the animal. It is indeed
strangely small, in order that it might not press too hardly upon the diaphragm,
or painfully interfere with the process of respiration, when the utmost ener-
gies of the horse are occasionally taxed immediately after he has been fed.

At the lower or pyloric orifice, the muscles are also increased in number and
in size. These are arranged in the same manner, with sufficient power to
resist the pressure of the diaphragm, and retain the contents of the stomach
until they have undergone the digestive process.

The situation of the stomach will at once explain the reason why a horse is
so much distressed, and sometimes irreparably injured, if worked hard imme-
diately after a full meal. ‘The stomach must be displaced anc driven back by
every contraction of the diaphragm or act of inspiration; and in proportion to
the fulness of the stomach will be the weight to be overcome, and the labour
of the diaphragm, and the exhaustion of the animal. If the stomach is much
distended, it may be too weighty to be forced sufficiently far back to make room
for the quantity of air which the animal in a state of exertion requires.
Hence the frequency and labour of the breathing, and the quickness with
which such a horse is blown, or possibly destroyed. Hence also the folly of

 
THE STOMACH. 287

giving too full a meal, or too much water, before the horse starts on a journey
or for the chase ; and, in like manner, the absurdity and danger of that unpar-
donable custom of some grooms to gallop the horse after his drink, in order to
warm it in his belly, and prevent gripes.

The horse was destined to be the servant of man, and to be always at his
call whether fasting or full: it would seem, therefore, that, to lessen much
inconvenience or danger, a smaller stomach, in proportion to his size, is given
to the horse than to almost any other animal. The bulk of the horse, and the
services required of him, demand much nutriment, and that of such a nature
as to occupy a very considerable space ; yet his stomach, compared with his
bulk, is not half so large as that of the human being: therefore, although he,
like every other animal, feels inconvenience from great exertion immediately
after a full meal, he suffers not so much as other quadrupeds, for his stomach is
small, and his food passes rapidly through it, and descends to apart of the
intestines distant from the diaphragm, and where the existence and pressure of
the food cannot cause him any annoyance.

The stomach has four coats. The outermost is the lining of the cavity of
the belly, and the common covering of all the intestines—that by which they
are confined in their respective situations, and from which a fluid is secreted
that prevents all friction between them. This is called the peritonewm—that
which stretches round the inside of the stomach.

The second is the muscular coat, consisting of two layers of fibres, one running
lengthways, and the other circularly, and by means of which a constant gentle
motion is communicated to the stomach, mingling the food more intimately
together, and preparing it for digestion, and by the pressure of which the food
when properly prepared is urged on into the intestines.

The third, or cuticular (skin-like) coat, c, covers but a portion of the inside of
the stomach. It is a continuation of the lining of the gullet. There are nume-
rous glands on it, which secrete a mucous fluid; and it is probably intended to
be a reservoir in which a portion of the food is retained for a while, and softened
and better prepared for the action of the other or true digestive portion of the
stomach. The cuticular coat occupies nearly one-half of the inside of the
stomach.

The fourth coat is the mucous or villous (velvet) coat, e, where the work of
digestion properly commences. The mouths of numerous little vessels open
upon it, pouring out a peculiar fluid, the gastric (stomach) juice, which mixes
with the food already softened, and converts it into a fluid called chyme. As
this is formed, it passes out of the other orifice of the stomach, the pylorus
(doorkeepers), f, and enters the first small intestine; the harder and undissolved
parts being turned back to undergo farther action.

Every portion of the muscular coat has the power of successively contracting
and relaxing, and thus, in the language of Dr. Bostock, “the successive con-
traction of each part of the stomach, by producing a series of folds and wrinkles,
serves to agitate the alimentary mass, and, by bringing every part of it in its
turn to the surface, to expose it to the influence of the gastric juice, while at the
same time the whole of the contents are gradually propelled forwards, from the
orifice which is connected with the cesophagus to that by which they are
discharged.”

The cercbro-visceral nerve is the agent in producing these alternate con-
tractions and relaxations. It is the motor nerve belonging to these parts. It
has to keep the parictes of the stomach in contact with the food, and the food in
contact with the gastric juice. It has to bring the different parts of the food in
successive contact with the stomach, and to propel them through this portion of
the alimentary canal in order that they may be discharged into the duodenum.
288 BOTS.

A viscus thus situated and thus employed must occasionally be subject tc
inflammation, and various other lesions. The symptoms, however, are obscure
and frequently mistaken. They resemble those of colic more than anything
else, and should be met by bleeding, oleaginous purges, mashes, tepid gruel,
and the application of the stomach-pump: but. when, in addition to the
colicky pains, there appear indistinctness of the pulse—and a very characteristic
symptom that is—pallidness of the membranes, coldness of the moutk, frequent
lying down and in such position that the weight of the horse may rest on the chest,
frequently pointing with his muzzle at the seat of pain, and, especially, if these
symptoms are accompanied or followed by vomiting, rupture of the stomach is
plainly indicated. Considering the situation of the stomach, and the concussions
and violence to which it is exposed from the diaphragm and from the viscera
around it, this accident will not appear extraordinary. The horse does not
necessarily die as soon as this accident occurs. In a case related by Mr.
Rogers, the animal died in about four hours after the accident * ; but in one that
occurred in the practice of the author, three days elapsed between the
probable rupture of the stomach, from a sudden and violent fall, and the death
of the animal, and in which interval he several times ate a little food. The
rupture was at the right extremity of the stomach, and there were several
distinct layers of impacted food between it and the liver. The liver seemed to
have acted as a kind of valve. The stomach was found still distended, the
edges of the rupture having the dull and sodden appearance of an old wound.
There was comparatively little fluid in the abdominal cavity, and no disposi-
tion to vomit occurred during any period t.

A case showing the insensibility of the stomach, wisely and kindly given,
considering the shocks and dangers to which this viscus is exposed, is recorded
by Mr. Hayes {. A drench was ordered for a horse. For want of a horn, the
stable-keeper made use of a wine-bottle, without examining whether it was clean
or foul. Shortly afterwards it was discovered that the bottle had contained
three or four ounces of liquid blister. This was kept a profound secret until
the death of the animal, and that did not happen until twelve days afterwards,
The horse had eaten his provender in the same manner as usual, and had per-
formed his usual work until about two hours before his death, when he lay
down, rolled about, bruised himself sadly, and died. The food, consisting of
hay, oats, and beans, was lodged and impacted between the folds of the intestines,
and the whole abdominal viscera appeared as if they had been thus surrounded
a considerable time before death. The stomach was ruptured in many directions,
and almost decomposed. Its coats were nearly destroyed, and hung like rags
about the orifice through which the food was received, and that through which
it naturally was expelled. This account proves how little we are to depend
upon any apparent symptoms as indicating the real state of the stomach in the
horse.

Mr. Brown relates a case of polypus found in the stomach, and which had
remained there unsuspected until it weighed nearly half a pound, it then

became entangled in the pyloric orifice, and prevented the passage of the food,
and destroyed the horse §.

BOTS. E

In the spring and early part of the summer, horses are much troubled bya
grub or caterpillar, which crawls out of the anus, fastens itself under the tail,

* The Farrier and Naturalist, vol. ii. p. 9. } The Veterinarian, vol. x. p.615
t+ The Veterinary-Medical Association. Ibid., vol. vii. p. 76, ic
1836-7, p. 109. i
BOTS. 289

and seems to cause a great deal of itching or uneasiness. Grooms are some-
times alarmed at the appearance of these insects. ‘Their history is curious, and
will dispel every fear with regard to them. We are indebted to Mr. Bracy
Clark for almost all we know of the bot.

CUT OF THE BOT.

 

 

aand 4 The eggs of the gad-fly, adhering to the hair of the horse.

c The appearance of the bots on the stomach, firmly adhering by their hooked mouths.
The marks or depressions are seen which are left on the coat of the stomach when
the bots are detached from their hold.

d The bot detached.

e The female of the gad-fly, of the horse, prepared to deposit her eggs.

f The gad-fly by which the red bots are produced.

g The smaller, or red bot,

A species of gad-fly, e, the oestrus equi, is in the latter part of the summer
exceedingly busy about the horse. It is observed to be darting with great
rapidity towards the knees and sides of the animal. The females are depositing
their eggs on the hair, and which adhere to it by means of a glutinous fluid with
which they are surrounded (@ and 6). Ina few days the eggs are ready to he
hatched, and the slightest application of warmth and moisture will liberate the
little animals which they contain. The horse in licking himself touches the
egg; it bursts, and a small worm escapes, which adheres to the tongue, and is
conveyed with theefood into the stomach. There it clings to the cuticular por-
tion of the stomach, c, by means of a hook on either side of its mouth; and its hold
is so firm and so obstinate, that it must be broken before it can be detached.
It remains there feeding on the mucus of the stomach during the whole of the
winter, and umtil the end of the ensuing spring ; when, having attained a con-
siderable size, d, and being destined to undergo a certain transformation, it
disengages itself from the cuticular coat, is carried into the villous portion of the
stomach with the food, passes out of it with the chyme, and is evacuated with
the dung.

The larva or maggot seeks shelter in the ground, and buries itself there ; it
contracts in size, and becomes a chrysalis or grub, in which state it lies inactive
for a few weeks, and then, bursting from its confinement, assumes the fortn
ofa fly. The female, becoming impregnated, quickly deposits her eggs on
those parts of the horse which he is most accustomed to lick, and thus the
species is perpetuated.

There are several plain conclusions to be drawn from this history. The bots
cannot, while they inhabit the stomach of the horse, give the animal any pain, for

u
290 POISONS.

they have fastened on the cuticular and insensible coat. They cannot stimulate
the stomach, and increase its digestive power, for they are not on the digestive
portion of the stomach. They cannot, by their roughness, assist the trituration
or rubbing down of the food, for no such office is performed in that part of the
stomach — the food is softened, not rubbed down. They cannot be injurious to

-the horse, for he enjoys the most perfect health when the cuticular part of his
stomach is filled with them, and their presence is not even suspected until they
appear at the anus. ‘They cannot be removed by medicine, because they are
not in that part of the stomach to which medicine is usually conveyed ; and if
they were, their mouths are too deeply buried in the mucus for any medicine,
that can safely be administered, to affect them; and, last of all, in due course
of time they detach themselves, and come away. Therefore, the wise man will
leave them to themselves, or content himself with picking them off when they
collect under the tail and annoy the animal.

The smaller bot, f and g, is not so frequently found.

Of inflammation of the stomach of the horse, except from poisonous herbs
or drugs, we know little. It rarely occurs. It can with difficulty be distin-
guished from inflammation of the bowels; and, in either case, the assistance of
the veterinary surgeon is required.

Few horses are destroyed by poisonous plants in our meadows. Natural
instinct teaches the animal to avoid the greater part of those that would be
injurious.

We cannot do better than abbreviate the list of poisonous agents, and the
means of averting their fatal influence, given by Mr. Morton, the Professor of
Chemistry and Materia Medica at the Royal Veterinary College*. It will
occasionally be exceedingly useful to the proprietor of horses.

He begins with the Animau Poisons. The bite of the virrr has been occa-
sionally fatal to dogs and sheep. A horse was brought to the Veterinary
College that had been bitten in the hind leg while hunting. There was con-
siderable swelling, and the place of the bite was evident enough. Mr. Arm-
strong mentions a case in which a horse, bitten by a viper, sunk into a kind of
coma, from which he could not be roused. The antidote, which seldom or
never fails, is an alkaline solution of almost any kind, taken internally and
applied externally. There is no chemical effect on the circulation, but the
alkali acts as a powerful counter-irritant. In very bad cases opium may be
added to the alkaline solution.

Hornets, Wasps, &c.—These are are spoken of, because there are records
of horses being attacked by a swarm of them, and destroyed. The spirit of
turpentine is the best external application, and, if given in not undue quantities
and guarded by au admixture with oil, may be useful.

CanruaripEs constitute a useful drug in some few cases. It is one of the
applications used in order to excite the process of blistering. It was occasionally
employed as a medicine in small quantities, and, combined with vegetable
tonics, it has been given in small doses, for the cure of glanders, farcy, and nasal
gleet. it is valuable in cases of general and extreme debility. Itisa useful
general stimulant when judiciously applied: but it must be given in small doses,
and never except under the direction of a skilful practitioner. A drachm of
the powdered fly would destroy almost any horse. In the breeding season it
is too often shamefully given as an excitant to the horse and the mare, and many
a valuable animal has been destroyed by this abominable practice. It is usually
given in the form of ball, in which case it may be detected by the appearance
of small glittering portions of the fly, which are separated on the inner side of

 

* Veterinary Medical Asscciation, 1836-7, p. 41.
POISONS. 291

the dung-ball in hot water. If the accidental or too powerful administration of
it is suspected, recourse should be had to bleeding, purging, and plentiful drench-
ing with oily and demulcent fluids.

The leaves of the Yew are said to be dangerous to the horse, as well as to many
other animals, ‘Two horses that had been employed in carrying fodder, were
thoughtlessly placed under a large yew-tree, which they cropped with eager-
ness. In three hours they began to stagger—both of them dropped, and, before
the harness could be taken off, they were dead. A great quantity of yew leaves
were found in the stomachs, which were contracted and inflamed *.” Mr.
W. C. Spooner mentions a case of violent suspicion of the poisoning of an
ass and a mare in the same wayt. On the other hand, Professor Sewell
says that on the farm on which he resided in his early years, the horses
and cattle had every opportunity of eating yew. They pastured and slept
under the shelter of yew-trees, and were often observed to browse on the
branches {. He thinks that these supposed cases of poisoning have taken place
only when enormous quantities of the yew had been eaten, and that it was
more acute indigestion than poisoning. There are, however, too many cases of
horses dying after feeding on the yew to render it safe to cultivate it in the
neighbourhood of a farm, either in the form of tree or hedge.

The Hydrocyanic or Prussic Acid belongs to the class of vegetable poisons,
but it is scarcely possible for the horse to be accidentally injured or destroyed
by it. Ten grains of the farina of the croton nut should be given as soon as
the poison is suspected, and the patient should be drenched largely with equal
parts of vinegar and thin gruel, and the croton repeated after the lapse of six
hours, if it has not previously operated.

The Water Dropwort (Cfnanthe fistulosa) common in ditches and marshy
places, is generally refused by horses ; but brood mares, with appetite somewhat
vitiated by their being in foal, have been destroyed by it. The antidote would
be vinegar and gruel, and bleeding if there is inflammation.

The Water Parsley (AEthusa Cynapium) deserves not all the bad reputation
it has acquired; although, when eaten in too great quantities, it has produced
palsy in the horse, which has been strangely attributed to a harmless beetle
that inhabits the stem. .

Of the Common Hemlock (Conium maculatum), and the Water Hemlock
(Ginanthe crocata), the author knows no harm, so far as the horse is concerned.
He has repeatedly seen him eat the latter without any bad effect; but cows
have been poisoned by it.

The Euphorbium, or Spurge, s0 common and infamous an ingredient in the
Farrier’s Blister, has destroyed many a horse from the irritation which it has set
up, and the torture it has occasioned, and should never find a place in the Vete-
rinary Pharmacopeeia.

Colocynth and Elaterium fairly rank among the substances that are poisonous
to the horse; and so does the Bryony Root (Bryonia dioica), notwithstanding
that it is frequently given to horses, in many parts of the country, as a great
promoter of condition. Many a young horse has been brought into a state of
artificial condition and excitement by the use of the Bryony. It is one of the
abominable secrets of the horse-breaker. This state of excitation, however,
soon passes away, and is succeeded by temporary or permanent diminution of
vital power. We have occasionally traced much mischief to this infamous practice.

Not less injurious is the Savin (Juniperus Sabina). It is well known asa
vermifuge in the human subject, and it is occasionally given to the horse for the

 

* Loudon’s Magazine of Nat. Hist. vol. t Abstract of the Vet. Med. Associatiuu,
viii. p. 81. vol. i. p. 62.
+ Veterinarian, vol. x. p. 685.
u2
292 POISONS.

same purpose ; but it is a favourite with the carter and the groom as a promoter
of condition. A very great proportion of farmers’ servants regard it as a drug
effecting some good purpose, although they can scarcely define what that pur-
pose is; and there is scarcely a country stable in which it is not occasionally
found, and in which the horse is not endangered or perhaps destroyed by its use.
It is high time that the horse-master looked more carefully to this, and suffered
no drug to be administered to his horses and cattle, except by his direction or
that of the medical attendant. The farmer and the gentleman can scarcely
conceive to what an abominable extent this vile practive prevails. The presence
of savine will be best detected in the stomach of a horse that has died under
suspicious circumstances, by the black-currant-leaf smell of the contents when
boiled in a little water, or beaten in a mortar.

The Common Brake (Pteris aquilina) and the Stone Fern (Pleris crispa)
are violent and dangerous diuretics, and, on account of their possessing
this property, are probably favourites with the horse-keeper and the groom.
The diuretic influence is usually evident enough, but not the injurious effeet
which it has on the lining membrane of the bladder, and the predisposition
to inflammation which it excites in the urinary organs. This has been too much
underrated, even by those who have inquired into the subject. If the cuticular
coat of the stomach is found not merely in a state of great inflammation, but
will readily peel or wash off, it must necessarily be a dangerous medicament,
and should be banished entirely from the stable*.

Of the mineral poisons it will be necessary to mention only two. Arsenic
was once in great repute as a tonic and vermifuge. Doses sufficient to kill
three or four men were daily administered, and generally with impunity. In
some cases, however, the dose was too powerful, and the animal was destroyed.
‘Two of the pupils of the author were attending the patients of a veterinary
surgeon who was confined in consequence of a serious accident. Among them
was a valuable horse labouring under inflammation of the lungs. The disease
was subdued, and the patient was convalescent. At this period our friend
began to regain sufficient strength to travel a short distance. The first patient
that he visited was this horse, whose ailments had all passed away. He could
not, however, let well alone, but sent some arsenic balls. In less than a week
this noble animal was taken to the knacker’s. There are far better vermifuges
and tonics than this dangerous drug, which will probably soon be discarded from
veterinary practice.

Corrosive Sublimate is given internally, and occasionally with advantage, in
favcy, and, as an external application, it is used to destroy vermin, to cure
mange, and to dispose deep and fistulous ulcers to heal.

It may, however, be given in too large a dose, the symptoms of which are
loss of appetite, discharge of saliva from the mouth, pawing, looking eagerly
at the flanks, rolling, profuse perspiration, thready pulse, rapid weakness,
violent purging and straining, convulsions, and death.

The stomach will be found intensely inflamed, with patches of yet greater
inflammation. The whole course of the intestines will be inflamed, with parti-
cular parts black and gangrenous.

The antidote, if it is not too late to administer it, would be—for arsenic, lime-
water, or chalk and water, or soap and water, given in great quantities by
means of the stomach-pump; and for corrosive sublimate, the white of eggs
mixed with water, or thick starch, or arrow-root.

Is there really occasion for-the owner of horses to be acquainted with these
things? Long experience has taught the author that poisoning with these

* Sce an account of some experiments on these substances, by Mr. Cupiss, in the early
numbers of ‘* Tho Sportsman.”
THE INTESTINES. 293

drugs is not so rare a circumstance as some imagine. In the farmer’s stable
he has occasionally been compelled unwillingly to decide that the death of one
or more horses has been attributable to arsenic or corrosive sublimate, and not
to any peculiar disease, or to anything wrong in the manner of feeding. A
scoundrel was executed in 1812 for administering arsenic and corrosive sub-
limate to several horses. He had been engaged in these enormities during four
long years. The discarded or offended carter has wreaked his revenge in a similar
way ; but, oftener, in his eagerness to get a more glossy coat on his horses than a
rival servant could exhibit, he has tampered with these dangerous drugs.

The owner may easily detect this. “Arsenic, if mixed with charcoal and
heated, emits a very perceptible smell of garlic. Sulphuretted hydrogen, added
to a watery solution of arsenic, throws down a yellow precipitate—lime-water
a white one—and the ammoniaco-sulphate of copper a green one *.”

The following are the tests of corrosive sublimate :—“ It is sublimed by
heat, leaving no residuum, and is soluble in water, alcohol, and sulphuric ether.
Lime-water gives either a lemon-yellow precipitate, or a brick-dust red one,
The iodide of potash occasions a scarlet precipitate. The most curious test is,
however, by means of galvanism. A drop of the suspected solution is placed on
a sovereign, and a small key being brought into contact simultaneously with
both the gold and the solution, an electric current is produced which decorm-
poses the bichloride of mercury, for such it is. The chlorine unites with the
iron, and the mercury with the goldt.”

THE INTESTINES.

The food having been partially digested in the stomach, and converted into
chyme, passes through the pyloric orifice into the intestines.

CUT OF THE INTESTINES.

 

a The commencement of the small intestines. The ducta which convoy the bile and the
secretion from the pancreas are seen entering 2 little below.
b 6 The convolutions or winding of the small intestines.
¢ A portion of the mesentery. ‘
d The small intestines, terminating in the cecum. ‘ seetiele
eé The cecum, or blind gut, with the bands running along it, puckering and dividing it into
numerous cells,

. * Manual of Pharmacy, by Professor Morton, Lecturer on Veterinary Medicine at the
St. Pancras Veterinary College, p. 42. 7} Ditto, page 184,
294 THE INTESTINES.

Jf The beginning of the colon.

g The continuation and expansion of the colon, divided, like the cecum, into celle.
A The termination of the colon in the rectum.

@ The termination of the rectum at the arus,

The intestines of a full-grown horse are not less than ninety feet in length.
The length of the bowels in different animals depends on the nature of the
food. The nutritive matter is with much more difficulty extracted from vege-
table than animal substances ; therefore the alimentary canal is large, long, and
complicated in those which, like the horse, are principally or entirely fed on
eorn or herbs. They are divided into the small and large intestines ; the former
of which occupy about sixty-six feet, and the latter twenty-four.

The intestines, like the stomach, are composed of three coats.

The outer one consists of the peritoneum—that membrane which has been
already described as investing the contents of the abdomen. By means of this
coat, the intestines are confined in their proper situations; and, this membrane
being smooth and moist, all friction and concussion are prevented. Did the
bowels float loosely in the abdomen, they would be subject to constant entangle-
ment and injury amid the rapid and violent motions of the horse.

The middle coat, like that of the stomach, is muscular, and composed of two
layers of fibres, one running longitudinally and the other circularly ; and by
means of these muscles, which are continually contracting and relaxing ina
direction from the upper part of the intestines to the lower, the food is pro-
pelled along the bowels.

The inner coat is the mucous or villous one. It abounds with innumerable small
glands, which secrete a mucous fluid to lubricate the passage and defend it from
irritating or acrimonious substances; and it is said to be villous from its soft
velvet-like feeling. This coat is crowded with innumerable minute orifices
that are the commencement of vessels by which the nutritive part of the food
is taken up; and these vessels, uniting and passing over the mesentery, carry
this nutritive matter to a proper receptacle for it, whence it is conveyed into
the circulation, and distributed to every part.

The intestines are chiefly retained in their relative positions by the mesentery,
¢ (middle of the intestines), which is a doubling of the peritoneum, including
each intestine in its folds, and also inclosing in its duplicatures the arteries,
the veins, the nerves, and the vessels which convey the nutriment from the
intestines to the circulation.

The first of thesmall intestines, and commencing from theright extremity of the
stomach, is the duodenum, a, avery improper name for it in the horse, for in that
animal it isnearly two feet in length. It is the largest and shortest of all the small
intestines. Itreceivesthe food partially converted intochyme by the digestive power
of the stomach*, and in which it undergoes another and very important change ;
a portion of it being converted into chyle. It is here mixed with the bile and
the secretion from the pancreas, which enter this intestine about five inches
from its commencement. The bile seems to be the principal agent in this
change, for no sooner does it mingle with the chyme than that fluid begins to be
separated into two distinct ingredients—a white thick liquid termed chyle and
containing the nutritive part of the food, and a yellow pulpy substance, the

innutritive portion, which, when the chyle is all pressed from it, is evacuated
through the rectum.

 

* The’ conversion of food into chyme is part of the duodenum a kind of second sto-
very imperfectly performed in the stomach of mach, to mix up and dissolve the food, That
the horse, on account of the smallness of that apparatus is evident enough until we arrive at
viscus, and the portion of it which is occupied the pancreatic and biliary onfices,
by cuticle: therefore, he needs in the upper
THE INTESTINES. . 295

The next portion of the small intestines is the Jejunum, so called because it
is generally found to be empty. It is smaller in bulk and paler in colour than
the duodenum. It is more loosely confined in the abdomen—floating compara-
tively unattached in the cavity of the abdomen, and the passage of the food being
comparatively rapid through it.

There is no separation or distinction between it and the next intestine—the
Ileum. There is no point at which the jejunum can be said to terminate and
the ileum commence. Together they form that portion of the intestinal tube
which floats in the umbilical region: the latter, however, is said to occupy
three-fifths, and the former two-fifths, of this portion of the intestines, and the
five would contain about eleven gallons of fluid. The ileum is evidently less
vascular than the jejunum, and gradually diminishes in size as it approaches
the larger intestines.

These two intestines are attached to the spine by a loose doubling of the pe-
ritoneum, and float freely in the abdominal cavity, their movements and their
relative positions being regulated only by the size or fulness of the stomach, and
the stage of the digestive process *.

The small intestines derive their blood from the anterior mesenteric artery,
which divides into innumerable minute branches that ramify between their
muscular and villous coats. Their veins, which are destitute of valves, return
the blood into the vena cava. The prime agent in producing all these effects
is the cerebro-visceral nerve Tf.

The large intestines are three in number :—the cecum, the colon, and the
rectum. The first of them is the cecum
(blind gut), ¢, p—it has but one opening
into it, and consequently everything
that passes into it, having reached the
blind or closed end, must return, in order
to escape. It is not a continuation of the
ileum, but the ileum pierces the head of
it, as it were, at right angles, (d, p,) and
projects some way into it, and has a
valye—the valvula coli—at its extremity,
so that what has traversed the ileum, and
entered the head of the colon, cannot
return into the ileum. Along the outside
of the czcum run three strong bands,
each of them shorter than that intestine,
and thus puckering it up, and forming it into three sets of cells, as shown in
the accompanying side cut.

That portion of the food which has not been taken up by the lacteals or ab-
sorbent vessels of the small intestines, passes through this valvular opening of
the ileum, and a part of it enters the colon, while the remainder flows into the
cecum, Then, from this being a blind pouch, and from the cellular structure
of this pouch, the food must be detained in it a very long time; and in order
that, during this detention, all the nutriment may be extracted, the cecum and
its cells are largely supplied with blood-vessels and absorbents. It is principally
the fluid part of the food that seems to enter the cecum. A horse will drink
at one time a great deal more than his stomach will contain; or even if he
drinks a less quantity, it remains not in the stomach or small intestines, but
passes on to the ca#cum, and there is retained, as in a reservoir, to supply the
wants of the system. In his state of servitude the horse does not often drink

 

 

* Percivall’s Anatomy of the Horse, p. 256.
++ Youatt’s Lecturcs on the Norvous System, Veterinarian, vol, vii. p. 354.
296. THE LIVER.

more than twice or thrice in a day, and the food of the stabled horse being
chiefly dry, this water stomach is most useful to him. ‘The cecum will hold
four gallons. :

The colon is av. intestine of exceedingly large dimensions, and is capable
of containing no Jess than twelve gallons of liquid or pulpy food. , At its union
with the cecum and the ileum, although larger than the latter intestine (/),
it is of comparatively small bulk ; but it soon swells out to an enormous extent.
lt has likewise, in the greater part of its eourse, three bands like the caecum,
which also divide it, internally, into the same description of cells. The inten-
tion of this is evident,—to retard the progress of the food, and to give a more
extensive surface on which the vessels of the lacteals may open ; and therefore,
in the colon, all the chyle is finally separated and taken up. When this is
nearly accomplished, the construction of the colon is somewhat changed: we
find but two bands towards the rectum, and these not pueckering the intestine so
much, or forming such numerous or deep cells. The food does not require to
be much longer detained, and the mechanism for detaining it is gradually dis-
appearing. The blood-vessels and absorbents are likewise rapidly diminishing.
The colon, also, once more contracts in size, and the chyle having been all ab-
sorbed, the remaining mass, being of a harder consistence, is moulded into pellets
or balls in its passage through these shallower cells.

At the termination of the colon, the rectum (straight gut) commences. It
is smaller in circumference and capacity than the colon, although it will con-
tain at least three gallons of water. It serves as a reservoir for the dung until
it is evacuated. It has none of these bands, because, all the nutriment being
extracted, the passage of the excrement that remains should be hastened and not
retarded. The faeces descend to the rectum, which somewhat enlarges to re-
ceive them ; and when they have accumulated to a certain extent, the animal,
by the aid of the diaphragm and the muscles of the belly, presses upon them,
and they are evacuated. A curious circular muscle, and always in action,
called the sphincter (constrictor muscle), is placed at the anus, to prevent the
constant and unpleasant dropping of the feces, and to retain them until the horse
is disposed voluntarily to expel them. This is effected by the efforts of the
animal, assisted by the muscular coat of the rectum, which is stronger than that
of any of the other intestines, and aided by the compression of the internal
oblique and transverse muscles.

The larger intestines derive their blood from the posterior mesenteric artery,
Their veins terminate in the vena porte.

THE LIVER.

Between the stomach and the diaphragm—its right lobe or division in con-
tact with the diaphragm, the duodenum and the right kidney, and the middle
and left divisions with the stomach—is the liver. It is an irregularly shaped,
reddish-brown substance, of considerable bulk, and performs a very singular
and important office.

It has been already stated (p. 217) that the blood, which has been conveyed
to the different parts of the body by the arteries, is brought back to the heart
by the veins; but that which is returned from the stomach and intestines and
spleen and pancreas, and mysentery, instead of flowing directly to the heart,
passes first through the liver. It enters by two large vessels that spread by
means of innumerable minute branches through every part of the liver. As
the blood traverses this organ, a fluid is separated from it, called the bile. It
is probably a kind of excrement, the continuance of which in the blood
would be injurious; but, while it is thrown off, another important purpose
is answered—the process of digestion is promoted, by the bile changing the
THE SPLEEN. 297

nutritive portion of the food from chyme into chyle, and separating it from that
which, containing little or no nutriment, is voided as excrement.

Almost every part of it is closely invested by the peritoneum, which seems
to discharge the office of a capsule to this viscus. Its arteries are very small,
considering the bulk of the liver; but their place is curiously supplied by a
vein—the vena porte—a vessel formed by the union of the splenic and
mesenteric veins, and which seems, if it does not quite usurp the office and
discharge the duty of the artery, to be far more concerned than it in the secre-
tion of the bile. There is a free intercourse between the vessels of the two.

There are, scattered through the substance of the liver, numerous little gra-
nules, called acini, from their resemblance to the small stones of certain berries.
They are united together by a fine cellular web, whose intimate structure has
never yet been satisfactorily explained. From the blood which enters the liver
there is a constant secretion of a yellow bitter fluid, called bile. The separation
of the bile from the blood probably takes place within the acini; the secreting
vessels are the penicelli, or those which compose this fine cellular web, and the
fluid—the bile—is taken up by the pori biliarii, small vessels, from which a
yellowish fluid is seen exuding into whatever part of the liver we cut, and is
carried by them into the main vessel, the hepatic duct.

The bile, thus formed, is in most animals received into a reservoir, the gail-
bladder, whence it is conveyed into the duodenum (g, p. 286) at the times,
and in the quantities, which the purposes of digestion require ; but the horse
has no gall-bladder, and, consequently, the bile flows into the intestine as rapidly
as it is separated from the blood. The reason of this is plain. A small stomach
was given to the horse in order that the food might quickly pass out of it, and
the diaphragm and the lungs might not be injuriously pressed upon, when we
require his utmost speéd; and also that we might use him with little danger
compared with that which would attach to other animals, even when his stomach
is distended with food. Then the stomach, so small, and so speedily emptied,
must be oftener replenished ; the horse must be oftener eating, and food oftener
or almost continuously passing out of his stomach. How admirably does this
comport with the uninterrupted supply of bile!-

THE PANCREAS.

In the domestic animals which are used for food, this organ is called the sweet-
bread. It lies between the stomach and left kidney. It much resembles in
structure the salivary glands in the neighbourhood of the mouth, and the fluid
which it secretes has been erroneously supposed to resemble the saliva in its pro
perties, The pancreatic fluid is carried into the intestines by a duct which
enters at the same aperture with that from the liver. It contains a large pro-
portion of albumen, caseous matter, and a little free acid. Its use, whether to
dilute the bile or the chyme, or to assist in the separation of the chyme from
the feculent matter, has never been ascertained : it is, however, clearly employed
in aiding the process of digestion.

THE SPLEEN.

This organ, often called the melt, is a long, bluish-brown substance, broad
and thick at one end, and tapering at the other ; lying along the left side of the
stomach, and between it and the short ribs. It is of a spongy nature, divided
into nuinerous little cells not unlike a honeycomb, and over which thousands
of minute vessels thickly spread. The particular use of this organ has never
been clearly ascertained, for in some cruel experiments it has been removed
without apparent injury to digestion or any other function. It is, however,
useful, at least occasionally, or it would not have been given to the animal. It
298 THE DUODENUM.

is perhaps a reservoir or receptacle for any fluid that may be conveyed into the
stomach beyond that which is sufficient for the purposes of digestion.

THE OMENTUM,

Or cawl, isa doubling of the peritoneum, or rather consists of four layers of it.
It has been supposed to have been placed between the intestines and the walls of
the belly, in order to prevent concussion and injury during the rapid movement
of the animal. That, however, cannot be its principal use in the horse, from
whom the most rapid movements are required ; for in him it is unusually short,
extending only to the pancreas and a small portion of the colon. Being, how-
ever, thus short, the horse is exempt from a very troublesome and, occasionally,
fatal species of rupture, when a portion of the omentum penetrates through
some accidental opening in the covering of the belly.

The structure of the urinary organs and the diseases to which they are ex-
posed will be hereafter considered.

 

CHAPTER XIV.
THE DISEASES OF THE INTESTINES.

Tuxse form a very important and mysterious class of ailments. They will

be considered in the order in which the various contents of the abdomen have
been described.

THE DUODENDM.

This intestine is subject to many more diseases than are included in the present
imperfect veterinary nosology. The passage of the food through it has been
impeded by stricture. A singular case is related by Mr. ‘Tombs :— An aged
horse was taken suddenly ill. He lay down, rolled upon his back, and perspired
profusely, with a pulse quick and hard ; presently he became sick, and the con-
tents of the stomach were voided through the mouth and nostrils, Blood-letting,
purgatives, fomentations, &c. were resorted to, but in sixteen hours after the
first attack the horse died. The stomach was distended with food, and there
was a complete stricture of the duodenum, three inches posterior to the entrance
of the hepatic duct. The portion of the intestine anterior to the stricture was
distended and in a gangrenous state *.”

Mr. Dickens records a somewhat similar case. “ A horse was attacked by
apparent colic. Proper treatment was adopted, and he got seemingly well.
Nine days afterwards the apparent colic returned. He threw himself down,
rolled upon his back, beating his chest with his fore feet, or sitting upon his
haunches like a dog. All possible remedial measures were adopted, but he died
thirty-six hours after the second attack. At the distance of ten inches from
the stomach was a stricture which would scarcely admit of the passage of a
tobacco-pipe, and about which were marks of mechanical injury, as if froma
nail or other hard substance. The anterior portion of the intestines was strangely
distended +.”

It has been perforated by bots. Myr. Brewer describes a case the symptoms
of which were similar to those already related. “On examining the patient
after death, the intestines were found to be altogether free from disease, except

* Veterinarian, vol. viii. p. 329. T Ibid. vol, x. p. 553,
SPASMODIC COLIC. 299

~

a portion of the duodenum which was perforated by bots, several of which had
escaped into the abdomen. Around the aperture the duodenum was in a gan-
grenous state *,”

The diseases of the jejunum and the ileum consist either of spasmodic affec-
tion or inflammation.

SPASMODIC COLIC.

The passage of the food through the intestinal canal is effected by the alter-
nate contraction and relaxation of the muscular coat of the intestines. When
that action is simply increased through the whole of the canal, the food passes
more rapidly, and purging is produced; but the muscles of every part of the
frame are liable to irregular and spasmodic action, and the muscular coat of
some portion of the intestines may be thus affected. The spasm may be con-
fined to a very small part of the canal. The gut has been found, after death,
strangely contracted in various places, but the contraction not exceeding five or
six inches in any of them. In the horse, the ileum is the usual seat of this
disease. It is of much importance to distinguish between spasmodic colic and
inflammation of the bowels, for the symptoms have considerable resemblance,
although the mode of treatment should be very different.

The attack of colic is usually very sudden. There is often not the slightest
warning. The horse begins to shift his posture, look round at his flanks, paw
violently, strike his belly with his feet and crouch in a peculiar manner, advanc-
ing his hind limbs under him ; he will then suddenly lie, or rather fall down,
and balance himself upon his back, with his feet resting on his belly. The pain
now seems to cease for a little while, and he gets up, and shakes himself,
and begins to feed; the respite, however, is but short—the spasm returns
more violently—every indication of pain is increased—he heaves at the flanks,
breaks out into a profuse perspiration, and throws himself more recklessly
about. In the space of an hour‘or two, either the spasms begin to relax, and
the remissions are of longer duration, or the torture is augmented at every
paroxysm ; the intervals of ease are fewer and less marked, and inflammation
and death supervene. The pulse is but little affected at the commencement,
but it soon becomes frequent and contracted, and at length is scarcely tangible.

It will presently be seen that many of the symptoms very closely resemble
those of inflammation of the mucous membrane of the bowels: it may therefore
be useful to point out the leading distinctions between them.

cOLIc. INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS,
Sudden in its attack. Gradual in its approach, with previous in-
dications of fever.
Pulse rarely much quickened in the early Pulse very much quickened, but small, and
period of the disease, and during the intervals often scarcely to be felt.
of ease; but evidently fuller.

Legs and ears of the natural temperature. Legs and ears cold.

Relief obtained from rubbing the belly. Belly exceedingly tender and painful to the
touch,

Relief obtained from motion. Motion evidently increasing the pain.

Tutervals of rest. Constant pain.

Strength scarcely affected. Rapid and great weakness.

Among the causes of colic are, the drinking of cold water when the horse is
heated. There is not a surer origin of violent spasm than this. Hard water
is very apt to produce this effect. Colic will sometimes follow the exposure of
a horse to the cold air or a cold wind after strong exercise. Green meat,
although, generally speaking, most beneficial to the horse, yet, given in too
large a quantity, or when he is hot, will frequently produce gripes. Doses of

 

* Veterinarian, vol, v. p. 493.
300 FLATULENT COLIC,

aloes, beth large and smali, are not unfrequent causes of colic. In some horses
there seems to be a constitutional predisposition to colic. ‘They cannot be hardly
worked, or exposed to unusual cold, without a fit of it. In many cases, when
these horses have died, calculi have been found in some part of the alimentary
canal. Habitual costiveness and the presence of calculi are frequent causes of
spasmodic colic. The seat of colic is occasionally the duodenum, but oftener the
ileum or the jejunum; sometimes, however, both the cecum and colon are affected.

Fortunately, we are acquainted with several medicines that allay these
spasms ; and the disease often ceases almost as suddenly as it appeared. Tur-
pentine is one of the most powerful remedies, especially in union with opium,
and in good warm ale. The account that has just been given of the cecum will
not be forgotten here. A solution of aloes will be advantageously added to the
turpentine and opium.

If relief is not obtained in half an hour, it will be prudent to bleed, for the
continuance of violent spasm may produce inflammation. Some practitioners
bleed at first, and it is far from bad practice ; for although the majority of cases
will yield to turpentine, opium, and aloes, an early bleeding may occasionally
prevent the recurrence of inflammation, or at least mitigate it. If it is clearly
a case of colic, half of the first dose may be repeated, with aloes dissolved in
warm water. The stimulus produced on the inner surface of the bowels by the
purgative may counteract the irritation that caused the spasm. The belly
should be well rubbed with a brush or warm cloth, but not bruised and injured
by the broom-handle rubbed over it, with all their strength, by two great fellows.
The horse should be walked about, or trotted moderately. The motion thus
produced in the bowels, and the friction of one intestine over the other, may
relax the spasm, but the hasty gallop might speedily cause inflammation to suc-
ceed to colic. Clysters of warm water, or containing a solution of aloes, should
be injected. The patent syringe will here be exceedingly useful. A clyster of
tobacco-smoke may be thrown up as a last resort.

When relief has been obtained, the clothing of the horse, saturated with per-
spiration, should be removed, and fresh and dry clothes substituted. He should
be well littered down in a warm stable or box, and have bran mashes and luke-
warm water for the two or three next days,

, Some persons give gin, or gin and pepper, or even spirit of pimento, in cases
of gripes. This course of proceeding is, however, exceedingly objectionable. It
may be useful, or even sufficient, in ordinary cases of colic; but if there should be
any inflammation or tendency to inflammation, it cannot fail to be highly injurious,

FLATULENT COLIC.

This is altogether a different disease from the former. It is not spasm of the
bowels, but inflation of them from the presence of gas emitted by undigested
food. Whether collected in the stomach, or small or large intestines, all kinds
of vegetable matter are liable to ferment. In consequence of this fermentation,
gas is evolved to a greater or less extent—perhaps to twenty or thirty times the
bulk of the food. This may take place in the stomach ; and if so, the life of the
horse is in immediate danger, for, as will plainly appear from the account that
has been given of the cesophagus and upper orifice of the stomach, the animal
has no power to expel this dangerous flatus by eructation

This extrication of gas usually takes place in the colon and cecum, and the
distention may be so great as to rupture either the one or the other, or some-
times to produce death, without either rupture or strangulation, and that in the
course of from four to twenty-four hours.

In some ill-conducted establishments, and far oftener on the north than the
south of the Tweed, it is a highly dangerous disease, and is especially fatal to
ENTERITIS, 301

horses of heavy draught. An overloaded stomach is one cause of it, and par-
ticularly so when water is given either immediately before or after a plentiful
meal, or food to which the horse has not been accustomed is given.

The symptoms, according to Professor Stewart, are, “the horse suddenly
slackening his pace—preparing to lie down, or falling down as if he were shot.
In the stable he paws the ground with his fore feet, lies down, rolls, starts up
all at once, and throws himself down again with great violence, looking wistfully
at his flanks, and making many fruitless attempts to void his urine.”

Hitherto the symptoms are not much unlike spasmodic colic, but the rea.
character of the disease soon begins to develope itself. It is in one of the large
intestines, and the belly swells all round, but mostly on the right flank. As
the disease proceeds, the pain becomes more intense, the horse more violent, and
at length death closes the scene.

The treatment is considerably different from that of spasmodic colic. The
spirit of pimento would be here allowed, or the turpentine and opium drink ;
but if the pain, and especially the swelling, do not abate, the gas, which is the
cause of it, must be got rid of, or the animal is inevitably lost.

This is usually or almost invariably a combination of hydrogen with some
other gas. It has a strong aflinity for chlorine. Then if some compound
of chlorine—the chloride of lime— dissolved in water, is administered in the
form of a drink, the chlorine separates from the lime as soon as it comes into
contact with the hydrogen, and muriatic gas is formed. This gas having a
strong affinity for water, is absorbed by any fluid that may be present, and,
quitting its gaseous form, either disappears, or does not retain a thousandth
part of its former bulk. All this may be very rapidly accomplished, for the
fluid is quickly conveyed from the mouth to every part of the intestinal canal.

Where these two medicines are not at hand, and the danger is imminent, the
trochar may be used, in order to open a way for the escape of the gas. The
trochar should be small but longer than that which is used for the cow, and the
puncture should be made in the middle of the right flank, for there the large intes-
tines are most easily reached. In such a disease it cannot be expected that the
intestines shall always be found precisely in their natural situations, but usually
the origin of the ascending postion of the colon, or the base of the cz#cum, will
be pierced. The author of this work, however, deems it his duty to add, that
it is only when the practitioner despairs of otherwise saving the life of the
animal that this operation should be attempted. Much of the danger would be
avoided by using a very small trochar, and by withdrawing it as soon as the gas
has escaped. The wound in the intestines will then probably close, from the
innate elasticity of the parts.

INFLAMMATION OF THE BOWELS.

There are two varieties of this malady. The first is inflammation of the
external coats of the intestines, accompanied by considerable fever, and usually
costiveness, The second is that of the internal or mucous coat, and almost
invariably connected with purging.

ENTERITIS.

The muscular coat is that which is oftenest affected. Inflammation of the
external coats of the stomach, whether the peritoneal or muscular, or both,
is a very frequent and fatal disease. It speedily runs its course, and it
is of great consequence that its early symptoms should be known. If the
horse has been carefully observed, restlessness and fever will have been seen
to precede the attack. In many cases a direct shivering fit will occur: the
mouth will be hot, and the nose red. The animal will soon express the most
302 ENTERITIS

dreadful pain by pawing, striking at his belly, looking wildly at his flanks,
groaning, and rolling. The pulse will be quickened and small ; _the ears and
legs cold; the belly tender, and sometimes hot; the breathing quickened ; the
bowels costive; and the animal becoming rapidly and fearfully weak.

The reader will probably here recur to the sketch given in page 299 of the
distinction between spasmodic colic and inflammation of the bowels, or enteritis,

The causes of this disease are, first of all and most frequently, sudden expo-
sure to cold. If a horse that has been highly fed, carefully groomed, and kept
in a warm stable, is heated with exercise, and has been during some hours
without food, and in this state of exhaustion is suffered to drink frecly of
cold water, or is drenched with rain, or have his legs and belly washed with
cold water, an attack of inflammation of the bowels will often follow. An over-
fed horse, subjected to severe and long-continued exertion, if his lungs were
previously weak, will probably be attacked by inflammation of them; but if
the lungs were sound, the bowels will on the following day be the seat of
disease. Stones in the intestines are an occasional cause of inflammation, and
colic neglected or wrongly treated will terminate in it.

The horse paws and stamps as in colic, but without the intervals of ease that
occur in that disease. The pulse also is far quicker than in colic. The
breathing is more hurried, and the indication of suffering more evident.
“ The next stage,” in the graphic language of Mr. Percivall, “ borders on deli-
rium. The eye acquires a wild, haggard, unnatural stare—the pupil dilates —
his heedless and dreadful throes render approach to him quite perilous. He is
an object not only of compassion but of apprehension, and seems fast hurrying
to his end; when, all at once, in the midst of agonising torments, he stands
quiet, as though every pain had left him, and he were going to recover. His
breathing becomes tranquillised—his pulse sunk beyond all perception—his body
bedewed with a cold clammy sweat—he is in a tremour from head to foot, and
about the legs and ears has even a death-like feel. The mouth feels deadly
chill; the lips drop pendulous ; and the eye seems unconscious of objects. In
fine, death, not recovery, is at hand. Mortification has seized the inflamed
bowel—pain can no longer be felt in that which a few minutes ago was the
seat of exquisite suffering. He again becomes gonvulsed, and in a few more
struggles less violent than the former he expires *.”

The treatment of inflammation of the bowels, like that of the lungs, should
oe prompt and energetic. The first and most powerful means of cure will be
bleeding. From six to eight or ten quarts of blood, in fact as much as the horse
can bear, should be abstracted as soon as possible; and the bleeding repeated
to the extent of four or five quarts more, if the pain is not relieved and the pulse
has not become rounder and fuller. ‘The speedy weakness that accompanies
this disease should not deter from bleeding largely. That weakness is the con-
sequence of violent inflammation of these parts; and if that inflammation is
subdued by the loss of blood, the weakness will disappear. The bleeding should
be effected on the first appearance of the disease, for there is no malady that
more quickly runs its course.

A strong solution of aloes should immediately follow the bleeding, but, con-
sidering the irritable state of the intestines at this period, guarded by opium.
This should be quickly followed by back-raking, and injections consisting
of warm water, or very thin gruel, in which Epsom salts or aloes have been
dissolved ; and too much fluid can scarcely be thrown up. If the common
ox-bladder and pipe is used, it should be frequently replenished ; but with
Read’s patent pump, already referred to, sufficient may be injected to penetrate

 

* Percivall’s Hippopathology, vol. ii. p. 246.
ENTERITIS. 303,

beyond the rectum, and reach to the colon and caecum, and dispose them to
evacuate their contents. The horse should likewise be encouraged to drink
plentifully of warm water or thin gruel ; and draughts, each containing a couple
of drachms of dissolved aloes, with a little opium, should be given every six
hours, until the bowels are freely opened.

It will now be prudent to endeavour to excite considerable external inflam-
mation as near as possible to the seat of internal disease, and therefore the
whole of the belly should be blistered. In a well-marked case of this disease,
no time should be lost in applying fomentations, but the blister at once
resorted to. The tincture of Spanish flies, whether made with spirit of wine or
turpentine, should be thoroughly rubbed in. The legs should be well ban-
daged in order to restore the circulation in them and thus lessen the flow of
blood to the inflamed part ; and, for the same reason, the horse should be warmly
clothed ; but the air of the stable or box should be cool.

No corn or hay should be allowed during the disease, but bran mashes, and
green meat if it can be procured. The latter will be the best of all food, and
may be given without the slightest apprehension of danger. When the horse
begins to recover, a handful of corn may be given two or three times in the day;
and, if the weather is warm, he may be turned into a paddock for a few hours
in the middle of the day. Clysters of gruel should be continued for three or
four days after the inflammation is beginning to subside, and good hand-rubbing
applied to the legs.

The second variety of inflammation of the bowels affects the internal or
mucous coat, and is generally the consequence of physic in too great quantity,
or of an improper kind. The purging is more violent and continues longer
than was intended ; the animal shows that he is suffering great pain; he
frequently looks round at his flanks ; his breathing is laborious, and the pulse
is quick aud small—not so small, however, as in inflammation of the peritoneal
coat, and, contrary to some of the most frequent and characteristic symptoms
of that disease, the mouth is hot and the legs and ears are warm. Unless the
purging is excessive, and the pain and distress great, the surgeon should hesitate
at giving any astringent medicine at first ; but he should plentifully administer
gruel or thin starch, or arrow-root, by the mouth and by clyster, removing all
hay and corn, and particularly green meat. He should thus endeavour to
soothe the irritated surface of the bowels, while he permits all remains of the
purgative to be carried off. If, however, twelve hours have passed, and the
purging and the pain remain undiminished, he should continue the gruel,
adding to it chalk, catechu, and opium, repeated every six hours. As soon as
the purging begins to subside, the astringent medicine should be lessened in
quantity, and gradually discontinued. Bleeding will rarely be necessary, unless
the inflammation is very great, and attended by symptoms of general fever.
The horse should be warmly clothed, and placed in a eomfortable stable, and his
legs should be hand-rubbed and bandaged.

Violent purging, and attended with much inflammation and fever, will occur
from other causes. Green meat will frequently purge. A horse worked hard
upon green meat will sometimes scour. The remedy is change of dict, or less
labour. Young horses will often be strongly purged, without any apparent
cause. Astringents should be used with much cantion here. It is probably an
effort of nature to get rid of something that offends. A few doses of gruel
will assist in effecting this purpose, and the purging will cease without astrin-
gent medicine.

Many horses that are not well-ribbed home—having too great space between
the last rib and the hip-bone—are subject to purging if more than usual exer-
tion is required from them. ‘They are recognised by the term of washy horses
804 PHYSICKING.

They are often free and fleet, but destitute of continuance. They should have
rather more than the usual allowance of corn, with beans, when at work. A
cordial ball, with catechu and opium, will often be serviceable either before or
after a journey.

PHYSICKING.

This would seem to be the proper place to speak of physicking horses—a
mode of treatment necessary under various diseases often useful for the aug-
mentation of health, and yet which has often injured the constitution and abso-
lutely destroyed thousands of animals. When a horse comes from grass to hard
meat, or from the cool open air to a heated stable, a dose or even two doses of
physic may be useful to prevent the tendency to inflammation which is the
necessary consequence of so sudden and great achange. To a horse that is
becoming too fat, or has surfeit, or grease, or mange, or that is out of con-
dition from inactivity of the digestive organs, a dose of physic is often most
serviceable ; but the reflecting man will enter his protest against the periodical
physicking of all horses in the spring and the autumn, and more particularly
against that severe system which is thought to be necessary in order to train
them for work, and also the absurd method of treating the animal when under
the operation of physic.

A horse should be carefully prepared for the action of physic. Two or three
bran mashes given on that or the preceding day are far from sufficient when a
horse is about to be physicked whether to promote his condition or in obedience
to custom. Mashes should be given until the dung becomes softened. A less
quantity of physic will then suffice, and it will more quickly pass through the
intestines, and be more readily diffused over them. Five drachms of aloes,
given when the dung has thus been softened, will act much more effectually and
much more safely than seven drachms, when the lower intestines are obstructed
by hardened faces.

On the day on which the physic is given, the horse should have walking
exercise, or may be gently trotted for a quarter of an hour twice in the day ;
but after the physic begins to work, he should not be moved from his stall,
Exercise would then produce gripes, irritation, and, possibly, dangerous inflam.
mation. The common and absurd practice is to give the horse most exercise
after the physic has begun to operate.

A little hay may be put into the rack. As much mash should be given as the
horse will eat, and as much water, with the coldness of it taken off, as he will
drink. If, however, he obstinately refuses to drink warm water, it is better
that he should have it cold, than to continue without taking any fluid; but in
such case he should not be suffered to take more than a quart at a time, with
an interval of at least an hour between each draught.

When the purging has ceased, or the physic is set, a mash should be given
once or twice every day until the next dose is taken, between which and the
setting of the first there should be an interval of a week. The horse should
recover from the languor and debility occasioned by the first dose, before he is
harassed by a second.

Eight or ten tolerably copious motions will be perfectly sufficient to answer
every good purpose, although the groom or the carter may not be satisfied unless
double the quantity are procured. The consequence of too strong purgation
will be, that weakness will hang about the animal for several days or weeks,
and inflammation will often ensue from the over-irritation of the intestinal
canal.

Long-continued custom has made atozs the almost invariable purgative of
the horse, and very properly so; for there is no other at once so sure and so
CALCULI, OR STONES, IN THE BLADDER. 305

safe. The Barbadoes aloes, although sometimes very dear, should alone be
used. The dose, with a horse properly prepared, will vary from four to seven
drachms. The preposterous doses of nine, ten, or even twelve drachms, are
now, happily for the horse, generally abandoned. Custom has assigned the
form of a ball to physic, but good sense will in due time introduce the solution
of aloes, as acting more speedily, effectually, and safely.

The only other purgative on which dependence can be placed is the croton.
The farina or meal of the nut is generally used; but from its acrimony it
should be given in the form of ball, with linseed meal. The dose varies from
ascruple to half a drachm. It acts more speedily than the aloes, and without
the nausea which they produce ; but it causes more watery stools, and, conse-
quently, more debility.

Livsrep-o1r is an uncertain but safe purgative, in doses from a pound to a
pound and a half. Oxive-om is more uncertain, but safe ; but casror-ort, that
mild aperient in the human being, is both uncertain and unsafe. Epsom-saLrs
are inefficacious, except in the immense dose of a pound and a half, and then
they are not always safe.

CALCULI, OR STONES, IN THE INTESTINES,

These are a cause of inflammation in the bowels of the horse, and more fre-
quently of colic. They are generally found in the coscum or colon, varying
considerably in shape according to the nucleus round which the sabulous or
other earthy matter collects, or the form of the cell in which they have been
lodged. They differ in size and weight, from a few grains to several pounds.
From the horizontal position of the carcase of the horse, the calculus, when it
begins to form, does not gravitate so much as in the human being, and there-
fore calculous concretions remain and accumulate until their very size prevents
their expulsion, and a fatal irritation is too frequently produced by their motion
and weight. They are oftenest found in heavy draught, and in millers’ horses.
In some of these horses they have the appearance of grit-stone or crystallized
gneiss. It is probable that they partly consist of these very minerals, combined
with the bran which is continually floating about. An analysis of the Calculi
favours this supposition. They are a source of continual irritation wherever
they are placed, and area fruitful cause of colic. Spasms of the most fearful
kind have been clearly traced to them *,

Professor Morton, of the Royal Veterinary College, in his Essay on Calculous
Coneretions,—a work that is far too valuable to be withdrawn from the
public view,—gives an interesting account of these substances in the intestinal
canal of the horse. Little advance has been or can be made to procure their
expulsion, or even to determine their existence; and even when they have
passed into the rectum, although some have been expelled, others have been so
firmly impacted as to resist all medicinal means of withdrawal, and a few have
broken their way through the parietes of the rectum, and lodged in the abdo-
minal cavity. Mr. Percivall, in his “ Elementary Lectures on the Veterinary
Art,” has recorded several fearful cases of this t.

Other concretions are described under the title of oat-hair calculi. Their
surface is tuberculated and their. forms irregular. They are usually with-
out any distinct nuclei, and are principally composed of the hairy fibrous
matter which enters into the composition of the oat. The professor very pro-
perly adds, and it is a circumstance which deserves much consideration, that
such oats as are husky, with a deficiency of farinaceous matter, are likely to
give rise to these accumulations, whenever impaired digestion exists. It is alao

® Veterinarian, 1X., 161. + Vol. If. p. 449.
306 INTROSUSCEPTION OF THE INTESTINES.

an undoubted fact, that a great proportion of horses affected with calculi are
the property of millers, or brewers.. A third species of concretion too frequent] y
existing is the dung-ball, or mixed calculus. It is made up of coarse, indi-
gestible, excrementitious matter, mixed with portions of the “oat-hair cal
culus,” and many foreign substances, such as pieces of coal, gravel, &e., and
the whole agglutinated together. They are commonly met with in horses that
are voracious feeders, and mingled with particles of coal and stone.

INTROSUSCEPTION OF THE INTESTINES,

The spasmodic action of the ileum being long continued, may be succeeded by
an inverted one from the coscum towards the stomach, more powerful than in the
natural direction ; and the contracted portion of the intestine will be thus forced
into another above it that retains its natural calibre. The irritation caused
by this increases the inverted action, and an obstruction is formed which no
power can overcome. Even the natural motion of the bowels will be suffi-
cient to produce introsusception, when the contraction of a portion of the ileum
is very great. There are no symptoms to indicate the presence of this, except
continued and increasing pain ; or, if there were,“all our means of relief would
here fail.

Introsusception is not confined to any particular situation. A portion of the
jejunum has been found invaginated within the duodenum,—and also within
the ileum, and the ileum within the coecum—and one portion of the colon within
another, and within the rectum. The ileum and jejunum are occasionally
invaginated in various places. More than a dozen distinct cases of introsus-
ception have occurred in one animal, and sometimes unconnected with any
appearance of inflammation, but in other cases, or in other parts of the intes-
tinal canal of the same animal, there will be inflammation of the most intense
character. In the majority of cases, perhaps it is an accidental consequence
of pre-existing disease, and occasioned by some irregular action of the mus-
cular tunic, or some irritation of the mucous surface.

A more formidable, but not so frequent disease is

ENTANGLEMENT OF THE BOWELS.

This is another and singular consequence of colic. Although the ileum is
enveloped in the mesentery, and its motion to a considerable degree confined,
yet under the spasm of colic, and during the violence with which the animal
rolls and throws himself about, portions of the intestine become so entangled
as to be twisted into nooses and knots, drawn together with a degree of tight-
ness scarcely credible. Nothing but the extreme and continued torture of the
animal can lead us to suspect that this has taken place, and, could we ascertain
its existence, there would be no cure.

An interesting case occurred in the practice of Mr. Spooner of Southampton.
A mare at grass was suddenly taken ill. She discovered symptoms of violent colic,
for which anti-spasmodic and aperient medicines were promptly administered,
and she was copiously bled. The most active treatment was had recourse to,
but without avail, and she died in less than four-and-twenty hours without a
momentary relief from pain.

The small intestines were completely black from inflammation, and portions
of them were knotted together in the singular way delineated in this cut. The
varts are a little loosened in order better to show the entanglement of the
intestines, but in the animal they were drawn into a tight knot, and completely
intercepted all passage.
WORMS, 807

The cause of this was probably some acrid principle in the grass, and many
a horse is thus destroyed by the abominable and poisonous drinks of the
farrier*

 

WORMS.

Worms of different kinds inhabit the intestines ; but, except when they exist
in very great numbers, they are not so hurtful as is generally supposed, although
the groom or carter may trace to them hidebound, and cough, and loss of appe-
tite, and gripes, and megrims, and a variety of other ailments. Of the origin
or mode of propagation of these parasitical animals we can say little; neither
writers on medicine, nor even on natural history, have given us any satisfactory
account of the matter.

The long white worm (Jumbricus teres) much resembling the common earth-
worm, and, being from six to ten inches in length, inhabits the small intestines.
It isa formidable looking animal, and if there are many of them they may
consume more than can be spared of the nutritive part of the food or the mucus
of the bowels. A tight skin, and rough coat, and tucked up belly, are some-
times connected with their presence. They are then, however, voided in large
quantities. A dose of physic will sometimes bring away almost incredible
quantities of them. Calomel is frequently given asa vermifuge. The seldomer
this drug is administered to the horse the better. It is the principal ingredient
in some quack medicines for the expulsion of worms in the human subject, ana
thence, perhaps, it came to be used for the horse, but in him we believe it to
be ineit as a vermifuge, or only useful as quickening the operation of the aloes.

 

® Voterinarian, VI. 12. 2
x
308 HERNIA, OR RUPTURE,

When the horse can be spared, a strong dose of physic is an excellent vermi-
fuge, so far as the long round worm is concerned ; but a better medicine, and
not interfering with either the feeding or work of the horse, is emetic tartar,
with ginger, made into a ball with linseed meal and treacle, and given every
morning half an hour before the horse is fed. Bea

A smaller, darker-coloured worm, called the needle-worm, or ascaris, in-
habits the large intestines. Hundreds of them sometimes descend into the
rectum, and immense quantities have been found in the coecum. These are a
more serious nuisance than the former, for they cause a very troublesome irri-
tation about the fundament, which sometimes sadly annoys the horse. Their
existence can generally be discovered, by a small portion of mucus, which,
hardening, is found adhering to the anus. Physic will sometimes bring away
great numbers of these worms, but when there is much irritation about the
tail, and much of this mucus, indicating that they have descended into the
rectum, an injection of linseed oil, or of aloes dissolved in warm water, will be
a more effectual remedy.

The tape-worm is seldom found in the horse.

HERNIA, OR RUPTURE.

A portion of the intestine protrudes out of the cavity of the belly, either
through some natural or artificial opening. In some cases it may be returned,
but from the impossibility of applying a truss or bandage it soon escapes again.
At other times the opening is so narrow that the gut, gradually distended by
feces, or thickened by inflammation, cannot be returned, and strangulated

hernia is then said to exist.

The seat of hernia is either in the scrotum of the
perfect horse, or the groin of the gelding.
when under operations, over-exertion, kicks, or accidents,

The causes are violent struggling
The assistance of a

veterinary surgeon is here indispensable*.

 

* The following case of operation for hernia
will be acceptable to the owner of horses as
well as to the veterinary surgeon. It occurred
in the practice of Professor Simonds, of the
Royal Veterinary College. We borrow his
account of it from ‘ The Veterinarian.’’

* The patient was an aged black cart-mare,
‘that had been lent by the owner to a neigh-
bour for a day or two. J cannot speak posi-
tively as to the cause of the injury which she
received, but I believe that it resulted from
her falling in the shafts of a cart laden with
manure. She was brought to my infirmary
on the next day, October 18, 1837.

‘* The most extensive rupture I had ever
seen presented itself on the left side. The
sac formed by the skin, which was not broken,
nor even the hair rubbed off, extended as far
forwards as the cartilages of the false ribs, and
backwards to the udder. A perpendicular
lice drawn from the superior to the inferior
part of the tumour measured more than twelve
inches. It appeared, from its immense size
and weight, as if by far the larger part of the
colon had protruded.

To my surprise, there was comparatively
little constitutional disturbance. The pulse
was 45, and full, with no other indication of
fever, and no expression of pain on pressing
the tumour.

She was bled until the pulse was consider-

ably lowered. A cathartic was given, and
the sac ordered to be kept constantly wet with
cold water, and to be supported with a wide
bandage. She was placed on a restricted and
mash diet.

‘© On the next day, being honoured with
a visit by Messrs. Morton, Spooner, and
Youatt, I had the pleasure..and advantage of
submitting the case to their examination, and
obtaining their opinion. They urged we to
attempt to return the protruding viscera, and
secure them by a surgical operation; and Mr.
Spooner kindly offered to be present, and to
give me his valuable assistance.

“On the 24th, our patient was considered
to have had sufficient preparatory treatment,
and she was operated upon. Weavailed our-
selves of the opportunity of putting to the
test that which some among us had doubted,
and others had positively denied, but which
had always been maintained by our talented
chemical lecturer—the power of opium to
lull the sensation of pain in the horse. We
therefore gave her two ounces and a half of
the tincture of opium, shortly before che was
led from the box to the operating house, and
the power of the drug was evident through
the whole of the operation.

“ After a careful examination, externally,
as well as per rectum, in order to ascertain
the situation and probable size of the laceration
309

DISEASES OF THE LIVER.

As veterinary practice has improved, much light has been thrown on the
diseases of the liver—not perhaps on the more advanced and fatal stages ; but
giving us the promise that, in process of time, they may be detected at an
earlier period, and in a more manageable state.

of the muscles, an incision was carefully made
through the integument into the sac, in a line
with the inferior border of the cartilages of the
false ribs, which incision was about seven
inches in length. This, as we had hoped,
proved to be directly upon the aperture in the
muscular parietes of the abdomen. The in-
testines were exposed; and, after having suf-
ficiently dilated the opening to permit the in-
troduction of the hand, they were quickly re-
turned, portion after portion, intu their proper
cavity, together with a part of the omentum,
which we found somewhat annoying, it being
frequently forced back again through the lace-
ration.

“ At times, it required the excrtion of our
united strength to prevent the escape of the
intestines, and which was only effected by
placing our hands side by side, covering and
pressing upon the opening. By these means
we succeeded in keeping in the viscera, until
we were satisfied that we had placed them all
within their proper cavity. At about the
central part of the aperture, we decidedly
found the greatest pressure of the intestince to
effect an escape.

“ A strong metallic suture of flexible wire
was then passed through the edges of the
laceration; taking in the peritoneum and por-
tions of the transversalis, rectus, and. internal
abdominal muscles ; and other sutures, em-
bracing the same parts, were placed at con-
venient distances, so as nearly to close the
aperture. ‘Two sutures of smaller metaliic
wire, and three of stout silk cord, were then
passed through the external abdominal muscles,
and their aponeuroses, which effectually shut
up the opening into the abdomen. The inte-
gument was then brought together by the in-
terrupted suture, taking care to bring out the
ends of the other sutures, aad which had been
purposely left long, so that in case of super-
vening inflammation, or swelling, they might
de readily examined. The whole operation
occupied rather less than an hour, our poor
patient being occasionally refreshed with some
warm gruel,

“ The hobbles were now quietly removed,
and, after iying a few minutes, she got up,
and was placed in a large loose box. A com-
press and a suspensory bandage, that could be
tightened at pleasure, were applied to the
wound. The pulse was now 84. She was
ordered to be watched, and to have some tepid
water placed within her reach, but on no ac-
count to be disturbed.

“ At 10, r.u., the pulse had sunk to 66.

The respiration, which had been much accele-
rated, was quieter. She was resting the leg on
the side operated upon, but did not appear to
be suffering any great pain. Some feeces had
passed, and she bad taken a small quantity of
bran mash. The -parts were well fomented
with tepid water, an oleaginous draught was
administered, and likewise an enema,

“ 25th.—The pulse is a little quickened ; the
sac which had contained the protruded intes-
tine was filled with aserous effusion. I made
a dependent orifice in it, and from three to
four pints of fluid escaped. This much re-
lieved her, and she continued to go on favour-
ably throughout the day.

“ 26th.—Suppuration now began to be esta-
blished, and the parts were dressed with the
compound tincture of myrrh.

“ 30th.—She was enabled to take a little
walking exercise ; and on this day some of the
integumental sutures came away.

“ Nov. 4th.—The sloughing process being
now set up, three of the smaller metallic
sutures, that had been used to bring the edges
of the laceration together in the external ab-
dominal muscles, came away. The parts were
minutely examined, and we detected a sinus
running towards the mamme, and filled with
pus. With some little difficulty it was
opened, and a tape passed through it, so as to
allow the pus to escape as quickly as it was
formed. The appetite was tolerably good,
and the pulse ranged from 52 to 56,

‘¢ 6th.—The patient was so far recovered
that I ventured to turn her into one of the
paddocks for a few hours’ exercise, taking
care to avoid any exposure to cold, if the
weather was stormy.

“ 11th.—An incident occurred which nearly
brought our hitherto successful case to a fatal
termination. I saw her safe about 1, p.m. ;
but at two o’clock a messenger came in haste
to apprise me that she was ina pond at the
bottom of the paddock, and fixed in the mud.
There, indeed, I found her, at a considerable
distance from the bank, and making the most
violent efforts to releaso herself, With con-
siderable difficulty, and after many unsuccess-
ful attempts, we succeeded in dragging her
ashore, so much exhausted as to be utterly in-
capable of rising. A gate was procured, and
being well covered with straw, she was drawn
homeward by two horses; I following, re-
gretting what had occurred, and not a little
blaming myself for having exposed her to
this misfortune. a

“ Waving placed her in her box, our first
310 JAUNDICE,

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 1s fre-
quently increased in size—it is less elastic under pressure—it has assumed more
of a granulated or broken down appearance—the blood dves not so readily per-
meate its vessels, and, at length, in a greater or less quantity, it begins to exude,
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 con-
stant 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, shifting the posture, dis-
tension of the belly, curling of the upper lip, sighing frequently and deeply, the
mouth and nostrils pale and blanched, the breathing quickened, restlessness,
debility, 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
colour—easily torn by the finger, and, in some cases, completely broken
down.

If the hamorrhage has been slight at the commencement, and fortunately
arrested, yet a singular consequence will frequently result. The sight will
gradually fail; the pupil of one or both eyes will gradually dilate, the animal
will have gutta serena, and become perfectly blind. This will almost assuredly
take place on a return of the affection of the liver. Little can be done in a
medical point of view. Astringent and styptic medicines may, however, be tried.
Turpentine, alum, or sulphuric acid, will afford the only chance. The veteri-
nary world is indebted to the late Mr. John Field, for almost all that is known
of this sad disease.

 

object was her restoration and comfort. Men was given, the wound again attended to, and

were set to work to rub her perfectly dry, and
some warm gruel, with a little cordial med-
cine, was given. The state of the wound was
next examined, and it was well cleaned with
tepid water. It was very dark-coloured. The
vitality of the young granulations was appa-
rently destroyed, and it emitted, in some dé-
gree, perhaps, from the mud which had been
so long in contact with it, an offensive efflu-
vium. It was well dressed with the spirit of
nitrous ether, and properly bandaged—in order
to prevent its receiving any further injury in
her ineffectual attempts to rise.

** We soon, however, began to fear some
ill consequence from the continuance of these
efforts, and we determined to raise her with the
slings, those useful appendages to every ve-
terinary establishment. This was soon effected.
We allowed very little bearing on the abdo-
men, except when she was compelled, in order
to ease her hind extremities, which were yet
unable to support their share of the weight of
the body. Frictions, stimulants, and bandages,
Were applied to the extremities. An enema

some gruel placed within her reach.

At midnight she was standing at ease in
what may not inappropriately be called her
cradle. The legs were tolerably warm; the
pulse 60, and full; the enema had done its
duty, and she was in amuch more comfortable
state than I had any right to expect. I
ordered her a warm mash and some gruel, for
hope began once more to cheer me.

*¢ On the following and succeeding days she
continued gradually to regain her strength, but.
she required great care and attention, and it
was not until the expiration of the fourth day
that I dared to remove her from the slings,
and then only for a few hours during the day,
carefully replacing her in them at night.
Some slight sloughing took place from the
wound ; but the principal effect of her immer-
sion was a severe catarrh, She required occa-
sional attendance to the wound; and it was
not until the 12th of January—more than
twelve weeks after the operation—that the
last of the metallic sutures came away. She
soon afterwards returned to her usual work.”
THE KIDNEYS, 31

JAUNDICE,

Commonly called ruz yetnows, is a more frequent, but more tractable dis-
ease. It is the introduction of bile into the general circulation. 'his is usually
caused by some obstruction in the ducts or tubes that convey the bile from the
liver to the intestines. The horse, however, has but one duct, through which
the bile usually flows as quickly as it is formed, and there is no gall-bladder
in which it can become thickened, or hardened into masses so firm as to be
appropriately called gall-stones. Jaundice does, however, occasionally appear
either from an increased flow or altered quality of the bile, or obstruction even
in this simple tube. The yellowness of the eyes and mouth, and of the skin
where it is not covered with hair, mark it sufficiently plainly, The dung is
small and hard; the urine highly coloured ; the horse languid, and the appetite
impaired. If he is not soon relieved, he sometimes begins to express consider-
able uneasiness; at other times he is dull, heavy, and stupid. A characteristic
symptom is lameness of the right fore leg, resembling the pain in the right
shoulder of the human being in hepatic affections. The principal causes are
over-feeding or over-exertion in sultry weather, or too little work generally
speaking, or inflammation or other disease of the liver itself.

It is first necessary to inquire whether this affection of the liver is not the
consequence of the sympathy of that organ with some other part, for, to a very
considerable degree, 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 endeavour to restore the natu-
ral passage of the bile by purgatives may be tried, not consisting of large doses,
lest there should be some undetected inflammation 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 apparent de-
gree of inflammation, and the occasional stupor of the animal. Plenty of water
slightly warmed, or thin gruel, should be given. The horse should be warmly
clothed, and the stable well ventilated, but not cold. Carrots or green meat
will be very beneficial. Should the purging, when once excited, prove violent,
we need not be in any haste to stop it, unless inflammation is beginning to be con-
nected with it, or the horse is very weak. The medicine recommended under
diarrhoea may then be exhibited. A few slight tonics should be given when
the horse is recovering from an attack of jaundice.

Tue Spceen is sometimes very extraordinarily enlarged, and has been
tuptured. We are not aware of any means by which this may be discovered,
except manual examination by means or the aid of the rectum. The state of
the animal would clearly enough point out the treatment to be adopted.

Tux Pancreas. We know not of any disease to which it is liable.

The blood contains a great quantity of watery fluid unnecessary for the nutri-
ment or repair of the frame. There likewise mingle with it matters that
would be noxious if suffered to accumulate too much.

THE KIDNEYS
Are actively employed in separating this fluid, and likewise carrying off a sub-
stance which constitutes the peculiar ingredient in urine, called the urea, and
consisting principally of that which would be poisonous to the animal. The
kidneys are two large glandular bodies, placed under the loins, of the shape of a
kidney-bean, of immense size. The right kidney is most forward, lying under
the liver; the left is pushed more backward by the stomach and spleen. A
large artery runs to each, carrying not less than a sixth part of the whole of the
312 INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEY.

blood that circulates through the frame. This artery is divided into innumer-
able little branches most curiously complicated and coiled upon each other,
and the blood, traversing these convolutions, has its watery parts, and others
the retaining of which would be injurious, separated from it.

The fluid thus separated varies materially both in quantity and composition,
even during health. There is no animal in which it varies so much as in the
horse,—there is no organ in that animal so much under our command as the
kidney ; and no medicines are so useful, or may be so injurious, as diuretics—
such as nitre, and digitalis—not only on account of their febrifuge or sedative
effects, but because of the power which they exert. They stimulate the kidneys
to separate more aqueous fluid than they otherwise would do, and thus lessen the
quantity of blood which the heart is labouring to circulate through the frame,
and also that which is determined or driven to parts already overloaded. The
main objects to be accomplished in these diseases is to reduce the force
of the circulation, and to calm the violence of excitement. Diuretics, by
lessening the quantity of blood, are useful assistants in accomplishing these
purposes.

The horse is subject to effusions of fluid in particular parts. Swelled legs are
a disease almost peculiar to him. The ox, the sheep, the dog, the ass, and
even the mule, seldom have it, but it is for the removal of this deposit of fluid
in the ceilular substance of the legs of the horse that we have recourse to
diuretics. The legs of many horses cannot be rendered fine, or kept so, without
the use of diuretics; nor can grease—often connected with these swellings,
producing them or caused by them-—be otherwise subdued. It is on this
account that diuretics are ranked among the most useful of veterinary
medicines.

In injudicious hands, however, these medicines are sadly abused. Among
the absurdities of stable-management there is nothing so injurious as the fre-
quent use of diuretics. Not only are the kidneys often over-excited, weakened,
and disposed to disease, but the whole frame becomes debilitated ; for the
absorbents have carried away a great part of that which was necessary to the
health and condition of the horse, in order to supply the deficiency of blood
occasioned by the inordinate discharge of urine. There is likewise one impor-
tant fact of which the groom or the horseman seldom thinks, viz.:—That, when
he is removing these humours by the imprudent use of diuretics, he is only
attacking a symptom or a consequence of disease, and not the disease itsclf.
The legs will fill again, and the grease will return. While the cause remains,
the effect will be produced.

In the administration of diuretics, one thing should be attended to, and the
good effect of which the testimony of every intelligent man will confirm: the
horse should have plenty to drink, Not only will inflammation be prevented,
but the operation of the medicine will be much promoted.

INFLAMMATION OF THE KIDNEYS.

This is no uncommon disease in the horse, and is more unskilfully and fatally
treated than almost any other. The early symptoms are those of fever gene-
rally, but the seat of the disease soon becomes evident. The horse looks
anxiously round at his flanks; stands with his hinder 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-coloured, and some-
times bloody. The attempt to urinate becomes more frequent, and the quan-
tity voided smaller, until the animal strains painfully and violently, but the
discharge is neatly or quite suppressed The pulse is quick and hard ; full in
DIABETES, OR PROFUSE STALING. 315

the carly stage of the disease, but rapidly becoming small, yet not losing its
character of hardness. These symptoms clearly indicate an affection 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
inflammation of the neck of it; if it is empty, yet on the portion of the intes-
tines immediately over it there is more than natural heat and tenderness, 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.

Among the causes of diabetes are improper food, and particularly hay that has
been mow-burnt, oroatsthat are musty. The farmer should look well to this,
Oats that have been dried on a kiln acquire a diuretic property, and if horses
are long fed on them, the continual excitement of this organ which they pro-
duce will degenerate into inflammation. Too powerful or too often repeated
diuretics induce inflammation of the kidney, or a degree of irritation and weak-
ness of that organ that disposes to inflammation from causes that would other-
wise have no injurious effect. If a horse is sprained in the loins by being
urged on, far or fast, by a heavy rider, or compelled to take too wide a leap, or
by being suddenly pulled up on his haunches, the inflammation of the muscles
of the loins is often speedily transferred to the kidneys, with which they lie in
contact. Exposure to cold is another frequent origin of this malady, especially
if the horse is drenched with rain, or the wet drips upon his loins; and, more
particularly, if he was previously disposed to inflammation, or these organs
had been previously weakened. For this reason, hackney-coach horses and
others, exposed to the vicissitudes of the weather, and often fed on unwhole-
some provender, have, or should have, their loins protected by leather or some
other clothing. The grand cause, however, of nephritis is the unnecessary
quantity or undue strength of the diuretic medicines that are forced on the
horse by the ignorant groom. This is an evil carried to an infamous extent, and
against which every horseman should sternly oppose himself.

The treatment will only vary from that of inflammation of other parts by
a consideration of the peculiarity of the organ affected. Bleeding must be
promptly resorted to, and carried to its full extent. An active purge should
next be administered ; and a counter-inflammation excited as nearly as pos-
sible to the seat of disease. For this purpose the loins should be fomented
with hot water, or covered with a mustard-poultice—the horse should be
warmly clothed ; but no cantharides or turpentine should be used, and, most of
all, no diuretic be given internally. When the groom finds this difficulty or
suppression of staling, he immediately has recourse to a diuretic ball to force on
the urine ; and by thus needlessly irritating a part already too much excited, he
adds fuel to fire, and frequently destroys the horse. The action of the purga-
tive having begun a little to cease, white hellebore may be administered in
small doses, with or without emetic tartar. ‘The patient should be warmly
clothed ; his legs well bandaged; and plenty of water offered tohim. The
food should be carefully examined, and anything that could have excited or that
may prolong the irritation carefully removed.

DIABETES, OR PROFUSE STALING

Is a comparatively rare disease. It is generally the consequence of undue
irritation of the kidney by bad food or strong diuretics, and sometimes follows
inflammation of that organ. It can seldom be traced in the horse to any disease
of the digestive organs. The treatment is obscure, and the result often
314 INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER.

uncertain. It is evidently increased action of the kidneys, and therefore the
most rational plan of treatment is to endeavour to abate that action. In order
to effect this, the same course should be pursued in the enrly stage of diabetes
as in actual inflammation; but the lowering system must not be carried to so
great an extent. To bleeding, purging, and counter-irritation, medicines of an
astringent quality should succeed, as catechu, the powdered leaf of the whortle-
berry (uva ursi), and opium. Very careful attention should be paid to the
food. The hay and oats should be of the best quality. Green meat, and espe-
cially carrots, will be very serviceable.

BLOODY URINE—HZMATURIA.

The discharge-of urine of this character is of occasional occurrence. Pure
blood is sometimes discharged which immediately coagulates—at other times it
is more or less ‘mixed with the urine, and does not coagulate. The cause of
its appearance and the source whence it proceeds cannot always be determined,
but it is probably the result of some strain or blow. It may or may not be
accompanied by inflammation.

Should it be the result of strain or violence, or be evidently attended by
inflammation, soothing and depleting measures should be adopted. Perhaps
counter-irritation on the loins might be useful. If there is no apparent inflam-
mation, some gentle stimulus may be administered internally.

ALBUMINOUS URINE.

A peculiar mucous state of the urine of some horses has lately attracted
attention. It has been associated with stretching out of the legs, stiffness, disin-
clination to move, a degree of fever, and costiveness. Slight bleeding, mild physic,
the application of gentle stimulants to the loins, quietness, and gentle opiates,
have been of service. We are indebted to Mr. Percivall for what we do
know of the disease. It is a subject worthy of the attention of the veterinary
surgeon.

THE BLADDER.

The urine separated from the blood is discharged by the minute vessels, of
which we have spoken, into some larger canals, which terminate in a cavity or
reservoir in the body of each kidney, designated its pelvis. Thence it is conveyed
by a duct called the ureter, to a larger reservoir, the bladder. It is constantly
flowing from the kidney through the ureter ; and were there not this provision
for its detention, it would be incessantly and annoyingly dribbling from the
animal. The bladder lies in, and when distended by urine nearly fills, the
cavity of the great bones of the haunch, termed the pelvis. It has three coats,
the outer one covering the greater part of it, and being a portion of the peri-
toneum ¢: the muscular, consisting of two layers of fibres, as in the stomach ;
the external, running longitudinally, and the inner circularly, so that it may
yield to the pressure of the urine as it enters, and contract again into an
exceedingly small space as it runs out, and by that contraction assist in the
expulsion of the urine. The inner coat contains numerous little glands,
which secrete a mucous fluid to defend the bladder from the acrimony of the
urine, The bladder terminates in a small neck, round which is a strong muscle,
keeping the passage closed, and retaining the urine until, at the will of the
animal, or when the bladder contains a certain quantity of fluid, the muscular
coat begins to contract, the diaphragm is rendered convex towards the intestines,
and presses them on the bladder, and by these united powers the fluid is forced
through the sphincter muscle at the neck of the bladder, and escapes.
STONE IN THE BLADDER. 315

INFLAMMATION OF THE BLADDER.

There are two varieties of this disease, inflammation of the body of the blad-
der, and of its neck, The symptoms are nearly the same with those of inflam-
mation of the kidney, except that there is rarely a total suppression of urine,
and there is heat felt in the rectum over the situation of the bladder, The
causes are the presence of some acrid or irritant matter in the urine, or of cal-
culus or stone in the bladder. With reference to inflammation of the body of
the bladder, mischief has occasionally been done by the introduction of cantha-
tides or some other irritating matter, in order to hasten the period of horsing
inthe mare. The treatment in this case will be the same as in inflammation
of the kidneys, except that it is of more consequence that the animal should
drink freely of water or thin gruel.

In inflammation of the neck of the bladder there is the same frequent voiding
of urine in small quantities, generally appearing in an advanced stage of the
disease, and often ending in almost total suppression. There is also this
circumstance, which can never be mistaken by him who will pay sufficient
attention to the case, that the bladder is distended with urine, and can be dis-
tinctly felt under the rectum. It is spasm of the part, closing the neck of the
bladder so powerfully that the contraction of the bladder and the pressure of the
muscles are unable to force out the urine.

Here the object to be attempted is sufficiently plain. This spasm must be
relaxed, and the most likely means to effect it is to bleed largely, and even to
fainting. This will sometimes succeed, and there will be at once an end to the
disease. To the exhaustion and loss of muscular power occasioned by copious
bleeding, should be added the nausea consequent on physic. Should not
this speedily have effect, another mode of abating spasm must be tried—pow-
dered opium, made into a ball or drink, should be given every two or three
hours; while an active blister is applied externally. The evacuation of the
bladder, both in the mare and the horse, should be effected through the medium
of a veterinary surgeon.

STONE IN THE BLADDER.

The urine is a very compound fluid. In a state of health it contains seve-
val acids and alkalies variously combined, which, under disease, are increased
both in number and quantity. It is very easy to conceive that some of these may
be occasionally separated from the rest, and assume a solid form both in the
pelvis of the kidney and in the bladder. This is known to be the case both in
the human being and the brute. These calculi or stones are in the horse oftener
found in the kidney than in the bladder, contrary to the experience of the
human surgeon. The explanation of this however is not difficult. In the
human being the kidney is situated above the bladder, and these concretions
descend from it to the bladder by their weight. The belly of the horse is ho-
rizontal, and the force of gravity can in no way affect the passage of the cal-
culus; therefore it occasionally remains in the pelvis of the kidney, until it has
increased so much in size as to fill it. We know not of any symptoms that would
satisfactorily indicate the presence of a stone in the kidney ; and if the disease
could be ascertained, we are unableto say what remedial measures could be
adopted. :

The symptoms of stone in the bladder much resemble those of spasmodic
colic, except that, on careful inquiry, it will be found that there has been much
irregularity in the discharge of urine and occasional suppression of it. When
fits of apparent colie frequently return, and are accompanied by any peculiarity
316 STONE IN THE BLADDER.

in the appearance or the discharge of the urine, the horse should be carefully
examined. For this purpose he must be thrown. If there is stone in the
bladder, it will, while the horse lies on its back, press on the rectum, and may
be distinctly felt if the hand is introduced into the rectum. Several cases have
lately occurred of successful extraction of the calculus; but to effect this it will
always be necessary to have recourse to the aid of a veterinary practitioner.

Both the practitioner and the amateur will be gratified by the description ot
a catheter, invented by Mr. Taylor, a veterinary surgeon of Nottingham, which
may be introduced into the bladder without difficulty or pain, and the existence
and situation of the calculus readily ascertained.

It is made of polished round iron, three feet long, one and a half inch in cir-
cumference, and with eight joints at its farther extremity. The solid part between
each joint is one and a quarter inch in length, and one and a half in circum.
ference, the moveable part being ten inches, and the solid part two feet two
inches. The latter has a slight curve commencing one foot from the handle, and
continuing to the first joint of the moveable part, in order to give it facility in
passing the urethra, where it is attached to the parietes of the abdomen. The
joints are on the principle of a half joint, so that the moveable part would only
act in a straight line, or curve in one direction. The joints are perfectly
rounded and smooth when acting either in a straight line ora curve. It is re-
preseated both in its straight and curved state in the following cuts.

 

=?

 

Many hoyses occasionally void a considerable quantity of gravel, sometimes
without inconvenience, and at others with evident spasm or pain. A diuretic
might be useful in such case, as increasing the flow of urine, and possibly wash-
ing out the concretions before they become too numerous or bulky...

The urine having passed the neck of the bladder, flows along the urethra, and
is discharged. The sheath of the penis is sometimes considerably enlarged.
When at the close of acute disease, there are swellings and effusions of fluid,
under the chest and belly, this part seldom escapes. Diuretics, with a small
portion of cordial medicine, will he beneficial, but in extreme cases slight scari-
fications may be necessary. The inside of the sheath is often the seat of disease.
The mucous matter, naturally secreted there to defend the part from the aeri-
mony of the urine, accumulates and becomes exceedingly offensive, and pro-
duces swelling, tenderness, and even excoriation, with considerable discharge.
Fomentation with warm water, and the cleansing of the part with soap and
water, aided perhaps by the administration of a diuretic ball, will speedily
remove every inconvenience. Carters are too apt to neglect cleanliness in this
respect,
BREEDING, CASTRATION, &c. 317

CHAPTER XV.
BREEDING, CASTRATION, &e:

——>—-

Turis may be @ proper period to recur to the subject of breeding, and pecu-
liarly important when there cannot be a doubt that our breed of horses has,
within the last twenty years, undergone a material change. Our running-
horses still maintain their speed, although their endurance is, generally speak—
ing, considerably diminished ; our draught and carriage horses are perhaps im-
proved in value ; but our hunters and hackneys are not what they used to be.

Our observations on this will be of a general nature, and very simple. The
first axiom we would Jay down is, that “ like will produce like,” and that the
progeny will inherit the general or mingled qualities of the parents. There is
scarcely a disease by which either of the parents is affected that the foal does
not often inherit, or at least occasionally show a predisposition to it. Even the
consequences of ill usage or hard work will descend to the progeny. There
has been proof upon proof, that blindness, roaring, thick wind, broken wind,
spavins, curbs, ringbones, and founder, have been bequeathed to their offspring,
both by the sire and the dam. It should likewise be recollected that although
these blemishes may not appear in the immediate progeny, they frequently do
in the next, or even more distant generation. Hence the necessity of some
knowledge of the parentage both of the sire and the dam.

Peculiarity of form and constitution will also be inherited. This is a most
important but neglected consideration ; for, however desirable or even perfect
may have been the conformation of the sire, every good point may be neutral-
ized or lost by the defective structure of the mare. The essential points should
be good in both parents, or some minor defect in either be met, and got rid of,
by excellence in that particular point in the other. The unskilful or careless
breeder too often so badly pairs the animals, that the good points of each are
almost lost: the defects of both increased, and the produce is far inferior to
both sire and dam.

Mr. Baker, of Reigate, places this in a striking point of view. He speaks of
his own experience: ‘ A foal had apparently clear and good eyes, but the first
day had not passed, before it was evident that it was totally blind. It had
gutta serena.

“ Inquiry was then made about the sire, for the mare had good eyes. His
were, on the slightest inspection, evidently bad, and not one of his colts had
escaped the direful effects of his imperfect vision.

‘A mare had been the subject of farcical enlargements, and not being capable
of performing much work,-a foal was procured from her, She survived; but
the foal soon after birth evinced symptoms of farcy, and died.

“ A mare was lame from navicular disease. A foal was bred from her that
at five years could scarcely go across the country, and was sold for a few pounds.
The mare was a rank jib in single harness ; the foal was as bad.”

It is useless to multiply these examples. They occur in the experience of
every one, and yet they are strangely disregarded.

The mare is sometimes put to the horse at too early an age ; or, what is of
more frequent occurrence, the mare is incapacitated for work by old age. The
owner is unwilling to destroy her, and he determines that she shall bear a foal,
and thus remunerate hin for her keep. What is the consequence? The foal
318

exhibits an unkindliness of growth,—a corresponding weakness,—and there is
scarcely an organ that possesses its natural and proper strength. ;

Of late years, these principles have heen much lost sight of in the breeding
of horses for general use; and the following is the explanation of it. There
are nearly as good stallions as there used to be. Few but well-formed and
valuable horses will be selected and used as stallions. They are always the
very prime of the breed; but the mares are not what they used to be. Poverty
has induced many of the breeders to part with the mares from which they used
to raise their stock, and which were worth their weight in gold; and the jade
on which the farmer now rides to market, or which he uses in his farm, costs
him but little money, and_is only retained because he cannot get much money
for her. It has likewise become the fashion for gentlemen to ride mares, almost
as frequently as geldings ; and thus the better kind are taken from the breeding
service, until old age or injury renders them worth little for it. An intelligent
veterinary surgeon, Mr. Castley, has placed this in a very strong light*.

It should be impressed on the minds of breeders, that peculiarity of form and
constitution are inherited from both parents,—that the excellence of the mare
is a point of quite as much importance as that of the horse,—and that, out of a
sorry mare, let the horse be as perfect as he may, a good foal will rarely be
produced. All this is recognised upon the turf, though poverty or carelessness
have made the general breeder neglect or forget it.

That the constitution and endurance of the horse are inherited, no sporting
man ever doubted. The qualities of the sire or the dam descend from genera-
tion to generation, and the excellences or defects of certain horses are often
traced, and justly so, to some peculiarity in a far-distant ancestor.

It may, perhaps, be justly affirmed, that there is more difficulty in selecting
a good mare to breed from than a good horse, because she should possess some-
what opposite qualities. Her carcase should be long, in order to give room for
the growth of the foetus; and yet with this there should be compactness of form
and shortness of leg. What can they expect whose practice it is to purchase
worn-out, spavined, foundered mares, about whom they fancy there have been
some good points, and send them far into the country to breed from, and, with
all their variety of shape, to be covered by the same horse? In a lottery like

BREEDING, CASTRATION, &c.

 

* * Any one,’’ says he, “‘ who, during the
last twenty or five-and-twenty years, has had
frequent opportunities of visiting some of our
great horse-fairs in the north of England, must
be struck with the sad falling-off there is
everywhere to be remarked in the quality of
the one-half and three-part bred horses, ex-
hibited for sale. The farmers, when taxed
with this, complain that breeding horses does
not sufficiently repay them; and yet we find
large sums of money always given at fairs for
any horses that are really good, but bad ones
are not at any time likely to pay for rearing,
and less now than ever, on account of the
advanced rate of land, and the increased ex-
pense of production. The truth is, that
farmers do not, now-a-days, breed horses s0
generally good as they used to do, and this is
owing to the inferior quality of the mares
which they now commonly employ in breeding.
They have, to a great degree, been tempted to
part with their best mares, and thus breed from
the refuse. The stock consequently dete-
riorates, and they are disappointed

“ The great demand for mares has also con-

tributed to get the best material for breeding
out of the farmer’s hands, Thirty years ago
few gentlemen would be scen riding a mare
—it was unfashionable. There was, con-
sequently, but little demand for her, and she
was left for the most part in the farmer's
hands, who were then to be seen riding to
market, mounted on the finest mares, and
from among which they selected the best for
the purpose of breeding. Like will produce
like, and the stock would seldom disappoint
them.

“Then there is the demand for the foreign
market. Within the last twenty years, a great
number of our finest three-parts-bred mares
have been exported to various portions of the
Continent, and particularly to France and
Germany. They never find their way back
again. The money brought into our country
by their export is a mero trifle—a drop in the
ocean—=while we are doing ourselves incal-
culable mischief by allowing some of our best
materials to pass out of our hands for ever.”—
Veterinarian, UL, p. 371.
BREEDING, CASTRATION, &c. 319

this there may be now and then a prize, but there must be many blanks, If
horse-breeders, possessed of good judgment, would pay the same attention to
breed and shape as Mr. Bakewell did with his sheep, they would probably attam
their wishes in an equal degree, and greatly to their advantage, whether for the
collar or the road, for racing or for hunting.

As to the shape of the stallion, little satisfactory can be said. It must depend
on that of the mare, and the kind of horse wished to be bred ; but if there is
one point absolutely essential, it is “compactness”—as much goodness and
strength as possible condensed into a little space.

Next to compactness, the inclination of the shoulder will be regarded. A
huge stallion, with upright shoulders, never got a capital hunter or hackney.
From him the breeder can obtain nothing but a cart or dray horse, and that,
perhaps, spoiled by the opposite form of the mare. On the other hand, an
upright shoulder is desirable, if not absolutely necessary, when a mere slow
draught horse is required.

On the subject of breeding in and in, that is, persevering in the same breed,
and selecting the best on either side, much has been said. The system of cross-
ing requires more judgment and’ experience than breeders usually possess.
The bad qualities of the cross are too soon engrafted on the original stock, and,
once engrafted there, are not, for many generations, eradicated. The good
qualities of both are occasionally neutralized to a most mortifying degree. On
the other hand, it is the fact, however some may deny it, that strict confine-
ment to one breed, however valuable or perfect, produces gradual deterioration.
Crossing should be attempted with great caution. The valuable points of the
old breed should be retained, but varied or improved by the introduction of
some new and valuable quality, with reference to beauty, strength, or speed.
This is the secret of the turf. The pure south-eastern blood is never left, but
the stock is often changed with manifest advantage.

A mare is capable of breeding at three or four years old. Some have inju-
diciously commenced at two years, before her form or her strength is sufficiently
developed, and with the development of which this early breeding will mate-
tially interfere. If a mare does little more than farm- work, she may continue
to be bred from until she is nearly twenty ; but-if she has been hardly worked,
and bears the marks of it, let her have been what she will in her youth, she will
deceive the expectations of the breeder in her old age.

From the time of covering, to within a few days of the expected period of foal-
ing, the cart mare may be kept at moderate labour, not only without injury, but
with decided advantage. It will then be prudent to release her from work, and
keep her near home, and under the frequent inspection of some careful person.

When nearly half the time of pregnancy has elapsed, the mare should have a
little better food. She should be allowed one or two feeds of corn in the day.
This is about the period when they are accustomed to slink their foals, or when
abortion occurs: the eye of the owner should, therefore, be frequently upon
them. Good feeding and moderate exercise will be the best preventives of this
mishap. The mare that has once aborted is liable to a repetition of the acci-
dent, and therefore should never be suffered to be with other mares between
the fourth and fifth months; for such is the power of imagination or of sym-
pathy in the mare, that if one suffers abortion, others in the same pasture will
too often share the same fate. Farmers wash, and paint, and tar their stables,
t> prevent some supposed infection ;—the infection lies in the imagination.

The thorough-bred mare—the stock being intended for sporting purposes- —
should be kept quiet and apart from other horses, after the first four or five
months, When the period of parturition is drawing near, she should be
watched, and shut up during the night in a safe yard or loose box.
320 BREEDING, CASTRATION, &c.

If the mare, whether of the pure or common breed, be thus taken care of and
be in good health while in foal, little danger will attend the act of parturition.
If there is false presentation of the foetus, or difficulty in producing it, it will
be better to have recourse to a well-informed practitioner, than to injure the
mother by the violent and injurious attempts that are often made to relieve
her.

- The parturition being over, the mare should be turned into some well-
sheltered pasture, with a hovel or shed to run into when she pleases ; and as,
supposing that she has foaled in April*, the grass is scanty, she should have a
couple of feeds of corn daily. The breeder may depend upon it, that nothing is
gained by starving the mother and stinting the foal at thistime. It is the most
important period of the life of the horse ; and if, from false economy, his growth
is arrested, his puny form and want of endurance will ever afterwards testify the
error that has been committed. The corn should be given in a trough on the
ground, that the foal may partake of it with the mother. When the new grass
is plentiful, the quantity of corn may be gradually diminished.

The mare will usually be found again at heat at or before the expiration of
a month from the time of foaling, when, if she is principally kept for breeding
purposes, she may be put again to the horse. At the same time, also, if she is
used for agricultural purposes, she may go again to work. The foal is at first
shut in the stable during the hours of work ; but as soon as it acquires sufficient
strength to toddle after the mare, and especially when she is at slow work, it
will be better for the foal and the dam that they should be together. The
work will contribute to the health of the mother; the foal will more frequently
draw the milk, and thrive better, and will be hardy and tractable, and gradu-
ally familiarised with the objects among which it is afterwards to live. While
the mother, however, is thus worked, she and the foal should be well fed; and
two feeds of corn, at least, should be added to the green food which they get
when turned out after their work, and at night. ;

In five or six months, according to the growth of the foal, it may be weaned.
It should then be housed for three weeks or a month, or turned into some
distant rick-yard. There can be no better place for the foal than the latter, as
affording, and that without trouble, both food and shelter. The mother should
be put to harder work, and have drier meat. One or two urine-balls, or a
physic-ball, will be useful if the milk should be troublesome, or she should pine
after her foal.

There is no principle of greater importance than the liberal feeding of the
foal during the whole of his growth, and at this time in particular. Bruised
oats and bran should form a considerable part of his daily provender. The
farmer may be assured that the money is well laid out which is expended on
the liberal nourishment of the growing colt : yet while he is well fed, he should
not be rendered delicate by excess of care.

A racing colt is often stabled ; but one that is destined to be a hunter, a hack-
ney, or an agricultural horse, should have a square rick, under the leeward side
of which he may shelter himself; or a hovel, into which he may run at night,
and out of the rain. Too often, however, the foal, after weaning, is left to
struggie on as he can, and becomes poor and dispirited. He is to be seen
shrinking under a hedge, cold and almost shivering, his head hanging down, and
rheum distilling from his eyes. If he is made to move, he listlessly drags his
limbs along, evidently weak, and generally in pain. He is asad specimen of

* By the present rules of the jockey-club first of May is nearest to the general time of
the age of turf horses is reckoned from the Ist foaling, and the age of the cavalry horses is
of January, but this has not by any common dated from that period.
consent extended to the half-breds. The
BREAKING IN. 321

poverty and of misery. This is the first scene of cruelty to the horse of inferior
breed, and destined for inferior purpose *.”

The process of breaking-in should commence from the very period of wean-
ing. The foal should be daily handled, partially dressed, 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,

Everything should be done, as much as possible, by the man who feeds
the colt, and whose managoment of him should be always kind and genile.
There is no fault for which a breeder should so invariably discharge his servant
as cruelty, or even harshness, towards the rising stock; for the principle on
which their after usefulness is founded, is early attachment to, and confidence
in man, and obedience, implicit obedience, resulting principally from this.

After the second winter the work of breaking-in may commence in good
earnest. The colt may be bitted, and a bit selected that will not hurt
his mouth, and much smaller than those in common use. With this he may
be suffered to amuse himself, and to play, and to champ it for an hour, on
a few successive days.

Having become a little tractable, portions of the harness may be put upon
him, concluding with the blind winkers; and, a few days afterwards, he
may go into theteam. It would be better if there could be one horse before, and
one behind him, beside the shaft horse. There should at first be the mere empty
waggon, Nothing should be done to him, except that he should have an occa-
sional pat or kind word. The other horses will keep him moving, and in his
place ; and no great time will pass, sometimes not even the first day, before he
will begin to pull with the rest. The load may then be gradually increased.

The agricultural horse is sometimes wanted to ride as well as to draw. Let his
first lesson be given when he isin the team. Let his feeder, if possible, be first put
upon him. He will be too much hampered by his harness, and by the other
horses, to make much resistance ; and, in the majority of cases, will quietly and
at once submjt. We need not to repeat, that no whip or spur should be used in
giving the first lessons in riding.

When he begins a little to understand his business, backing—the most difficult
part of his work—may be taught him ; first to back well without anything be-
hind him, and then with a light cart, and afterwards with some serious load—
always taking the greatest care not seriously to hurt his mouth. If the first
lesson causes much soreness of the gums, the colt will not readily submit to a
second. If he has been previously rendered tractable by kind usage, time and
patience will do everything that can be wished. Some carters are in the habit
of blinding the colt when teaching him to back. This may be necessary with
a restive and obstinate one, but should be used only as a last resort.

The colt having been thus partially broken-in, the necessity of implicit obe-
dience must be taught him, and that not by severity, but by firmness and steadi-
ness. The voice will go a great way, but the whip or the spur is sometimes
indispensable—not so severely applied as to excite the animal to resistance, but
to convince him that we have the power to enforce submission. Few—it may
almost be said, no horses, are naturally vicious. It is cruel usage which has
first provoked resistance. That resistance has been followed by greater seve-
rity, and the stubbornness of the animal has increased. Open warfare has
ensued, in which the man has seldom gained advantage, and the horse has been
frequently rendered unserviceable. Correction may, or must be used, to enforce
implicit obedience after the education has proceeded to a certain extent, but the
early lessons should be inculcated with kindness alone. Young colts are some~

 

“ Youatt on Humanity to Animals, p. 115.
Y¥
322 BREAKING IN.

times very perverse. Many days will occasionally pass before they will permit
the bridle to be put on, or the saddle to be worn; and one act of harshness
will double or treble this time: patience and kindness, however, will always
prevail. On some morning, when he is in a better humour than usual, the
bridle may be put on, and the saddle may be worn; and, this compliance
being followed by kindness and soothing on the part of the breaker, and no
inconvenience or pain being suffered by the animal, all resistance will be at an
end.

The same principles will apply to the breaking-in of the horse for the road
or the chase. The handling, and some portion of instruction, should commence
from the time of weaning. The future tractability of the horse will much
depend on this. At two years and a half, or three years, the regular process of
breaking-in should commence. If it is delayed until the animal is four years
old, his strength and obstinacy will be more difficult to overcome. The plan
usually pursued by the breaker cannot perhaps be much improved, except that
there should be much more kindness and patience, and far less harshness and
cruelty, than these persons are accustomed to exhibit, and a great deal more
attention to the form and natural action of the horse. A headstall is put on
the colt, and a cavesson (or apparatus to confine and pinch the nose) affixed to
it, with long reins, He is first accustomed to the rein, then led round a ring on
soft ground, and at length mounted and taught his paces. Next to preserving
the temper and docility of the horse, there is nothing of so much importance as
to teach him every pace, and every part of his duty, distinctly and
thoroughly. Each must constitute a separate and sometimes long-continued
lesson, and that taught by a man who will never suffer his passion to get the
better of his discretion.

After the cavesson has been attached to the headstall, and the long rein put
on, the colt should be quietly led about by the breaker—a steady boy following
behind, by occasional threatening with the whip, but never by an actual blow,
to keep him moving. When the animal follows readily and quietly, he may
Le taken to the ring, and walked round, right and left, in a very small circle.
Care should be taken to teach him this pace thoroughly, never suffering him to
break into a trot. The boy with his whip may here again be necessary, but not
a single blow should actually fall.

Becoming tolerably perfect in the walk, he should be quickened to a trot, and
kept steadily at it; the whip of the boy, if needful, urging him on, and the
cavesson restraining him. These lessons should be short. The pace should be
kept perfect, and distinct in each; and docility and improvement rewarded
with frequent caresses, and handfuls of corn. ‘The length of the rein may now
be gradually increased, and the pace quickened, and the time extended, until the
animal becomes tractable in. these his first lessons, towards the conclusion of
which, crupper-straps, or something similar, may be attached to the clothing.
These, playing about the sides and flanks, accustom him to the flapping of the
coat of the rider. The annoyance which they occasion will pass over in a day
or two ; for when the animal finds that no harm comes to him, he will cease to
regard them.

Next comes the bitting. The bit should be large and smooth, and the reins
buckled to a ring on either side of the pad. There are many curious and
expensive machines for this purpose, but the simple rein will be quite sufficient.
It should at first be slack, and then very gradually tightened. This will prepare
for the more perfect manner in which the head will be afterwards got into its
proper position, when the colt is accustomed to the saddle. Occasionally the
breaker should stand in front of the colt, and take hold of each side rein near
to the mouth, and press upon it, and thus begin to teach him to stop and to
BREAKING IN, 322

back on the pressure of the rein, rewarding every act of docility, and not being
too eager to punish occasional carelessness or way wardness.

The colt may now be taken into the road or street to be gradually accus-
tomed to the objects among which his services will be required. Here, from
fear or playfulness, a considerable degree of starting and shying may be
exhibited. As little notice as possible should. be taken of it. The same ora
similar object should be soun passed again, but at a greater distance. If the
colt still shies, let the distance be farther increased, until he takes no notice of
the object. Then he may be gradually brought nearer to it, and this will be
usually effected without the slightest difficulty : whereas, had there been an
attempt to force him close to it in the first instance, the remembrance of the
contest would have been associated with every appearance of the object, and
the habit of shying would have been established.

Hitherto, with a cool and patient breaker, the whip may have been shown,
but will scarcely have been used; the colt must now, however, be accustomed
to this necessary instrument of authority. Let the breaker walk by the side of
the animal, and throw his right arm over his back, holding the reins in his left,
occasionally quickening his pace, and at the moment of doing this, tapping the
horse with the whip in his right hand, and at first very gently. The tap of the
whip and the quickening of the pace will soon become associated in the mind of
the animal. If necessary, these reminders may gradually fall a little heavier,
and the feeling of pain be the monitor of the necessity of increased exertion.
The lessons of reining in and stopping, and backing on the pressure of the bit,
may continue to be practised at the same time.

He may now be taught to bear the saddle. Some little caution will be neces-
sary at the first putting of it on. The breaker should stand at the head of the
colt, patting him, and engaging his attention, while one assistant, on the off-side,
gently places the saddle on the back of the animal ; and another, on the near’
side, slowly tightens the girths. If he submits quietly to this, as he generally
will when the previous process of breaking-in has been properly conducted, the
ceremony of mounting may be attempted on the following, or on the third day.
The breaker will need two assistants in order to accomplish this. He will
remain at the head of the colt, patting and making much of him. The rider
will put his foot into the stirrup, and bear a little weight upon it, while the man
on the off-side presses equally on the other stirrup-leather ; and, according to
the docility of the animal, he will gradually increase the weight, until he
balances himself on the stirrup. If the colt is uneasy or fearful, he should be
spoken to kindly and patted, or a mouthful of corn be given to him: but if he
offers serious resistance, the lessons must terminate for that day. He may pro-
bably be in better humour on the morrow.

When the rider has balanced himself for a minute or two, he may gently
throw his leg over, and quietly seat himself in the saddle. The breaker will
then lead the animal round the ring, the rider sitting perfectly still. After a
few minutes he will take the reins, and handle them as gently as possible, and
guide the horse by the pressure of them ; patting him frequently, and espe-
cially when he thinks of dismounting,—and, after having dismounted, offering
him a little cornor green meat. The usc of the rein in checking him, and of the
pressure of the leg and the touch of the heel in quickening his pace, will soon be
taught, and his education will be nearly completed.

The horse having thus far submitted himself to the breaker, these pattings
and rewards must be gradually diminished, and implicit obedience mildly hut
firmly enforced. Severity will not often be necessary. In the great majority
of cases it will be altogether uncalled for: but should the animal, ina moment
of waywardness, dispute the command of the breaker, he must at once be taught

y 2
R24 CASTRATION,

that he is the slave of man, and that we have the power, by other means than
those of kindness, to bend him to our will. The education of the horse should be
that of the child. Pleasure is, as much as possible, associated with the early les-
sons ; but firmness, or, if need be, coercion, must establish the habit of obedience.
Tyranny and cruelty will, more speedily in the horse than even in the child,
provoke the wish to disobey; and, on every practicable occasion, the resist-
ance to command. The restive and vicious horse is, in ninety-nine cases
out of a hundred, made so by ill-usage, and not by nature. None but those
who will take the trouble to try the experiment are aware how absolute a
command the due admixture of firmness and kindness will soon give us over
any horse.

CASTRATION.

The period at which this operation may be best performed depends much on
the breed and form of the colt, and the purpose for which he is destined. For
the common agricultural horse the age of four or five months will be the most
proper time, or, at least before he is weaned. Few horses are lost when cut at
that age. Care, however, should be taken that the weather is not too hot, nor the
flies too numerous. We enter our decided protest, however, against the recom-
mendation of valuable but incautious agricultural writers, that ‘colts should be
cut in the months of June or July, when flies pester the horses, and cause them
to be continually moving about, and thereby prevent swelling.’ One moment's
reflection will convince the reader that nothing can be more likely to produce
inflammation, and consequent swelling and danger, than the torture of the flies
hovering round and stinging the sore part.

If the horse is designed either for the carriage or for heavy draught, the farmer
should not think of castrating him until he is at least a twelve-month old ; and,
even then, the colt should be carefully examined. If he is thin and spare
about the neck and shoulders, and low in the withers, he will materially im-
prove by remaining uncut another six months; but if his fore-quarters are fairly
developed at the age of a twelve-month, the operation should not be delayed,
lest he become heavy and gross before, and perhaps has begun too decidedly to
have a will of his own. No specific age, then, can be fixed ; but the castration
should be performed rather late in the spring or early in the autumn, when the
air is temperate, and particularly when the weather is dry. No preparation is
necessary for the sucking colt, but it may be prudent to bleed and to physic one
of more advanced age. In the majority of cases, no after-treatment will he ne-
cessary, except that the animal should be sheltered from intense heat, and more
particularly from wet. In temperate weather he will do much better running
in the field than nursed in a close and hot stable. The moderate exercise that
he will take in grazing will be preferable to perfect inaction. A large and well-
ventilated box, however, may be permitted.

The manner in which the operation is performed will be properly left to the
veterinary surgeon. The haste, carelessness, and brutality, of the common
gelder should no longer be permitted; but the veterinary surgeon should be
able and willing to discharge every portion of his duty. The old method of
opening the scrotum on either side, and cutting off the testicles, and preventing
hemorrhage by a temporary compression of the vessels while they are seared
with a hot iron, must not, perhaps, be abandoned ; but there is no necessity
for that extra pain, and that appearance, at least, of brutality, which occur when
the spermatic cord (the blood-vessels and the nerve) is as tightly compressed
between two picces of wood as in a powerful vice, and left there until either the
testicle drops off, or is removed on the following day by the operator.

To the practice of some farmers, of twitching their colts at an early period,
THE SHOULDER. 325

sometimes even so early as a month, there is stronger objection. When the
operation of twitching is performed, a small cord is drawn as tightly as possible
round the’ bag, between the testicle and the belly. The circulation is thus
stopped, and, in a few days, the testicles and the bag drop off ; but not until the
animal has sadly suffered. It is occasionally necessary to tighten the cord on
the second or third day, and inflammation and death have frequently ensued.

Another mode of castration has been lately introduced which bids fair to
supersede every other: it is called the operation by Torsion. An incision is
made into the scrotum as in the other modes of operation, and the vas deferens
is exposed and divided. The artery is then seized by a pair of forceps contrived
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.

CHAPTER XVI.
THE FORE LEGS.

We arrive now at those parts of the frame which are most essentially con-
nected with the action and value of the horse, and oftenest, and most annoyingly,
the subjects of disease. The extremities contain the whole apparatus of
voluntary motion, with which the action, and speed, and strength of the horse
are most concerned.

We commence with the upper portion, of which the fore extremity, the
shoulder, is seen at G. page 108.

THE SHOULDER.

The scapula or shoulder-blade, situated forward on the side of the chest, is a
bone of a somewhat triangular shape, with its apex or narrowest point dowv-
ward, and its broad and thin expansion upward. The point of the shoulder
lies opposite to the first and second ribs; the hinder expansion of the base
reaches as far back as the seventh rib; it therefore extends obliquely along the
chest, It is divided, externally, into two unequal portions by a ridge or spine
running through almost the whole of its extent, and designed, as will be pre-
sently seen, for the attachment of important muscles. The broad or upper
part having no muscles of any consequence attached to it, is terminated by
cartilage.

The shoulder-blade is united to the chest by muscle alone. There is one
large muscle, with very remarkable tendinous fibres and of immense strength
(the serratus major, greater saw-shaped muscle), attached to the chest, and to
the extensive smooth internal surface of the shoulder-blade, and by which,
assisted, or rather strengthened, by the muscles of the breast, the weight of the
body is supported, and the shock of: the widest leap, or the most rapid motion,
sustained. Had there been a bony union between the shoulder and the body,
the vital parts contained in the chest could not have endured the dreadful shock
which they would occasionally have experienced ; nor could any bone have long
remained whole if exposed to such violence. The muscles within the shoulder-
blade act as powerful and safe springs. They yield, as far as necessary, to the
force impressed upon them. By their gradual yiclding they destroy the vio-
526 SLANTING DIRECTION OF THE SHOULDER.

lence of the shock, and then by their elastic power, immediately regain their
former situation.
SPRAIN OF THE SHOULDER.

These muscles are occasionally injured by some unexpected shock. Although
in not more than one case in twenty is the farrier right when he talks of his
shoulder-lameness, yet it cannot be denied, that the muscles of the shoulder are
occasionally sprained. This is effected oftener by a slip or side-fall, than by fair,
although violent exertion. It is of considerable importance to be able to distin-
guish this shoulder-lameness from injuries of other parts of the fore extremity,
There is not much tenderness, or heat, or swelling. It is a sprain of muscles
deeply seated, and where these symptoms of injury are not immediately evident.
If, on standing before the horse, and looking at the size of the two shoulders, or
rather their points, one should appear evidently larger than the other, this must
not be considered as indicative of sprain of the muscles of the shoulder. It
probably arises from bruise of the point of the shoulder, which a slight exami-
nation will determine.

The symptoms, however, of shoulder-lameness can scarcely be mistaken ;
and, when we relate them, the farmer will recollect that they very seldom
occurred when the village smith pointed to the shoulder as the seat of disease,
and punished the animal to no purpose. In sprain of the shoulder the horse
evidently suffers extreme pain while moving, and, the muscle underneath
being inflamed and tender, he will extend it as little as possible. He will drag
his toe along the ground. It is in the lifting of the foot that the shoulder is
principally moved. If the foot is lifted high, let the horse be ever so lame, the
shoulder is little, if at all affected. In sprain of the back sinews, it is only when
the horse is in motion that the injured parts are put to most pain; the pain is
greatest here when the weight rests on the limb in shoulder-lameness, and
there is a peculiar quickness in catching up the limb the moment the weight is
thrown on it. This is particularly evident when the horse is going down hill,
and the injured limb bears an additional portion of the weight. In the stable, too,
when, in other cases, the horse points or projects one foot before the other, that foot
is usually flat on the ground. In shoulder-lameness, the toe alone rests on the
ground. The circumstance which most of all characterises this affection is, that
when the foot is lifted and then brought considerably forward the horse will
express very great pain, which he will not do if the lameness is in the foot or
the leg. This point has been longer dwelt upon, in order that the reader may
be enabled to put to the test the many cases of shoulder-lameness, which exist
only in the imagination of the groom or the farrier.

In sprain of the internal muscles of the shoulder, few local measures can be
adopted. The horse should be bled from the vein on the inside of the arm (the
plate vein), because the blood is then abstracted more immediately from the
inflamed part. A dose of physic should be given, and fomentations applied, and
principally on the inside of the arm, close to the chest, and the horse should be
kept as quiet as possible. The injury is too deeply seated for external stimulants
to have very great effect, yet a blister will properly be resorted to, if the lame-
ness is not speedily removed. The swimming of the horse is an inhuman prac-
tice : it tortures the animal, and increases the inflammation. The pegging of the
shoulder (puncturing the skin, and blowing into the cellular structure beneath
until it is considerably puffed up) is another relic of ignorance and barbarity.

SLANTING DIRECTION OF THE SHOULDER,

The lessening or breaking of the shock, from the weight being thrown
violently on the fore legs, is effected in another way. It will be observed, that
(sec G and J, p. 108) the shoulder-blade and the lower bone of the shoulder are
not conuected together in a straight line, but form a very considerable angle with
SLANTING DIRECTION OF THE SHOULDER. 327

each other. This will be more evident from the following cut, which represents
the fore and hind extremities in the situations which they occupy in the horse,

 

This angular construction of the limbs reminds us of the similar arrangement
of the springs of a carriage, and the ease of motion, and almost perfect freedom
from jolting, which are thereby obtained.

It must not perhaps be said, that the form of the spring was borrowed from
this construction of the limbs of the horse, but the effect of the carriage-spring
beautifully illustrates the connexion of the different bones in the extremities of
this quadruped.

The obliquity or slanting direction of the shoulder effects other very useful
purposes, That the stride in the gallop, or the space passed over in the trot,
may be extensive, it is necessary that the fore part of the animal should be con-
siderably elevated. The shoulder, by means of the muscles which extend from
it to the inferior part of the limb, is the grand agent in effecting this. Had
the bones of the shoulder been placed more upright than we see them, they
could not then have been of the length which they now are,—their connexion
with the chest could not have been so secure,—and their movements upon each
other would have been comparatively restricted. The slightest inspection of
this cut, or of that at page 108, will show that, just in proportion as the Lee
of the shoulder is brought forward and elevated, will be the forward action an
elevation of the limb, or the space passed over at every effort. ‘

The slanting shoulder accomplishes a most useful object. The muscles
extending from the shoulder-blade to the lower bone of the shoulder are eed
powers by which motion is given to the whole of the limb. The ig pe
energy of that motion depend much on the force exerted or the strength o :
muscle, but there are circumstances in the relative situations of the differen
bones which have far greater influence. : ee

Let it be supposed that, by meuus of a lever, some one is endeavouring to
Yaise a certain weight.
528 SLANTING DIRECTION OF THE SHOULDER.

A isa lever, resting or turning on a pivot B; C is the weight to be raised :
and D is the power, or the situation at which the power is applied. If the
strength is applied in a direction perpendicular to the lever, as represented by
the line E, the power which must be exerted can easily be calculated.

 

 

 

 

In proportion as the distance of the power from the pivot or centre of motion
exceeds that of the weight from the same place, so will be the advantage gained.
The power here is twice as far from the centre as the weight is, and therefore
advantage is gained in the proportion of two to one; or if the weight is equal
to 200 lbs., a force of 100 Ibs. will balance it. If the direction in which the
power is applied is altered, and it is in that of the line F, will 100 lbs. effect the
purpose? No; nothing like it. How, then, is the necessary power to be calcu-
lated? The calculation of the force which must be exerted in a direction inter-
mediate between the directions of the line E, and of the lever A B, involves
questions of geometry, somewhat foreign to the object of these pages. But
though the exact estimation of the power to be exerted at intermediate positions
is a question of some difficulty, a very little consideration will serve to shew that
the force to be applied, increases with, and in a greater degree than, the angle
between the directions of E and F. For suppose the direction of F to coincide
with that of A B, then no force exerted, however great, would support C, the
whole effect being to move the lever in the direction of its length.

Let the shoulder of the horse be considered. The point of the shoulder—the
shoulder-joint—is the pivot or centre of motion; the leg attached to the bone of
the arm is the weight; the shoulder-blade being more fixed, is the part whence the
power emanates, and the muscles extending from the one to the other are the lines
in which that power isexerted. These lines approach much more nearly to a per-
pendicular in the oblique than in the upright shoulder (see cut). In the upright
one, the shoulder-blade and the bone of the arm are almost in a straight line, and
the real action and power of the muscle are most strangely diminished. In this
point of view the oblique shoulder is most important. It not only gives extensive
action, but facility of action. The power of the muscles is more than doubled
by being exerted in a line approaching s0 much nearer to a perpendicular.

There is yet another advantage of the oblique shoulder. The point of the
shoulder is projected forward ; and therefore the pillars which support the fore-
part of the horse are likewise placed proportionably forward, and they have
less weight to carry. They are exposed to less concussion, and especially con-
cussion in rapid action, The horse is also much safer; for having less weight
situated before the pillars of support, he is not so likely to have the centre of
gravity thrown before and beyond them by an accidental trip; or, in other
words, he is not so likely to fall; and he rides more pleasantly, for there is far
less weight bearing on the hand of the rider, and annoying and tiring him.
It likewise unfortunately happens that nature, as it were to supply the defici-
ency of action and of power in an upright shoulder, has accumulated on it more
muscle, and therefore the upright shoulder is proverbially thick and cloddy ;
SLANTING DIRECTION OF THE SHOULDER. 329

and the muscles of the breast which were designed to strengthen the attachment
of the shoulders to the chest, and to bind them together, must, when the
point of the shoulder lies backward, and under the horse, be proportionably
thickened and strengthened, and the horse is thus still more heavy before, more
unpleasant, and more unsafe to ride.

Then, ought every horse to have an oblique shoulder? No! The question
has relation to those horses that are designed to ride pleasantly, or from which
extensive and rapid action is required. In them it has been said that an oblique
shoulder is indispensable : but there are others which are seldom ridden ; whose
pace is slow, and who have nothing to do but to throw as much weight as pos-
sible into the collar. To them an upright shoulder is an advantage, because its
additional thickness gives them additional weight to throw into the collar,
which the power of their hinder quarters is fully sufficient to accomplish ;
and because the upright position of the shoulder gives that direction to the
collar which enables the horse to act upon every part of it, and that inclination
of the traces which will enable his weight or power to be most advantageously
employed.

An improved breed of our heavy draught-horses has of late years been at-
tempted, and with much success. Sufficient uprightness of shoulder is retained
for the purposes of draught, while a slight degree of obliquity has materially
quickened the pace and improved the appearance.

Above its junction with the’ humerus, or lower division of the limb, the
shoulder-blade forms what is called the point of the shoulder. There is a
round blunted projection, best seen in the cut (p. 827). The neck of the
shoulder-blade there forms a shallow cavity, into which the head of the next
bone is received.

The cavity is shallow because extensive motion is required, and because both
of the bones being so moveable, and the motion of the one connected so much
with that of the other, dislocation was less likely to occur. A capsular liga-
ment, or one extending round the heads of both bones, confines them securely
together.

This joint is rarely or never dislocated ; and, should it suffer dislocation, the
muscles of the shoulder-blade and the lower bone of the shoulder are so strong,
that the reduction of it would be impossible. The point of the shoulder, how-
ever, projecting considerably, is much exposed to injury from accident or vio-
lence. Even turning in a narrow stall has inflicted a serious bruise. Fomenta-
tions of warm water will usually remove the tenderness and lameness, but
should they fail, blood should be taken from the plate vein, or, in very obstinate
cases, a blister should be resorted to. festa’

A description of the principal muscles of the shoulder-blade, their situation,
attachments, and use, may not be uninteresting to the lover of the horse, and
may guide his judgment as to the capability and proper form of that noble
animal.

CUT OF MUSCLES ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE SHOULDER.

aandb, in the following cut, representa portion of the Trapezius muscle attached
to the longer bones of the withers broadly and strongly and to the ligament and
fasciw of the neck (a portion of which is seen at b), narrowing below terminating
almost in a point, and inserted into a tubercle on the spine or ridge of the
shoulder-bladc. It occupies the space between the withers and the upper part
of the shoulder-blade, and is large and strong in proportion to the height of the
withers, and the slanting of theshoulder. Its use is evidently to elevate and support
the scapula—to raise it, and likewise to draw it backward ; therefore, constituting
one of the most important muscles connected with the action of the horse, and
330 MUSCLES ON THE OUTSIDE OF THE SHOULDER.

illustrating the advantage of high withers and a slanting shoulder. A portion
of it is represented as turned back, in order to show other muscles beneath. <A
moment's inspection will con-
vince the reader that although
a low forehand and thick
shoulder are very properly
objected to, yet still some
fulness and fleshincss are
necessary, even about the
withers ; otherwise, although
there may be height of
withers, and obliquity of
shoulder, to give extensive
action, there will not be suf-
ficient muscular power to
work the machine with either
quickness or continuance.

At c is a portion of the e-
vator humeri (the raiser of
the shoulder), descending
from the tubercle of the head
(see cut, page 108), and from
the base of the temporal bone,
and attaching itself to the
first four bones of the neck,
and to the ligament of the
neck ; inserting itself into the
covering of the muscles of
the shoulder, and those about
the point of the shoulder, and
at length terminating in a
ridge on the body of the
humerus, arising from the
greater tubercle. It is a
muscle of immense power
and great utility, raising and

= drawing forward the shoulder
and the arm, or, when these are fixed, turning the head and neck if one only
acts, and depressing them if the muscles on both sides act at the same time.

At d isa portion of the serratus magnus muscle, between the shoulder and
side of the chest, and constituting the bulk of the lower part of the neck. It
is deeply seated, arising from the fourth, fifth, sixth, and seventh bones of the
neck anteriorly, and attached posteriorly to the eight first ribs. All its fibres
tend towards and are inserted into the inner surface of the shoulder, and by
means of them the shoulder is attached to the chest, and the immense weight
of the body supported. The use of this muscle in obviating concussion, has
already been spoken of.

When the horse is standing, this muscle occasionally discharges another im-
portant function. The shoulders and legs are then rendered fixed points by the
weight of the body, and this muscle exerts all its power in dilating the cavity of
the chest, and thus materially assists in the act of breathing. Therefore, as was
stated when that disease was treated of, a horse labouring under inflammation of
the lungs will obstinately stand night and day, in order that he may obtain the
assistance of this muscle in respiration, which is become laborious and painful ;

 
MUSCLES ON THE INSIDE OF THE SHOULDER. 331

and for the same reason it is that we regard his lying down as one of the most
favourable symptoms, because it shows us that the breathing is so much relieved
as not to need the assistance of this muscle,

At e is a small portion of the splenius muscle, which was spoken of when the
neck was described, p. 212.

J represents a muscle sometimes described as a portion of the Jevator humeri,
or elevator of the shoulder, arising from the nipple-shaped process or tubercle
of the temporal bone, running down the somewhat lateral but fore part of the
neck, inserted into the upper and middle part of the lower bone of the shoulder,
and thence continued down to the arm. Its office is to bend the head ; or, the
head and neck being fixed, to elevate and bring forward the arm. It is in
powerful action when the horse is running at his speed with the head projected.

At g is a portion of the sterno mavillaris, or muscle common to the fore part
of the chest and the lower jaw, and described at p, 212.

h designates the principal portion of this muscle extending from the shoulder
to the humerus, and employed in drawing this bone towards the shoulder-blade,
and bending the whole of the limb. Exceedingly powerful action is required
from this muscle, therefore it is very tendinous, and inserted in such a direction
as to act with great mechanical advantage, and that advantage increased in pro-
portion to the slanting position of the shoulder.

The muscle i, antea spinatus, is situated on the outer and anterior part ot
the shoulder, below and behind the muscle next mentioned ; and its office is to
extend the humerus on the scapula. It is also attached to the greater tubercle
of the humerus, and to a bony ridge extending from it to the capsular-ligament
of the shoulder-joint. Its action is to assist in the flexion of the humerus, and
to give it a motion outwards.

The muscle j, postea spinatus, behind the spine or ridge, occupies that space
of the shoulder, and is inserted into the outer and upper head of the bone. It
draws this bone outward and upward.

At k, is a muscle common to the breast
and the shoulder-blade, and called the pec-
toralis parvus. It arises from the breast-
bone, and reaches to the covering of the shoulder-
joint, and the muscles of theshoulder. Its action,
in common with that of a larger muscle, seen at
m, the great pectoral, is to draw the head of the
shoulder backward, and also the lower part of
the shoulder-blade, and to give the latter a more
upright position.

At q is the tendon of a very important muscle,
the extensor longus of the arm, reaching from the
upper angle and the posterior border of the
shoulder-blade to the point of the elbow and the
inside of the arm, and which will be presently
described. At r and s are the three divisions
of another muscle concerned in the same office,
arising from the shoulder-blade and the lower
bone of the shoulder, and likewise attached to
the point of the elbow by a very strong tendon.

This cut represents the muscles on the inside
of the shoulder and fore-arm. ais a very pro-
minent one. It is called the pectoralis trans-
versus (the muscle crossing the breast). It
arises from the first four bones of the sternum, and runs across to the inner

 
332 THE HUMERUS, OR LOWER BONE OF THE SHOULDER.

part of the arm; it is also attached to the inferior part of the body of the
humerus, and to the fascia covering the arm, and reaching a considerable
way down the arm. The use of this muscle is obvious and important. It
binds the arm to the side of the horse; it keeps the legs straight before the
horse when he is at speed, that the weight of the body may be received on them
in a direction most easy and safe to the horse and to the rider, and most advan-
tageous for the full play of all the muscles concerned in progression. Con
sidering the unevenness of surface over which a horse often passes, and the rapid
turnings which are sometimes necessary, these muscles have enough to do; and
when the animal is pushed beyond his strength, and these muscles are
wearied, and the fore-legs spread out, and the horse is “‘ all abroad,” the con-
fused and unpleasant manner of going, and the sudden falling-off in speed, are
well known to every rider. Mr. Percivall very properly observes, that this
muscle has probably more to do in enabling the arm to support weight than to
give it motion.

THE HUMERUS, OR LOWER BONE OF THE SHOULDER.

Forming a joint with the shoulder-blade at the point of the shoulder is the
humerus. It is a short strong bone, slanting backward in an opposite direction
to the shoulder-blade. At the upper part it has a large round head, received
into the shallow cavity of the shoulder-blade, or, as Mr. Percivall has graphically
described it, ‘‘it is the segment of a globe, smooth and polished, evidently for
the purpose of playing like a spherical hinge within the cup-like concavity
occupying the place of the apex of the scapula. There are no two bones in the
skeleton whose articular connexion is of a nature to admit more varied and
extensive motion than exists between the scapula and the humerus. If we
attempt to lift a horse’s fore-leg, we cannot merely bring it forward and carry
it backward, but we can also to a considerable extent make it perform a sort of
rotatory motion, in consequence of the mobility existing in this joint between
the socket of the scapula and the head of the humerus*.” It has several protu-
berances for the insertion of muscles, and is terminated below by two condyles
or heads, which in front receive the principal bone of the arm between them as
in a groove, thus adding to the security and strength of the joint, and limiting
the action of this joint and of the limb below to mere bending and extension,
without any side motion. Farther behind, these heads receive the elbow deep
between them, in order to give more extensive action to the arm. Ina well-
formed horse this bone can scarcely be too short, in order that the fore-legs may
be as forward as possible, for reasons already stated, and because, when the lower
bone of the shoulder is long, the shoulder must be too upright. Dislocation
can scarcely occur in either of the attachments of the bone, and fracture of it
is almost impossible. The lower bone of the shoulder and the shoulder-blade
are by horsemen confounded together, and included under the appellation of
the shoulder, and in compliance with general usage we have described them as
combining to form the shoulder.

Among the muscles arising from the humerus are two short and very strong
ones, seen at 7 and s, page 330, the first proceeding from the upper part of this
bone to the elbow, and tho second from the internal part, and likewise going to
the elbow, and both of them being powerful agents in extending the leg.

In front, at y, is one of the muscles of the humerus, the external one employed
in bending the arm, arising from the inner and back part of the neck and body
of the humerus, turning obliquely round that bone, and inserted into the inner
and upper part of the bone of the arm.

* Veterinarian, vol. xv. p. 307.
333

THE ARM.

The arm extending from the elbow to the knee (see K and L, p. 108 and also
cut, p. 830), consists, in the young horse, of two distinct bones. The long and
front bone, called the radius, is nearly straight, receiving into its upper end the
lower heads of the humerus; and the lower end corresponding with the upper
layer of the bones of the knee. The short and hinder bone is called the udna.
It has a very long and powerful projection, received between the heads of the
humerus, and called the elbow ; it then stretches down, narrowing by degrees
(see L, p. 108, and the cut, p. 330) to below the middle of the front bone, where
it terminates in a point. The two bones are united together by cartilage and
ligament ; but these are by degrees absorbed and changed to bone, and before
the horse becomes old the whole of the arm consists of one bone only.

It will be perceived that, from the slanting direction of the humerus, the
weight of the horse, and the violence of the concussion, will be shared between
the radius and the udna, and therefore less liable to injure either. The circum-
stance, also, of so much weight and jar being communicated to them, will
account for the extensive and peculiarly strong union between these bones in
the young horse ; the speedy inflammation of the uniting substance and absorp-
tion of it, and the substitution of bone, and complete bony union between the
radius and ulna, inthe old horse. The immense muscles that are attached to the
point of the elbow likewise render it necessary that the union between these
bones should be very strong.

The arm is a most important part of the horse, as will be seen when we de-
scribe the muscles that belong to it. The muscles q, 7, and s, proceeding from
the shoulder-blade and the humerus, and inserted into the elbow, have been
already spoken of. They are the grand agents in extending the arm; and in
proportion to the power which they exert, will be the quickness and the length
of the stride. The strength of the horse, so far as his fore-limbs are concerned,
principally resides here. Then there will naturally be a large and muscular
arm, and such a formation of the limb, and particularly of the elbow, as will
enable these muscles to act with most advantage.

The principle of the lever (referred to at p. 328) is here beautifully applic-
able. The elbow-joint is the centre of motion ; the whole of the lower part of
the leg is the weight to be raised ; and the power by which it is to be raised in
one act of progression, the extending of the limb, is the muscles inserted into
the elbow. In proportion as the weight is more distant than the power from
the centre of motion, as it is in the construction of this limb, so will be the
greater degree of energy requisite to be exerted. Supposing that the weight,
taking the knee to be the centre of it, is eighteen inches from the elbow-joint—
that the limb weighs 60lbs., and that the elbow projects two inches from the
joint—then an energy equal to nine times the weight, or 540 Ibs., will be needed
to move and extend the limb, because the weight is nine times farther from the
centre of motion than the power is. If in another horse the point of the elbow
projects three inches from the joint, the weight of the leg remaining the same,
only six times the force, or 8601bs., will be required, making a difference in,
or saving of, muscular action, equal to 180 lbs. in each extension of the arm
Ifa few pounds in the weight of the rider tell so much for or against the
horse in a long race, this saving of power must make an almost incalculable dif-
ference ; and, therefore, judges of the horse rightly attach so much importance to
the depth of the elbow, or the projection of the point of the elbow from the joint.

When describing the proper obliquity of the shoulder, it was stated that the
power was exerted with most advantage in a line perpendicular to the arm of
the lever, and that the slightest deviation from that line was manifestly disad-
vantageous, If the reader will examine the cut, he will perceive that muscles
334 THE ARM.

from the shoulder and the bone of the arm take a direction much nearer to a
perpendicular line in the long than in the short elbow, and therefore act with
proportionably greater advantage ; and if this advantage from the direction in
which the power is applied to that which we gain from the increased length of
the bone is considered, it will be plain that the addition of one-third to the
length or projection of the elbow would be attended by a saving of one-half in
the expenditure of muscular power. There is, however, a limit to this. In
proportion as the elbow is lengthened, it must move over a greater space in order
to give the requisite extension to the limb ; and consequently the muscles which
act upon it must be lengthened, otherwise, although the action might be easy
it would be confined. There must be harmony of proportion in the different
parts of the limb, but a deep elbow, within a certain range, is always connected
with increased power of action.

The elbow is sometimes fractured. Ifthe animal is placed in the hands ofa
skilful veterinarian, although the chances of cure are certainly against the horse,
yet the owner needs not to despair. The treatment of fracture of the elbow-
joint will be considered in its proper place.

Enlargements sometimes appear about the elbow, either the consequence of
a violent blow, or from the calkins of the shoes injuring this part when the
horse sleeps with his legs doubled under him. If a seton is passed through the
tumour, it will sometimes rapidly diminish, and even disappear; but if it is of
considerable magnitude, the skin should be opened along the middle of the
swelling, and the tumour dissected out.

The elbow-joint is sometimes punctured, either accidentally, or through the
brutality of the groom or carter. The swelling is often rapid and extensive,
and fatal inflammation may ensue. Rest, and the closure of the wound, are the
most important considerations.

There are other muscles of the fore-arm employed in extending the limb.
At a, page 330, is the principal one, called the extensor metacarpi. It is
attached superiorly to the outer and fore parts of the external condyle of the
humerus, and also to the capsular ligament, and inferiorly to the antero-superior
part of the great metacarpal bone. Its superior attachments are principally
fleshy, with a few tendinous fibres interposed. These diminish towards the
centre, but a little lower down is a tendon, round at its origin, but gradually
growing flat and expanding in breadth towards its termination. Its office is to
extend the leg.

The next muscle in situation and importance is seen at w, and called the
extensor pedis. It rises from the fore part of the external condyle of the
humerus, and pursues its course down the leg, and expanding after it has passed
the fetlock, it serves the purpose of a capsular ligament, covering and adhering
to the pastern joints. Its office is to extend the foot and pasterns, and, at the
same time, to assist in the extension of the knee. ‘

At u, page 380, is the tendon of another extensor muscle, and at 2 a. curious
oblique one, passing over the tendon of a, confining it in its situation, and like-
wise itself assisting in extending or straightening the leg.

The muscles employed in bending the leg are both numerous and powerful.
Two of the superficial ones are given in the cut, page 331. The first is at t
page 330; it is also scen at b, page 380. It is called the flexor medius meta-
carpi, because its office is to bend the leg. The other is seen at v, page 380.
It is called the flexor metacarpi externus, and is also designed to flex the leg.

The internal flexor is seen at ¢. Its office is also to bend the leg.

A portion of one of the most powerful of the flexor muscles, and powerful
indeed they must be, is delineated at c, p. 830. Itis the flexor brachii. It
rises from the extremity of the ridge of the shoulder-blade in the form of a
large and round tendon, which runs between two prominenees in the upper
THE ARM, 335

part of the front of the lower bone of the shoulder, and in as perfect a groove
or pulley as art ever contrived. This groove is lined with smooth cartilage >
and between it and the tendon there is a secretion of oily fluid, so that the
tendon may play freely in the pulley without friction. Having escaped from
this pulley, and passed the head of the lower bone of the shoulder, the cord
swells out into a round fleshy body, still containing many tendinous fibres.
Deeply seated, it contributes materially to the bulk of the front of the arm, and
is inserted into the head and neck of the bone of the arm, and likewise into the
capsular ligament of the elbow joint. It is the muscle by which, almost alone,
the whole of the leg below the arm is bent, and carried forward and upward.

It acts at great disadvantage. It is inserted into the very head of the bone
of the arm, and expanded even upon the joint. Then the power is applied
almost close to the centre of motion, while the weight to be raised is far distant
from it. The power is thirty times nearer the centre of motion than is the
weight; and, calculating, as before, the weight of the arm and the rest of the
limb at 60 Ibs., it must act with a force of thirty times sixty, or 1800lbs. In
addition to this, the line of the direction of the force strangely deviates from a
perpendicular. The direction of the muscle is nearly the same as that of the
limb, and the mechanical disadvantage is almost incalculably great. If it is
calculated at only ten times more, this muscle, and its feeble coadjutors, act
with a force of ten times 1800 or 18,000 Ibs.

Why this almost incredible expenditure of muscular power? That the
beauty of the limb might be preserved, and the joint be compact. If the
tendon had been inserted half-way down the arm, the elbow-joint would have
offered a very unsightly appearance.

Beauty of form, however, is the least result of this conformation. Extensive
and rapid motion are among the excellences of the horse. He is valuable in pro-
portion as he has them combined with stoutness ; and by this conformation of the
limb could he alone obtain them, Therefore the tendon is at first unusually
strong ; it plays through the natural but perfect pulley of the bone of the arm
without friction; the body of the muscle is mixed with tendinous fibres, and
the insertion into the fore-arm is very extensive, lest the application of such
immense force should tear it from its adhesions. There is sufficient strength in
the apparatus; the power may be safely applied at this mechanical disadvan-
tage ; and it is applied close to the joint to give an extent and rapidity of motion
which could nct otherwise have been obtained, and without which the horse
would have been comparatively useless.

At the back of the arm are other flexor muscles of great power, to bend the
lower portions of the limb. Two of them have been described belonging to the
arm and the leg, and some very peculiar ones acting on the feet must not be
omitted. Only a small portion of one of them can be seen in our cut, p. 330, at 1.

The first is the flewor pedis perforatus. It is deeply seated in the posterior
part of the arm, where, with the perforans, it forms a thick fleshy mass, the
tendons issuing from which are adapted to the convexity and concavity of each
other. As it descends along the bone of the arm, it becomes tendinous; and,
approaching the knee, it is bound down by arches or bands of ligament, that it
may not start in sudden and violent action. Proceeding from the knee, it
widens, and partly wraps round the tendon of the perforating muscle, and they
run down together in contact, yet not adhering ; freely playing over each other,
and a mucous fluid obviating all friction. Both of them are inclosed in a sheath
of dense cellular substance, attached to them by numerous fibrils; and they are
likewise supported by various ligamentous expansions.

Near the fetlock the tendon still further expands, and forms a complete ring
round the tendon of the perforating muscle. This is seen at J, p. 158, The
use of this will be best explained when the fetlock is treated of.
336 THE KNEE.

The perforated tendon soon afterwards divides, and is inserted into the smaller
and larger pastern bones, and serves to flex or bend the fetlock and joints, as
it had previously assisted in the flexion of the knee.

The flexor perforans muscle has nearly the same origin as the perforatus ;
but it continues muscular farther down the arm than it, and lies before it. At
the knee its tendon passes, like the perforatus, under strong ligamentary arches,
which confine it in its situation. It then becomes round, and is partly enveloped
in the perforatus, and at the fetlock is entirely surrounded by it. It emerges
from the perforatus when that tendon divides, and continues its progress alone
after the other has inserted itself into the pasterns, and, passing over the navi-
cular bone, is broadly implanted into the posterior cavity of the foot.

It is sufficiently plain that the arm should be large and muscular, otherwise
it could not discharge all these duties. Horsemen differ on a variety of other
points, but here they are agreed. A full and swelling fore-arm is the charac-
teristic of every thorough-bred horse. Whatever other good points the animal
may possess, if the arm is narrow in front and near the shoulder, flat on the
side, and altogether deficient in muscular appearance, that horse is radically
defective. He can neither raise his knee for rapid action, nor throw his legs
sufficiently forward.

The arm should likewise be long. In proportion to the length of the muscle
is the degree of contraction of which it is capable; and in proportion also to the
degree of contraction will be the extent of motion in the limb beneath. A racer,
with a short arm, would be sadly deficient in stride; a hunter, with the same
defect, would not be able to double his legs well under him in the leap. There
is, however, a medium in this, and the advantage of length in the arm will
depend on the use to which the horse is applied. The lady’s horse, the cavalry
horse, every horse in which prancing action is esteemed a beauty, and in which
utility is, to a certain degree, sacrificed to appearance, must not be too long in
the arm. If he is long there, he will be proportionably short in the leg; and
although this is an undoubted excellence, whether speed or continuance is
regarded, the short leg will not give the grand and imposing action which
fashion may require, In addition to this, a horse with short legs may not have quite
so easy action as another whose length is in the shank rather than in the arm.

THE KNEE,

The Knee (M, p. 108, and cut, p. 827), answering to the human wrist, consti-
tutes the joint or joints between the arm and the shank or leg ; and is far more
complicated than any joint that has been yet considered. Beside the lower
heads of the bone of the arm, and the upper heads of the three bones of the
leg, there are no less than six other bones interposed, arranged in two rows,
three in each row, and the seventh placed behind.

What was the intention of this complicated structure? A joint between the
elbow and the fetlock was absolutely necessary to the action of the horse. An
inflexible pillar of that length could scarcely have been lifted from the ground,
much less far enough for rapid or safe motion. It was likewise necessary, that
the interposing joint should be so constituted as to preserve this part of the
limb in a straight direction, and possess sufficient strength to resist all common
work and accidents. Being in a straight direction, the shock or jar between the
ends of the bones of the arm and the leg would be dreadful, and would speedily
inflict irreparable injury. The heads of all bones are covered with elastic car-
tilage, in order to protect ther from injury by concussion; but this would be
altogether insufficient here. Six distinct bones are therefore placed here, each
covered above and below by a thick coating of cartilage, connected together
by strong ligaments, but separated by interposed fluids and membranes. ‘The
BROKEN KNEES. 337

concussion is thus spread over the whole of them—sharea py the whole of
them ; and, by the peculiarity of their connexion, rendered harmless,

These six distinct bones, united to each other by numerous and powerful
ligaments, will also afford a far stronger joint than the apposition of any two
bones, however perfect and strong might be the capsular ligament, or by what-
ever other ligaments it might be strengthened. In addition to the connexion
between the individual bones, there is a perfect capsular ligament here, extend-
ing from the bone of the arm to those of the leg; and the result of the whole is,
that the hardest work and the severest accidents produce little deformity, and
no dislocation in the knee: nor do the shocks and jars of many a year cause
inflammation or disease. It is an undeniable fact, that such is the perfect
construction of this joint, and to so great a degree does it lessen concussion,
that the injuries resulting from hard work are, almost without an exception,
found below the knee, which seems to escape the injuries of the hock. There is
a remarkable difference in the effects of work on the knee and the hock. The
knee is subject to enormous concussion in its strict sense. The hock to a some-
what different work. The knee altogether escapes bony enlargements and in-
flammations of the ligaments, like spavins ; and, what is more remarkable, it also-
escapes the damages to which the anterior fetlock is liable from precisely the
same concussion as the knee.

The seventh bone, the trapezium, so called from its quadrangular figure, is
placed (see M, p. 108) behind the others, and does not bear the slightest portion
of the weight. It, however, is exceedingly useful. Two of the flexor muscles,
already described, proceed from the bone of the arm, and are inserted into it; and
being thus thrown off the limb, have a less oblique direction given to them, and,
therefore, according to the principle of the lever, act with considerably more
power. It is also useful in another way. As the tendons of the various mus-
cles descend the limbs, they are tied down, as we have described, by strong
ligamentous bands: this is particularly the case in the neighbourhood of the
joints. The use of it is evident. The extensor tendons, which lie princi-
pally on the front of the leg, are prevented from starting and strengthened and
assisted in their action; but the flexor tendons which are at the back would
be liable to friction, and their motion impeded, if they were bound down
too tightly. This projecting bone prevents the annular or ring-like ligament
from pressing too closely on the main flexor tendons of the foot ; and, while it
leaves them room to play, leaves room likewise for a little bag filled with mucus
to surround them, which mucus oozing slowly out, supplies the course of the
tendons with a fluid that prevents much injurious friction.

The knee should be broad. It should present’a very considerable width, com-
pared with the arm above, or the shank below. Jn proportion to the breadth of
the knee is the space for the attachment of muscles, and for the accumulation of
ligamentous expansions and bands. In proportion to the breadth of the knee
there will be more strength; and likewise the direction of some muscles will
be less oblique, and the course of others will be more removed from the centre
of motion, in either of which cases much power will be gained.

BROKEN KNEES,

The treatment of broken knees is a subject of considerable importance, for
many horses are sadly blemished, and others are destroyed, by wounds in the
knee-joint. The horse, when falling, naturally throws his knees forward ;
they receive all his weight and are sometimes very extensively lacerated. The
first thing to be done is, by very careful washing with warm water, to cleanse
the wound from all gravel and dirt. It must then be ascertained whether the
joint is penetrated. The grating of the probe on one of the bones of the knee,

z
338 BROKEN KNEES.

or the depth to which the probe enters the wound, will too plainly indicate that
the joint has been opened. Should any doubt exist, a linseed-meal poultice
must be applied. This will at least act asa fomentation to the wound, and
will prevent or abate inflammation ; and when, twelve hours afterwards, it is
taken off, the synovia, or joint-oil, in the form of a glairy, yellowish, trans-
parent fluid, will be seen, if the capsular ligament has been penetrated. Should
doubt remain after the first poultice, a second ought to be applied.

It having been ascertained that the interior of the joint is not injured, atten-
tion must be paid to the wound that is actually made. The horse should wear
a cradle to prevent his getting at the wound. A stimulating application—the
common black-oil of the farrier is as good as any—should be lightly applied
every day until healthy pus is produced on the wound, and then a little friar’s
balsam will probably effect a cure.

The opening of the joint, however, being ascertained, the first and immediate

care is to close the orifice; for the fluid which separated and lubricated the
bones of the knee being suffered to escape, they will be brought into contact
with and will rub upon each other; the delicate membrane with which they
are covered will be highly inflamed ; the constitution will be speedily affected,
and a degree of fever will ensue that will destroy the horse : while, in the mean
time, of all the tortures that can be inflicted on the poor animal, none
can equal that which accompanies inflammation of the membranes lining the
joints.
The manner of closing the orifice must be left to the judgment of the veteri-
nary surgeon, who alone is capable of properly treating such acase. It may
be effected by a compress enclosing the whole of the wound, and not to be
removed for many days; or it may beattempted by the old and generally suc-
cessful method of applying the hot iron over the wound, and particularly over
the spot where the ligament appears to be lacerated. A poultice may then be
placed on the part, and the case treated as a common wound. The surgeon will
find no difficulty in determining whether the sharp edge of the commnn firing-iron
should be used—as would be the case if the laceration is considerable, or whe-
ther the budding-iron should be resorted to. After the use of the cautery, the
application of a blister may, in some cases, be serviceable. Should the joint-
oil continue to flow, the iron may be applied a second, or even a third time. By
its application, so much swelling is produced on the immediate puncture, and
in the neighbouring parts, as mechanically to close and plug up the orifice.

If, however, the opening into the joint is extensive, and the joint-oil conti-
nues to flow, and the horse is evidently suffering much pain, humanity will
dictate that he should be destroyed. The case is hopeless. A high degree of
fever will ere long carry him off, or the inflammation will cause a deposit of
matter in the cavity of the joint that will produce incurable lameness.

The pain caused by the iron is doubtless great; it is, however, necessary :
but let no reader of “‘The Horse” permit the torturing experiments of the
farrier to be tried, who will frequently inject stimulating fluids, and even oil of
vitriol, into one of the most sensible and irritable cavities in the whole frame.

A person well acquainted with the anatomy of the part will judge of the
probability of a favourable result, not merely by the extent, but by the situation
of the wound. If it is low down, and opposite to the bottom row of the bones
of the knee, a small opening into the joint will be easily closed. A larger one
needs not to cause despair, because there is little motion between the lower row
and the bones of the leg. If it is high up, there is more danger, because there is
more motion. If it is situated opposite to the union of the two rows, the result
is most to be dreaded, because between these is the principal motion of the joint,
and that motion will not only disunite and irritate the external wound, but
THE LEG. 339

cause dreadful frielion between the bones brought into actual contact with each
other, through the loss of the joint-oil.

Among the various methods of treating opened knee-joint, where the lesion
is very considerable, is one introduced by Mr. Turner, of Croydon, which must
not be passed over in silence. The wound having been cleansed, a paste is pre-
pared composed of wheaten flour and table-beer, which are stirred together and
boiled for five minutes, or until they become of the consistence commonly used
by paper-hangers, This is spread on the wound, and round the joint, and four
inches above and below it. Pledgets of tow are passed over this and confined in
their places by means of a stocking, and over the whole is another layer, and
another stocking or bandage. This is not removed until the joint has closed, and
the synovia ceases to flow. On the second or third day the bandage will become
dry and hard, and cause considerable pain. It must not be meddled with before
or behind, but four longitudinal incisions may be made through the bandages on
each side, which will sufficiently liberate the joiat and remove the pain*.

When the knee has been much lacerated, although the wound may be healed,
some blemish will remain. The extent of this blemish will depend on that
of the original wound, and more especially on the nature of the treat-
ment that has been adopted. Every caustic application will destroy a portion
of the skin, and leave a certain mark. Should the blemish be considerable, a
mild blister may be applied over the part, after the wound has healed. It will
stimulate the hair to grow more rapidly and thickly round the scar, and parti-
cularly hair of the natural colour; and, by contracting the skin, it will lessen
the scar itself. Many persons have great faith in ointments that are said to pro-
mote the growth of the hair. If they have this property, it must be from their
stimulating the skin in which the roots of the hair are imbedded. These
ointments usually contain a small portion of blistering matter, in the form
of turpentine, or the Spanish-fly. The common application of gunpowder and
lard may, by blackening the part, conceal the blemish, but can have no possible
effect in quickening the growth of the hair.

In examining a horse for purchase, the knees should be very strictly scrutin-
ised. A small blemish on them should not induce us at once to condemn the
animal, for a bad rider, for the merest accident may throw the safest horse. A
broken knee, however, is a suspicious circumstance, and calls for the most careful
observation of the make and action of the horse. If it is accompanied by a thick
and upright shoulder, and legs far under the horse, and low slovenly action, he is
unwise who does not take the hint. This faulty conformation has produced its
natural consequence. But if the shoulder is oblique, and the pastern of the proper
length and inclination, and the fore-arm strong, the good judge will not reject
the animal because he may have been accidentally thrown.

THE LEG.

The part of the limb between the knee and the fetlock consists of threo
bones—a large one before, called the cannon or shank, and two smaller or splint
bones behind (see N, p. 108). The shank-bone is rounded in front, and flattened,
or even concave, behind. It is the straightest of the long bones, as well as the
most superficially situated, for in some parts it is covered only by the skin.
The upper head is flat, with slight depressions corresponding with the lower
row of the bones of the knee. The lower head is differently and curiously
formed. It resembles a double pulley. There are three elevations; the prin-
cipal one in the centre, and another on each side. Between them are two slight
grooves, and these so precisely correspond with deep depressions and slight pro-
minences in the upper head of the larger pastern, and are so enclosed and

* A full account of this interesting operation may be found in the Veterinarian for 1829.
. 22
340 SPLINT.

guarded by the elevated edges of that bone, that when the shank-bone and the
pastern are fitted to each other, they form a perfect hinge. They admit of the
bending and extension of the limb, but of no lateral or side motion. This is a
circumstance of very great importance in a joint so situated, and having the
whole weight of the horse thrown upon it.

The smaller bones are placed behind the larger ones on either side. A slight
projection of the head of each can alone be seen in front. The heads of these
bones are enlarged, and receive part of the weight conveyed by the lower row
of the bones of the knee. They are united to the larger bone by the same
kind of substance which is found in the colt between the bone of the elbow and
the main bone of the arm; and which is designed, by its great elasticity, to
lessen the concussion or jar when the weight of the animal is thrown on them.
They reach from one-half to two-thirds of the length of the shank-bone, and,
through their whole extent, are united to it by this substance ; but, as in the
clbow, from the animal being worked too soon, or too violently, inflammation
ensues—bony matter is deposited in the room of the ligamentous, and a bony
union takes place instead of the natural one. There is no doubt that the ease
of motion is somewhat lessened by this substitution of bone, but other elastic
principles are probably called into more powerful action, and the value of the
horse is not perceptibly impaired, although it is hard to say what secret injury
may be done to the neighbouring joints, and the cause of which, the lameness
not appearing until a distant period, is not suspected.

In this process, however, mischief does often immediately extend to the
neighbouring parts, The disposition to deposit bone reaches beyond the cir-
cumscribed space between the larger and smaller bones of the leg, and a
tumour, first callous, and afterwards bony, is found, with part of its base rest-
ing on the line of union between these bones. This is called a

SPLINT.

The splint is invariably found on the outside of the small bones and generally
on the inside of the leg (c, p. 851). Why it should appear on the outside of
the small bones it is difficult to explain, except that the space between these
bones is occupied by an important mechanism, which will be presently de-
scribed ; and, asin the case of abscess, a natural tendency was given to them
to determine outward, that vital parts might not be injured. The cause of
their almost exclusive appearance on the inside of the leg admits of easier
explanation. The inner splint-bone is placed nearer the centre of the
weight of the body than the other, and, from the nature of its connexion with the
bones of the knee, actually receives more of the weight than does the outer bone,
and therefore is more liable to injury, and inflammation, and this consequent
deposit of bony matter. The inner bone receives the whole of the weight trans-
mitted to the small bone of the knee. It is the only support of that bone. A
portion only of one of the bones rests on the outer splint bone, and the weight is
shared between it and the shank. In addition to this, there is the absurd practice
of many smiths of raising the outer heel of the shoe to an extravagant degree,
which throws still more of the weight of the horse on the inner splint-bone. Bony
tumours occasionally appear on other parts of the shank-bone, being the conse-
quence of violent blows or other external injuries,and are commonly called splints.

When the splint of either sort is forming, the horse is frequently lame, for tho
periosteum or membrane covering the bone is painfully stretched ; but when this
membrane has accornmodated itself to the tumour that extended it, the lameness
subsides, and altogether disappears, unless the splint be in a situation in which it
interferes with the action of some tendon or ligament, or in the immediate neigh-
bourhcod of'a joint. Pressing upon a ligament or tendon, it may cause inflamma-
SPLINT. 341

tion of those substances ; or, being close to a joint, it may interfere with its action.
Splints, then, do not necessarily cause unsoundness, and may not lessen in the
slightest degree the action or value of the horse. All depends on their situation,

The treatment of splints, if it is worth while to meddle with them, is ex-
ceedingly simple. The hair should be closcly shaved off round the tumour; a
little strong mercurial ointment rubbed in for two days; and this followed by
an active blister. If the splint is of recent formation, it will generally yield
to this, or to a second blister, Should it however resist these applications,
it can rarely be advisable to cauterize the part, unless the tumour materially
interferes with the action of the suspensory ligament, or the flexor tendon ; for
it not unfrequently happens, that, although the splint may have apparently
resisted this treatment, it will afterwards, and at no great distance of time, begin
rapidly to lessen, and quite disappear. There is also a natural process by
which the greatcr part of splints disappear when the horse grows old.

The hydriodate of potash made into an ointment with lard, and a small
quantity of mercurial ointment being added, will frequently cause the disap-
pearance of'a splint of either sort.

As for the old remedies, many of them brutal enough,—bruising the splint
with a hammer, boring it with a gimlet, chipping it off with a mallet, sawing it
off, slitting down the skin and periosteum over it, sweating it down with hot oils,
and passing setons over it—the voice of humanity, and the progress of science,
will consign them to speedy oblivion. :

Professor Sewell has introduced a new treatment of splints, which is certainly
ingenious, and generally successful. He removes any inflammation about
the part by the use of poultices or fomentations, and then, the horse being cast,
the operation is commenced by pinching up the skin, immediately above the
bony enlargement, with the finger and thumb of the left hand, and with the
knife, or lancet, or scissors, making an orifice sufficient to introduce a probe-
pointed bistoury, with the edge on the convex side. This is passed under the skin
along the whole length of the ossification beneath, cutting through the thickened
periosteum down to the bone ; and this being effectually completed by drawing
the knife backwards aud forwards several times, a small tape or seton is inserted.
and if the tumour is of long standing, kept in during a few days. The opera-
tion is attended with very slight pain to the animal. Perhaps slight inflam.
mation may appear, which subsides in a few days if fomentation is used. The
inflammation being removed, the enlargement considerably subsides, and ir
many cases becomes quite absorbed*.

The inside of the leg, immediately under the knee, and extending to the heac
of the inner splint bone, is subject to injury from what is termed the speedy cut.
A horse with high action, and in the fast trot, violently strikes this part, either
with his hoof or the edge of the shoe. Sometimes bony enlargement is the
result, at others great heat and tenderness; and the pain from the blow seems
occasionally to be so great that the horse drops as if he were shot. The only
remedy is to take care that no part of the shoe projects beyond the foot ; and to
let the inner side of the shoe—except the country is very deep, or the horse used
for hunting—have but one nail, and that near the toe. This part of the hoof,
being unfettered with nails, will expand when it comes in contact with the
ground, and contract when in air and relieved from the pressure of the weight
of the body ; and, although this contraction is to no great extent, it will be suf-
ficient to carry the foot harmlessly by the leg. Care should likewise be taken
that the shoe is of.equal thickness at the heel and the toe, and that the bearing
is equal on both sides.

 

* Vide Veterinarian, vol. viii. p. 504.
342 SPRAIN OF THE BACK-SINEWS.

_ Immediately under the knee is one of those ligamentous rings by which the
tendons are so usefully bound down and secured ; but if the hinder bone of the
knee, the érapezium, described at p. 338, is not sufficiently prominent, this ring
will confine the flexor tendons of the foot too tightly, and the leg will be very
deficient in depth under the knee. This is called being tied in below the knee
(®, p. 851). Every horseman recognises it as a most serious defect. It is
scarcely compatible with speed, and most assuredly not with continuance. Such
a horse cannot be ridden far and fast without serious sprain of the back sinews.
The reason is plain. The preasure of the ring will produce a degree of friction
inconsistent with the free action of the tendons; more force must, therefore, be
exerted in every act of progression; and, although the muscles are powerful,
and sufficiently so for every ordinary purpose, the repetition of this extra exer-
tion will tire and strain them.

Amore serious evil, however, remains to be stated. When the back sinews,
or tendons, are thus tied down, they are placed in a more oblique direction,
and in which the power of the muscles is exerted with greater disadvantage. A
greater degree of exertion is required, and fatigue and sprain will not unfre-
quently result. There are few more serious defects than this tying-in of the
tendons immediately below the knee. The fore-leg may be narrow in front,
but it must be deep at the side, in order to render the horse valuable; for then
only will the tendons have free action, and the muscular force be exerted in the
most advantageous direction. There are few good race-horses whose legs are not
deep below the knee. If there are exceptions, it is because their exertion,
although violent, is but of short continuance. The race is decided in a few
minutes and, during that short period, the spirit and energy of the animal
may successfully struggle with the disadvantages of form: but where great and
long-continued exertion is required, as in the hunter or the hackney, no strength
can long contend with a palpably disadvantageous misapplication of muscular
power.

As they descend the back part of the leg, the tendons of the perforated and
perforating flexor muscles should be far and distinctly apart from the shank~bone.
There should be space free from thickening for the finger and thumb on either
side to be introduced between them and the bone, and that extending from the
knee to the fetlock. In a perfect leg, and towards its lower part, there should
be three distinct and perfect, projections visible to the eye, as well as perceptible
by the finger—the sides of the shank-bone being the most forward of the three;
next, the suspensory ligament ; and, hindermost of all, the flexor tendons. When
these are not to be distinctly seen or felt, or there is considerable thickening
about them and between them (d, p. 351), and the leg is round instead of flat
and deep, there has been what is commonly, but improperly, called

SPRAIN OF THE BACK-SINEWS,

These tendons are enclosed in a sheath of dense cellular substance, in order to
confine them in their situation, and to defend them from injury. Between the
tendon and the sheath there is a mucous fluid to prevent friction ; but when the
horse has been over-worked, or put to sudden and violent exertion, the tendon
presses upon the delicate membrane lining the sheath, and inflammation is pro-
duced. A different fluid is then thrown out, which coagulates, and adhesions are
formed between the tendon and the sheath, and the motion of the limb is more
difficult and painful. At other times, from violent or long-continued exertion,
some of the fibres which confine the tendonsare ruptured. <A slight injury of this
nature is called a sprain of the back-sinews or tendons; and, when it is more
serious, the horse is said to have broken down. It should be remembered, how-
ever, that the tendon can never be sprained, because it is inelastic and incapable
SPRAIN OF THE BACK-SINEWS. 343

of extension ; and the tendon, or its sheath, are scarcely ever ruptured, even in
what is called breaking down. The first injury is confined to inflammation of
the sheath, or rupture of a few of the attaching fibres. This inflammation,
however, is often very great, the pain intense, and the Jameness excessive. The
anguish expressed at every bending of the limb, and the local swelling and
heat, will clearly indicate the seat of injury.

In every serious affection of this kind, care should be taken that the local
inflammation does not produce general disturbance of the system ; and, there-
fore, the horse should be bled and physicked. The bleeding may be at the toe.
by which an important local, as well as general, effect will be produced. The
vessels of the heart will be relieved, while fever will be prevented. Let not the
bleeding be performed in the farrier’s usual way of first paring down the sole,
and then taking out a piece of it at the toe of the frog ; in which case a wound
is made often difficult to heal, and through which fungous granulations from the
sensible parts beneath will obstinately spring : but, after the sole has been well
thinned, let a groove be cut with the rounded head of a small drawing-knife, at
the junction of the sole and the crust (see 2 in the next cut, p. 345). The large
vein at the toe will thus be opened, or the groove may be widened backward
until it is found. When the blood begins to appear, the vein may be more
freely opened by a small lancet thrust horizontally under the sole, and almost
any quantity of blood may be easily procured. The immersion of the foot in
warm water will cause the’ blood to flow more rapidly. A sufficient quantity
having been withdrawn, a bit of tow should be placed in the groove, anda patten
shoe tacked on, by which the heels may be raised from the ground, and much
tension removed from the sinews. The bleeding will, thus, be immediately
stopped, gnd the wound will readily heal.

Asa local application, no hot farrier’s oil should come near the part, but the
leg should be well fomented with warm water two or three times in the day, and
half an hour at each time. Between the fomentations, the leg should be enclosed in
a poultice of linseed-meal. Any herb that pleases the owner may be added to
the fomentation, or vinegar or. Goulard’s extract to the poultice; for the bene-
ficial effect of both depends simply on the warmth of the water and the moisture
of the poultice, All stimulating applications will infallibly aggravate the mis-
chief.

The horse beginning to put his foot better to the ground, and to bear pressure
on the part, and the heat having disappeared, the object to be accomplished is
changed. Recurrence of the inflammation must be prevented, the enlargement
must be got rid of, and the parts must be strengthened. The two latter pur-
poses cannot be better effected than by using an elastic bandage—one of thin
flannel will be the best. This will sustain and support the limb, while by few
means are the absorbents sooner induced to take up the effused coagulable
matter of which the swelling is composed, than by moderate pressure. If the
bandage is kept wet with vinegar—to each pint of which a quarter of a pint of
spirit of wine has been added—the skin will be slightly stimulated and contracted,
and the cold produced by the constant evaporation will tend to subdue the
remaining and deep-seated inflammation. This bandage should be daily
tightened in proportion as the parts are capable of bearing increased pressure,
and the treatment should be persisted in for a fortnight. If, at the expiration
of that period, there is no swelling, tenderness, or heat, the horse may gradually,
and very cautiously, be put to his usual work.

Should there, however, remain the slightest lameness or considerable enlarge-
ment, the leg must be blistered, and, indeed, it would seldom be bad practice
to blister after every case of severe sprain; for the inflammation may lie deep
in the sheath of the tendons, and the part once sprained may long remain weak,
344 WIND-GALLS.

and subject to renewed injury, not only from unusual, but even ordinary exer-
tion. If a Blister is resorted to, time should be given for it to produce ite
gradual and fall effect, and the horse should be afterwards turned out for one
or two months. We must here be permitted to repeat that a blister should
never be used while any heat or tenderness remains about the part, otherwise
the slightest injury may be, and often is, converted into incurable lameness.

Very severe sprains, or, much oftener, sprains badly treated, may require the
application of the cautery. If from long-continued inflammation the structure
of the part is materially altered—if the swelling is becoming callous, or the skin
is thickened and prevents the free motion of the limb, no stimulus short of the
heated iron will be sufficient to rouse the absorbents to remove the injurious
deposit. The principal use of firing is to rouse the absorbents to such increased
action that they shall take up and remove the diseased thickness of the skin,
and likewise the unnatural deposit in the cellular substance beneath. The
firing should be applied in straight lines, because the skin, contracting by the
application of the cautery, and gradually regaining its elastic nature, will thus
form the best bandage over the weakened part. It should likewise be as deep
as it can be applied without penetrating the skin. Here, even more particularly
than in the blister, time should be given for the full action of the firing. This
removal of diseased matter is a work of slow progress. Many weeks pass away
before it is perfectly accomplished ; and, after firing, the horse should have at
least a six months’, and it would be better if he could be given a twelve months’
run at grass. When the animal has been set to work in a few weeks, and the
enlargement remains, or lameness returns, the fault is to be attributed to the
impatience of the owner, and not to the want of power in the operation or skill
in the operator. *

Farriers are apt to blister immediately after firing. A blister may be useful
six weeks or two months after firing, if lameness remains; but can never be
wanted immediately after the severe operation of the cautery. If the iron has
been skilfully applied, subsequent blistering inflicts on the animal, already suf-
ficiently tortured, much unnecessary and useless pain, and should never be
resorted to by him who possesses the slightest feeling of humanity.

In examining a horse for purchase, the closest attention should be paid to the
appearance of these flexor tendons. If there is any thickness of cellular sub-
stance around them, that horse has been sprained violently, or the sprain has
not been properly treated. This thickening will probably fetter the motion of
the tendon, and dispose the part to the recurrence of inflammation and lame-
ness. Such a horse, although at the time perfectly free from lameness, should be
regarded with suspicion, and cannot fairly be considered as sound. He is only
patched up for a while, and will probably fail at the close, of the first day’s hard
work,

WIND-GALLS,

In the neighbourhood of the fetlock there are occasionally found considerable
enlargements, oftener on the hind-leg than the fore-one, which are denominated
wind-galls (e, p. 851). Between the tendons and other parts, and wherever the
tendons are exposed to pressure or friction, and particularly about their ex-
tremities, little bags or sacs are placed, containing and suffering to ooze slowly
from them a mucous fluid to lubricate the parts. From undue pressure, and
that most frequently caused by violent action and straining of the tendons, or,
often, from some predisposition about the horse, these little sacs are injured.
They take on inflammation, and sometimes become large and indurated. There
are few horses perfectly free from them. When they first appear, and until the
inflammation subsides, they may be accompanied by some degree of lameness ;
THE PASTERNS, 345

but otherwise, except when they attain a great size, they do not interfere with
the action of the animal, or cause any considerable unsoundness. The farriers.
used to suppose that they contained wind—hence their name, wind-galls; and
hence the practice of opening them, by which dreadful inflammation was often
produced, and many a valuable horse destroyed. It is not uncommon for wind.
galls entirely to disappear in aged horses.
A slight wind-gall will scarcely be subjected to treatment; but if these tu-
mours are numerous and large, and seem to impede the motion of the limb,
hey may be attacked first by bandage. The roller should beof flannel, and soft
oads should be placed on each of the enlargements, and bound down tightly
upon them. The bandage should also be wetted with the lotion recommended fo1
sprain of the back-sinews. The wind-gall will often diminish or disappear by
this treatment, but will too frequently return when the horse is again hardly
worked, A blister is a more effectual, but too often temporary remedy. Wind-galls
will return with the renewal of work. Firing is still more certain, if the tu-
mours are sufficiently large and annoying to justify our having recourse to mea-
sures so severe ; for it will not only effect the immediate absorption of the fluid,
and the reduction of the swelling, but, by contracting the skin, will act as a
permanent bandage, and therefore prevent the reappearance of the tumour.
The iodine and mercurial ointments have occasionally been used with advantage
in the proportion of three parts of the former to two of the latter.

THE PASTERNS.

 

a The shank-bone.

& The upper and larger pastern- bone.

« The sessamoid-bone.

d The lower or smaller pastern-bone,

e Thé navicular or shuttle-bone.

f The coffia-bone, or bone of the foot. ;

g The suspensory ligament, inserted into the sessamoid-bone. :

h A continuation of the euspensory ligament, inserted into the smaller pastern-bono. :
i The small inelastic ligament, tying down the sessamoid bone to the larger pastern-vone.
& A long ligament reaching from the pastern-bone to the knee.
346 THE SUSPENSORY LIGAMENTS.

I The extensor tendon inserted into both the pasterns and the coffin-bone. ;

m The tendon of the perforating flexor inserted into the coffin-bone, after having passed
over the navicular bone.

n The seat of the navicular joint lameness,

o The inner or sensible frog.

p The cleft of the horny frog.

q Aligament uniting the navicular bone to the swaller pastern.

r A ligament uniting the navicular bone to the coffin-bone.

s The sensible sole, between the coffin-bone and the horny sole.

# The horny sole.

uw The crust or wall of the foot.

v The sensible laming to which the crust is attached.

ww The coronary ring of the crust.

aw The covering of the coronary ligament from which the crust is secreted.

2 Place of bleeding at the toe.

At the back of the shank just below the knee, and in the space between the
two splint-bones, is found an important ligament, admirably adapted to ob-
viate concussion. It originates from the head of the shank-bone, and also
from the heads of the splint-bones; then, descending down the leg, it fills
the groove between the splint-bones, but is not attached to either of them. A
little lower down it expands on either side, and, approaching the pasterns, bifus-
cates, and the branches are inserted into two little bones found at the back of the
upper pastern, one on each side, called the sessamoid bones. (See page 345,
and in this cut which represents the pastern and foot, sawn through the centre.)
The bones form a kind of joint both with the lower head of the shank-bone and
the upper pastern-bone, to both of which they are united by ligaments (4 and g),
but much more closely tied to the pastern than to the shank. The flexor tendons
pass down between them through a large mucous bag to relieve them from the
friction to which, in so confined a situation, they would be exposed. The sus-
pensory ligament is continued over the sessamoids, and afterwards obliquely
forward over the pastern to unite with the long extensor tendon, and downward
to the perforated tendon, which it surrounds and fixes in its place, and also to the
smaller pastern-bone.

It will be easy to perceive, from this description of the situation of the sus-
pensory ligament, why splints placed backward on the leg are more likely to
produce lameness than those which are found on the side of it. They may
interfere with the motion of this ligament, or, if they are large, may bruise.and
wound it.

The principal action of these ligaments is with the sessamoid bones, which they
seem to suspend in their places, and they are therefore called the suspensory
ligaments. The pasterns (see cut p. 345) are united to the shank in an oblique
direction, differing in degree in the different breeds of horses, and in each
adapted to the purpose for which that breed was designed. The weight falls
upon the pastern in the direction of the shank-bone, and the pastern being set
on obliquely, a portion of that weight must be communicated to the sessamoids.
Much concussion is saved by the yielding of the pasterns, in consequence of their
oblique direction ; and the concussion which would be produced by that portion
of weight which falls on the sessamoid bones is completely destroyed, for
there is no bone underneath to receive it. They are suspended by this liga-
ment—an elastic ligament, which gradually yields to, and is lengthened by, the
force impressed upon it, and in this gradual yielding and lengthening, materi-
ally lessening, or generally preventing, all painful or dangerous concussion.

If the ligament lengthens, the sessamoid bones must descend when the weight
is thrown on them, and it would appear that they do so. If the thorough-bred
horse with his long pasterns is carefully observed as he stands, the tuft at the
fetlock will be some inches from the turf; but when he is in rapid motion, and
the weight is thrown violently on this joint, the tuft descends and sweeps the very
THE SUSPENSORY LIGAMENTS. 347

ground. This, however, is from the combined action of the fetlock and pastern-
joints, and the sessamoid-bones. The sessamoids do not actually descend; but
they revolve, they partly turn over. The strong ligament by which they are
attached to the pastern-bone acts asa hinge, and the projecting part of the
bone to which the suspensory ligament is united, turns round with the pressure
of the weight ; so that part of the bone becomes lower. How is it raised again?
This ligament, strangely constructed as a ligament, is elastic. It yields to the
force impressed upon it and lengthens; but as soon as the foot is lifted from the
ground, and the weight no longer presses, and the force is removed, its elastic
power is exerted; and it regains its former dimensions, and the sessamoid-bone
springs back into its place, and by that forcible return assists in raising the
mb*,

It may be supposed that ligaments of this character, and discharging such
functions, will occasionally be subject to injury, and, principally to strains,
Mr. W._C. Spooner t gives a very satisfactory account of this. He says that
“¢ hunters and race-horses are considerably more liable to lesions of the suspen-
sory ligament than any other description of horses. The character of these
strains is very rarely so acute as that of the tendons, They generally come on
gradually with little inflammation or lameness. Occasionally the injury is
sudden and severe, but then it is rarely confined to these ligaments, for although
they may be principally involved, the neighbouring parts are generally impli-
cated. The usual symptoms are a slight enlargement and lameness at first, or
there may be the former without the latter. The enlargement is commonly
confined to the ligament below the place of bifurcation, and sometimes one
division alone is affected. With the exception of strains of the flexor sinews,
this unfits more animals for racing than any other cause—indeed horses are
rarely or never fit for the turf after the suspensory ligaments have been diseased,”
or for hunting.

The case being evidently a lesion of the suspensory ligament, nothing short
of firing will be of service.

The length and obliquity of the pastern vary in the different breeds of horses,
and on it depends the elastic action of the animal, and the easiness of his paces.
The pastern must be long in proportion to its obliquity, or the fetlock will be
too close to the ground, and, in rapid action, come violently into contact with
it. It is necessary that the fetlock should be elevated a certain distance from
the ground, and this may be effected either by a short and upright, or a long
and slanting pastern. In proportion as the pastern is oblique or slanting, two
consequences will follow, less weight will be thrown on the pastern, and more
on the sessamoid, and, in that proportion, concussion will be prevented.

Every advantage, however, has, to a certain extent, its corresponding disad-
vantage. In proportion to the obliquity or slanting of the pastern, will be
the stress on the fetlock-joint, and, therefore, the liability of that joint to in-
jury and strain ; and also the liability to sprain of the back-sinews from the
increased action and play of the flexor tendons ; and likewise to injuries of the
pastern-joints, for the ligaments will be weak in proportion to their length.

 

* Mr. Percivall very clearly describes
this: “ Furthermore, it seems to us that these
elastic parts assist in the elevation of the feet
from the ground in those paces in which they
are called into sudden and forcible action.
The suspensory ligament, by its reaction, in-
stantaneously after its extension, aids the
flexor muscles in bending the pastern-joints.
The astonishing activity and expedition dis-
played in the movements of the race-horse at

speed, seem to be referable, in part, to tho
promptitude with which the suspensory liga-
ment can act before the flexor muscles are
duly prepared; the latter, we should say
catch, as it were, and then direct the limb
first snatched from the ground by the powers
of elasticity.”’—Percivall’s Lectures on the
Veterinary Art, vol. i. p. 334.

+ Mr. W. C. Spooner on the Foot and Leg
of the Horse, p. 208.
348 THE FETLOCK.

The long and slanting pastern is advantageous in the race-horse, from the spring-
iness of action and greater extent of stride by which it is accompanied. A less
degree of it is given in the hunter who is to unite continuance of exertion with
ease of pace. For the hackney there should be sufficient obliquity to give
pleasantness of going, but not enough to endanger continuance and strength.
Experience among horses will alone point out the most advantageous direction
of the pastern, for the purpose required; but the slightest observation will show
the necesity of considerable variety in the structure of this part. Let the
reader imagine the heavy dray-horse with his short and upright pasterns con-
tending in the race; or the race-horse with his long and weak pasterns,
endeavouring to dig his toe into the ground in order to move some heavy weight.
The concussion which attends the common action of the cart-horse is little,
because his movements are slow, and therefore the upright and strong pastern
is given to him, which he can force into the ground, and on which he can throw
the whole of his immense weight. The oblique pastern is given to the race-
horse because that alone is compatible with extent of stride and great speed.
Except a horse for general purposes, and particularly for riding, is very hardly
used, a little too much obliquity is a far less evil than a pastern too upright.
While the jolting of the upright pastern is an insufferable nuisance to the rider,
it is injurious and most unsafe to the horse, and produces many diseases
in the feet and legs, and particularly ringbone, ossification of the cartilages,
and contracted feet.

Strains of the pastern joint are not so frequent, nor so severe as those of the
fetlock, but they are not uncommon, especially in horses with pasterns naturally
too upright. By careless observers they are not so readily detected as in the
fetlock joint, for the increased heat round the pastern joint may be overlooked.

The treatment will not differ materially from that of the fetlock joint.

LESIONS OF THE SUSPENSORY LIGAMENT.

The suspensory ligament is sometimes strained and even ruptured by extra-
ordinary exertion. The sessamoids, which in their natural state are suspended by
it, and from which function its name is derived, are in the latter case let down, and
the fetlock almost touches the ground. This is generally mistaken for rupture of
the flexor tendon ; but one circumstance will sufficiently demonstrate that it i
the suspensory ligament which is concerned, viz. that the horse is able to bena
his foot. Rupture of this ligament isa bad, and almost desperate case. The
horse is frequently lame for life, and never becomes perfectly sound. Keeping
him altogether quiet, bandaging the leg, and putting on a high-heeled shoe, will
afford the most probable means of relief.

The common injury to this ligament is sprain, indicated by lameness, and
swelling, and heat, more or less severe in proportion as the neighbouring
parts are involved. This will sometimes yield to rest and cooling treatment ; but
if the case is obstinate, it will be necessary to have recourse to the actual
cautery. The hunter and the race-horse are most subject to lesions of these
ligaments—the hunter from leaping the fence, and the race-horse from the violent
efforts which are occasionally demanded from him. In both eases, the neigh-
bouring parts usually share in the injury, and a cure is rarely completely effected.

The means of cure are the same as in lesions of other joints, but they must
be more seriously and perseveringly applied.

THE FETLOCK.
The fetlock-joint is a very complicated one, and from the stress which is laid
on it, and its being the principal seat of motion below the knee, it is particularly
subject to injury. There are not many cases of sprain of the back-sinew that are
CUTTING. 349

not accompanied by inflammation of the ligaments of this joint; and numerous
supposed cases of sprain higher up are simple affections of the fetlock. It
requires a great deal of care, and some experience, to distinguish the one from
the other. ‘The heat about the part, and the point at which the horse least
endures the pressure of the finger, will be the principal cine Occasionally by
the application of cooling lotions, the inflammation may be subdued, but, at
other times, the horse suffers dreadfully, and is unable to stand. A serious
affection of the fetlock-joint demands treatment more prompt and severe than
that of the sheaths of the tendons.

GROGGINESS,

The peculiar knuckling of the fetlock-joint, and the tottering of the whole of
the fore-leg, known by the name of grogginess, and which is so often seen in old
and over-worked horses, is seldom an affection of either the fetlock or the
pastern-joints simply. Indeed it is difficult to fix on any particular joint, unless
it is that which is deep in the foot, and where the flexor tendon runs over the
navicular bone. It seems oftenest to be a want of power in the ligaments of
the joints generally, produced by frequent and severe sprains, or by ill-judged
and cruel exertion. Professor Stewart very truly says, that “it is common
among all kinds of fast workers, and long journeys at a fast pace will make
almost any horse groggy. Bad shoeing and want of stable care may help to
increase, but never can alone produce grogginess. It is one of the evils of
excessive work.” * In the majority of cases it admits of no remedy.

CUTTING.

The inside of the fetlock is often bruised by the shoe or the hoof of the
opposite foot. Many expedients used to be tried to remove this ; the inside heel
has been raised and lowered, and the outside raised and lowered; and some-
times one operation has succeeded, and sometimes the contrary ; and there was
no point so involved in obscurity, or so destitute of principles to guide the prac-
titioner. The most successful remedy, and that which in the great majority of
cases supersedes all others, is Mr. Turner’s shoe, of equal thickness from heel
to toe, and having but one nail, and that near the toe on the inside of the shoe ;
care being taken that the shoe shall not extend beyond the edge of the crust,
and that the crust shall be rasped a little at the quarters.

There are some defects, however, in the natural form of the horse, which are
the causes of cutting, and which no contrivance will remedy ; as when the legs
are placed too near to each other, or when the feet are turned inward or outward.
A horse with these defects should be carefully examined at the inside of the
fetlock, and if there are any sore or callous places from cutting, there will be
sufficient reason for rejecting the animal. Some horses will cut only when they
are fatigued or lame, and old; many colts will cut before they arrive at their
full strength.

A consideration of the pasterns will throw more light upon this and other
diseases of the extremities.

The upper pastern bone (0, p. 845, and a in the first figure, andd in the second
in the following cuts) receives the lower pulley-like head of the shank-bone, and
forms a hinge-joint admitting only of bending and extension, but not of side
motion; it likewise articulates with the sessamoid-bones. Its lower head has
two rounded protuberances, which are received into corresponding depressions
in the lower pastern. On either side, above the pastern-joint, are roughened
projections for the attachment of very strong ligaments, both the capsular
ligaments, and many cross ligaments, which render the joint between the two
pasterns sufficiently secure.

* Stewart’s Stable Economy, p, 385,
350 STRAIN OF THE COFFIN JOINT.

Fig. 1.
u The upper pastern.
6 The lower pastern.
e The navicular bone.
d The coffin-bone.

Fig. 2.
a The sessamoid bone.
& The upper pastern.
ce The lower pastern.
d The navicular bone.
e The coffin-bone, with the horny laminz.

 

The lower. pastern (d, p. 845, and 6 in the first figure, and ¢ in the
second in this cut) isa short and thick bone with its larger head downward.
Its upper head has two depressions to receive the protuberances on the lower
head of the upper bone, bearing some resemblance to a pulley, but not so
decidedly as the lower head of the shank-bone. Its lower head resembles that
of the other pastern, and has also two prominences, somewhat resembling a
pulley, by which it articulates with the coffin-bone ; and a depression in front,
corresponding with a projection in the coffin-bone. There are also two slight
depressions behind, receiving eminences of the navicular bone. Neither of
these joints admit of any lateral motion, The ligaments of this joint, both the
capsular and the cross ones, are like those of the pastern-joint, exceedingly
strong. The tendon of the extensor muscle is inserted into the fore part, both
of the upper and lower pastern-bones as well as into
the upper part of the coffin-bone (J, p. 345); and at
the back of these bones the suspensory ligament is ex-
panded and inserted, while a portion of it goes over the
fore part of the upper pastern to reach the extensor ten-
don. These attachments in front of the bones are seen
in the accompanying cut, in which a@ represents the
lower part of the shank-bone ; 6 the sessamoid-bones ;
c the upper pastern; d the lower pastern; and e the
coffin-bone ; f are the branches of the suspensory liga-
ments going to unite with the extensor tendon; g the
long extensor tendon ; f ligaments connecting the two
pastern-bones together ; and i the lateral cartilages of
the foot.

 

SPRAIN OF THE COFFIN-JOINT.

The proof of this is when the lameness is sudden, and the heat and tender-
ness are principally felt round the coronet. Bleeding at the toe, physic, fomen-
tation, and blisters are the usual means adopted. This lameness is not easily
removed, even by a blister; and if removed, like sprains of the fetlock and of
the back sinews, it is apt to return, and finally produce a great deal of disor-
ganization and mischief in the foot. Sprain of the coffin-joint sometimes
becomes a very serious affair. Not being always attended by any external
swelling and being detected only by heat round the coronet, the seat of the
lameness is often overlooked by the groom and the farrier ; and the disease is
suffered to become confirmed before its nature is discovered.
RINGBONE. 351

From violent or repeated sprains of the pastern or coffin-joints, or extension
of the ligaments attached to other parts of the pastern-bones, inflammation
takes place in the periosteum, and bony matter is formed, which often rapidly
increases, and is recognized by the name of

RINGBONE,

Ringbone is a deposit of bony matter in one of the pasterns, and usually
near the joint. It rapidly spreads, and in-
volves not only the pastern-bones, but the
cartilages of the foot, and spreading around
the pasterns and cartilages, thus derives its
name. When the first deposit ison the lower
pastern, and on both sides of it, and produced
by violent inflammation of the ligaments of
the joints, it is recognised by a slight enlarge-
ment, or bony tumour on each side of the
foot, and just above the coronet. (See fin the
accompanying cut.) Horses with short upright
joints, and with small feet and high action,
are oftenest, as may be supposed, the subjects
of this disease, which is the consequence either
of concussion or sprain of the pastern-joints.
It is also more frequent in the hind foot than
the fore, because, from the violent action of
the hind legs in propelling the horse forward
the pasterns are more subject to ligamentary
injury behind than before ; yet the lameness
is not so great there, because the disease is
confined principally to the ligaments, and
the bones have not been injured by concus-
sion; while from the position of the fore
limbs, there will generally be in them injury
of the bones to be added to that of the liga-
ments, In its early stage, and when recog-
nised only by a bony enlargement on both
sides of the pastern-joint, or in some few cases
on one side only, the lameness is not very
considerable, and it is not impossible to remove
the disease by active blistering, or by the ap-
plication of the cautery : but there is so much
wear and tear in this part of the animal, that
the inflammation and the disposition to the
formation of bone rapidly spread. ‘The pas-
terns first become connected together by bone
instead of ligament, and thence results what
is called an anchylosed or fixed joint. From
this joint the disease proceeds to the cartilages
of the foot, and to the union between the
lower pastern, and the coffin and navicular
bones. The motion of these parts likewise is
impeded or lost, and the whole of the foot be-
comes one mass of spongy bone. From a dis-
position to spread, and at first around the
pastern-joint, which is situated just above the coronet, the discase has acquired
the name of ringbone.

 
352 THE USUAL LAMENESSES.

This will be the proper place to introduce a bird’s-eye view of some of the
principal lamenesses to which the fore extremities of the horse are subject.

At a is a representation of the capped hock, or enlargement of the joint of
the elbow.

b is the tying-in of the leg below the knee.

¢ is the most frequent situation of splint on the side of the shank-bone, and
not producing lameness after its first formation, because it does not interfere
with the motion of the knee, nor injure the suspensory ligament,

d is the situation and appearance of the enlargement accompanying sprain of
the back sinews. This, however, is an aggravated case ; and the sprain may be
great, and the lameness distressing, without all this swelling.

e is the place of wind-gall.

JS gives the appearance of ringbone when it first appears on the side of the
pastern, about the joint, and where there is naturally some prominence of bone.

g is the situation of sand-crack in the fore-leg.

h the situation of mallenders.

The fore-legs, when viewed in front, should be widest at the chest, and should
gradually approach to each other as we descend towards the fetlock. ‘The
degree of width must depend on the purpose for which the horse is wanted.
The legs of a heavy draught-horse can scarcely be too far apart. His rounded
chest enables him to throw more weight into the collar; and not being
required for speed, he wants not that occasionally increased expansion of
chest which the circular form is not calculated to give. A hunter, a hackney,
and a coach-horse should have sufficient expansion of the chest, or the legs
sufficiently wide apart, to leave room for the play of the lungs; but depth more
than roundness of chest is here required, because the deep chest admits of most
expansion when the horse, in rapid action, and the circulation proportionally
quickened, needs most room to breathe: yet if the breast is too wide, there
will be considerable weight thrown before, and the horse will be heavy in hand
and unsafe.

Whether the legs are near to each other or wide apart, they should be straight.
The elbow should not have the slightest inclination inward or outward. If it
inclines towards the ribs, its action will be confined, and the leg will be thrown
outward when in motion, and describe a curious and awkward curve. This
will give a peculiar rolling motion, unpleasant to the rider and unsafe to the
animal. The toe will likewise be turned outward, which will not only prevent
the foot from coming flat on the ground in its descent, but be usually accom-
panied by cutting, even more certainly than when the toe turns inward. If
the elbow is turned outward, the toes will necessarily be turned inward, which is
a great unsightliness, and to a considerable degree injurious, for the weight
cannot be perfectly distributed over the foot—the bearing cannot be truc.
There will also be undue pressure on the inner quarter, a tendency to unsafe-
ness, and a disposition to splint and corn. The legs should come down perpen-
dicularly from the elbow. If they incline backward and under the horse, there
is undue stress on the extensor muscles; and, the legs being brought nearer the
centre of gravity, too great weight is thrown forward, and the horse is liable to
knuckle over and become unsafe. If the legs have a direction forward, the
flexor muscles are strained, and the action of the horse is awkward and
confined, ‘I'he toe should be found precisely under the point of the shoulder.
If it is a little more forward, the horse wiil probably be deficient in action;

if it is more under the horse, unsafeness will be added to still greater defect
in going.
THE HAUNCH.

oe
o
a

CHAPTER XVII.

THE HIND LEGS.

—_+—_—.
THE HAUNCH.

‘Tue haunch (see O, p. 108, and the cut, p. 327) is composed of three bones.
The first is the ilium, principally concerned in the formation of the haunch.
Its extended branches behind the flanks are prominent in every horse. When
they are more than usually wide, the animal is said to be ragged-hipped. A
branch runs up to the spine at the commencement of the sacral vertebra (E), and
here the haunch-bones are firmly united with the bones of the spine. The
ischium, or hip-bone, is behind and below the ilium. Its tuberosities or
prominences are seen under the tail (cut, p. 108). The pubis unites with the.
two former below and behind.

From the loins to the setting on of the tail a line should be carried on almost
straight, or rounded only in a slight degree. Thus the haunch-bones will be
most oblique, and will produce a corresponding obliquity, or slanting direction,
in the thigh-bone—a direction in which, as stated when the fore legs were
described, the muscles act with most advantage. This direction of the haunch
is characteristic of the thorough-bred horse; and by the degree in which
it is found, we judge to a considerable extent of the breeding of the animal.
If the bones at D and E, p. 108, take a somewhat arched form, as they do in
the cart-horse, it is evident that the haunch-bone O would be more upright.
The thigh-bone P would likewise be so. The stifle Q would not be so far under
the body, and the power of the horse would be considerably impaired. The
oblique direction of the haunch and thigh bones, produced by the straightness
of the line of the spine, does not, as is commonly supposed, afford increased sur-
face for the attachment of muscles, but places the muscles in a direction to act
with great advantage. It isin the advantageous direction, quite as much as in
the buik of the muscle, that the strength of the horse consists.

It will be seen, from the different cuts, that the angles formed by the fore
and hind extremities have different directions. One points forward, and the
other backward. The action of the fore legs thus least interferes with the
chest, and that of the hind legs with the belly.

Width of haunch isa point of great consequence, for it evidently affords
more room for the attachment of muscles ; and even though it should be so wide
as to subject the horse to the charge of being ragged-hipped, and may somewhat
offend the eye, it will not often be any detriment to action. If the loins are
broad and the horse well ribbed home, the protuberances of the ilium can
scarcely be too far apart. Many aragged-hipped horse has possessed both fleet-
ness and strength, while but few that were narrow across the haunch could
boast of the latter quality.

‘The opening in the centre of these bones, which constitutes the passage through
which the young animal is expelled from the mother, is large in the mare,
and in every quadruped, because there cannot, on account of the form of
the animal, be any danger of abortion from the weight of the foetus pressing
on the part.

The only portion of these bones exposed to injury or fracture are the tubero-
sities or prominences of the haunch. A fall or blow may chip off or disunite a
portion of them, and, if so, there are no meansof forcibly bringing the disunited

AA
354 THE THIGH.

parts together again, and retaining them in their natural position. ; The
power of nature, however, will gradually unite them, but that union will be
attended by deformity and lameness. A charge, or very strong adhesive plaster,
across the haunch may be useful, as helping, in some slight degree, to support the
parts, and hold them together.

THE THIGH.

In the lower and fore part of the hip-bones is a deep cavity or cup for the
reception of the head of the thigh-bone*, Although in the movement of the
hind legs there cannot be the concussion to which the fore legs are exposed (for
the weight of the body is never thrown violently upon them), yet in the
powerful action of these limbs there is much strain on the joints, and we shall,
therefore, find that there are, in all of them, admirable provisions against
injury. The head of the upper bone of the thigh is received into a deep cup
(the acetubulum), by which it is surrounded on every side, and dislocation from
which would seem almost impossible. But the bony cup may give way ? Not so,
provision is made against this. All three of the haunch-bones unite in the
formation of this cup, and the sutures by which they are held together are of
such a nature, that, generally speaking, no shock, or exertion, or accident,
can disunite them. There is even something more in order to make the at-
tachment doubly sure. In addition to the usual capsular and other ligaments,
a singularly strong one rises from the base of the cup, and is inserted into the
head of the thigh-bone, seeming as if it would render separation or disloca-
tion altogether impossible. Such, however, is the strange power of the muscles
of the hind limbs, that, with all these attachments, sprain of the ligaments of
the thigh, or the round bone, as horsemen call it, and even dislocation of it, are
occasionally found.

The thigh-bone is both the largest and strongest in the frame. It is short
and thick, and exhibits the most singular prominences, and roughnesses, and
hollows, for the insertion of the immense muscles that belong to it. Four pro-
miinences, in particular, called by anatomists trochanters, two on the outside, one
on the inside, and one near the head of the bone, afford attachment to several
important muscles. The head of the bone is placed at right angles with its
body, by which this important advantage is gained, that the motion of the
thigh-joint is principally limited to the act of bending and extending, although
it possesses some slight lateral, and even some rotatory action. The lower head
of the thigh-bone is complicated in its form. It consists of two prominences,
which are received into corresponding depressions in the next bone, and a hollow
in front, in which the bone of the knee or stifle plays as over a perfect pulley.

A short description of the muscles of the hinder extremities may not be unin-
teresting to the horseman. The next cut will contain a few of them.

The muscles of the hinder extremity are more powerful than those of any
other part of the frame, therefore an axtraordinary provision is made to con-
fine them in their respective situations, and thus contribute to their security and
strength. When the skin is stripped from any part, we do not at once arrive at
the muscles, but they are thickly covered by a dense, strong, tendinous coat,
intended to confine them to their places. This membrane, called the fascia, is
of extraordinary strength in the hind quarter, and reaches over the whole of
the haunch and thigh, and only ceases to be found at the hock where
there are no muscles to be protected. If the power of the muscles is suffi-
cient to dislocate or fracture the thigh-bone, they need the support and con-

* This, although the true thigh-bone, is so therefore frequently overlooked by hersemen,
concealed by thick muszles that its situation who ca!l the next bone, extending from the
and shape are not visible to the eye. Jt is stifle to the hock, the thigh, ;
THE THIGH. 355

finement of this tendinous coat. When this tendinous band is dissected off,
another is found heneath, which is represented at a, raised and turned back,
larger than the former, thicker and more muscular. It proceeds from the
haunch-bones to the stifle, upon the fore and outer part of the haunch and
thigh, and is intended to tighten and strengthen the other.

Under the part of this flat and binding muscle, which is represented in our
cut as raised from its natural situation, isa large round one proceeding from
the ilium, not far from the cup
which receives the upper bone of
the thigh, and running straight
down this bone, and thence its
name rectus. It is inserted into
the bone of thestifle. An inspec-
tion of the cut, p. 108, will show
that it is so situated as to be en-
abled to exert its great power in
the most advantageous way. It
isa very prominent muscle, and
possesses immense strength. It
terminates in a tendon, which is

  

   
  
   

m Lm

   

short and very strong, and which WTP j
is, before its insertion into the | VY }
patella, united with the prolon- SWAT I
gation of the tendinous substance AY

at g,in the cut, p. 356, and also
with the tendon of the muscle at
i, in that cut, and at c, in the
following cut, and which is pro-
perly called vastus, from its great
bulk. Some have divided this
into two muscles: the external
and internal. Theexternal arising
from the outer surface of the
upper bone of the thigh ; the
internal, from the inner surface ;
and they are inserted into the
upper part of the bone of the
stifle, both on the inner and
outer side. These muscles act
at considerable mechanical disadvantage. They form a very slight angle, not
at all approaching to aright angle; but they are muscles of immense size,
and occupy all the fore part of the thigh, from the stifle upwards. They are
powerful extensors of the thigh, and of the hinder leg generally; for they
are all inserted into the bone of the knee, and that is connected by strong ten-
dons with the bone of the true leg.

On the inside of the thigh are several other large fleshy muscles, which
will be easily recognised on the thigh of the living horse. First is a long,
narrow, prominent muscle, the sartorius, d, arising partly from the lumbar
vertebrae, and extending down the thigh—assisting in binding the leg, and
turning it inward—giving it a rotatory motion, and also aiding in many of the
natural actions of the horse.

Next comes a broad, thin muscle, the gracilis, e, occupying the greater
portion of the surface of the inner part of the thigh, and particularly the pro-
minent part of it. It arises from the lower portion, of the haunch-bone, and, in

Aad
356 THE THIGH.

its passage downward uniting with the last muscle, is inserted with it into the
inner and upper part of the tibia. It acts with great mechanical disad-
vantage, but its power is equal to the task. It bends the leg and rotates it inward,

Still, on the inside of the thigh, and forming the posterior edge of the thigh
inwards, and contributing much to its bulk, is another important muscle, the
pectineus. Part of it acts with very great mechanical advantage, and power-
fully flexes the thigh on the pelvis, and lifts and hends the leg. It is one of
the most effectual of the extensor muscles. Considering the weight of limb
which it has to raise and flex, it had need to possess great power.

We now turn to some of the muscles that are evident to the eye on the out-
side of the thigh.

CUT OF THE MUSCLES OF THE OUTSIDE OF THE THIGH,

First is the gluteus externus,
situated in the middle of the
external part of the haunch. It isof
a triangular figure, attached to the
antero-superior and to the inferior
spines of the ilium, and is inserted
into the smaller outer prominence
of the upper bone of the thigh.
Next is the great gluteus muscle,
arising from the spinous and trans-
verse processes of several of the
bones of the loins, and from the
sacrum, and from the different
edges of the ilium, and inserted
into the great protuberance of the
upper bone of the thigh (page
108), behind and a little above the
joint that unites the thigh to the
haunch-bone. It is seen at c, in
this cut. It constitutes the upper
and outer part of the haunch, and
gives that fulness and roundness
to it which good judges so much
admire in the quarters of the
horse. It is one of the main in-
struments in progression. When
the thigh has been brought for-
ward under the body by the mus-
cles already described, the plain
action of these glutei muscles
is to extend the haunch, and force or project the body onward. To effect this
they must be very powerful, and therefore they are so large, and rise from such
an extensive surface. They ought, also, to act at great mechanical advantage,
and so, in one sense, they do. Springing from the loins and the ilium and the
sacrum, they act almost in a right, or perpendicular line ; in that line in which
we have seen that the greatest power is gained:

There is another and smaller gluteus muscle under that which has been last
described, arising likewise from the back of the ilium, inserted into the same
protuberance of the thigh-bone, and assisting in the same office. It is not
visible in the cut.

These muscles, as Mr. Percivall well explains it, are extensors either

 
THE HAUNCH AND HIND LEGS, 357

of the femoris upon the pelvis, or the pelvis and loins upon the hind quarter

When the limb has been carried in advance under the body by the muscles:
of the anterior femoral region, and the toe firmly set down upon the ground, the
glutei, by extending the haunch, will carry the trunk forward ; thus becoming
potent agents in progression, and the mawimus being the most powerful of them,

In the acts both of rearing and kicking these muscles are thrown into violent
and forcible contraction. In the former action the limbs become the fixed
points, and the trunk the weight moved, and vice versd in the latter *.

There are also several other muscles proceeding from different parts of the
haunch-bones, and inserted about the heads of the upper thigh-bone, and per-
forming the same work ; but there are two muscles to which we must particu-
larly refer. The first occupies the outer part of the quarter behind, and is
beautifully developed in the blood-horse; it is found at e, p. 356. It arises high
up from the bones of the spine, from others at the root of the tail, from the pro-
tuberances of the ischium (vide cut, p. 108), and from other bones of the pelvis.
It in fact consists of two muscles, but is usually described as one muscle with
two heads, biceps femoris, the two-headed muscle of the thigh. It is
situated on the postero-external side of the haunch and thigh, where, being
superficial, it is well marked in theliving animal. The two divisions of it have
an opposite action. The anterior or superior one assists the vasti in extending
the thigh—the posterior one flexes it. They
both, however, co-operate in abducting the
limb, and also in rotating it forward, the hock, BEND UPESSS
at the same time, turning outwards.

Those muscles alone have been selected which
are particularly prominent in the thorough-bred
horse, and are the source of his strength and
speed. The following cut, containing one ex-
cellence above and many defects below, will ‘hot
be unacceptable here :—

The Os Femoris, or Thigh Bone (see P, page
108), is long and cylindrical, taking an oblique
direction from above, downwards ; and from
behind, forwards. At its upper extremities, and
projecting from the body, is a thick flattened
neck, terminating in a large smooth hemispheri-
cal head, adapted to a hollow, or acetabulum, in
the superior point of the haunch.

This bone is commonly called the Round
Bone. It has, in some rare instances, been dis-
located and fractured. It is much oftener
sprained, but not so frequently as the groom
or farrier imagines. There is nothing peculiar
in the lameness to detect injury of this part,
except that the horse will drag his leg after
him. Injury of the round bone will be prin-
cipally discovered by heat and tenderness in
the situation of the joint. ;

A part so deeply situated is treated with difficulty. Fomentations should
first be used to abate the inflammation, and, after that, an active blister should
be applied. Strains of this joint are not always immediately relieved, and the
muscles of the limb in some cases waste considerably: it therefore may be

CUT GF THE HAUNCH AND

 

* Percivall’s Anatomy, p. 148.
358 THE STIFLE.

necessary to repeat the blister, while absolute rest should accompany every
stage of the treatment. It may even be requisite to fire the part,—or, as a
last resort, a charge may be placed over the joint, and the horse turned out for
two or three months. ye SH

Proceeding from the body of the bone is a large irregular projection, rising
from a kind of pyramidal eminence (see p. 108), and into which are implanted
various powerful muscles.

THE STIFLE,

The inferior extremity presents a pulley-like articulatory surface in front,
over which plays the patella, and two condyles, rounded and smooth, presenting
inferiorly and posteriorly, and which are received into slight depressions on the
upper surface of the lower bone ; while in front is a curious groove, over which
plays a small irregular bone, the patella, or stifle bone. The whole is com-
monly called the stifle joint. The patella (Q, p. 108) answers to the kneepan
in the human subject. Some of the tendons of the strongest muscles of the
upper bone of the thigh are inserted into it, and continued from it over the lower
bone. This important joint is hereby much strengthened ; for the proper liga-
ments between the upper and lower bones, and these additional tendons and
ligaments from the patella, must form altogether a very powerful union. The
patella likewise answers another and even more important purpose. Thetendons of
sme strong muscles are inserted into it. When these musclesare not in action,
the patella liesin the groove which nature has contrived for it; but when they
begin to contract, it starts from its partial hiding-place, becomes prominent from
the joint, and alters the line of direction in which the musclesact. It increases
the angle, and thus very materially increases the power of the muscles.

The lower bone of the thigh is double. The larger portion, in front, extend
ing from the stifle to the hock, is called the Tibia. The smaller bone, or fibula,
behind (see R, p. 108), reaches not more than a third of the way.down. It is
united to the shank bone, like the splint bone, by a cartilaginous substance,
which is soon changed into a bony one. Of the use of these little bones we
cannot speak.

The lower bone of the thigh forms an angle with the upper one, being the
reverse of that which exists between the upper bone and the pelvis. The object
of this is twofold,—to obviate concussion, and to give a direction to the muscles
favourable to their powerful action; and in proportion to the acuteness of the
angle, or the degree in which the stifle is brought under the horse, will these
purposes be accomplished. There is much difference in this in different
horses, and the construction of this part of the frame is a matter worthy of
more regard than is generally paid to it.

This part of the thigh should likewise belong. In proportion to the length
of the muscle is the degree of contraction of which it is capable ; and also in
proportion to the contraction of the muscle is the extent of motion in the limb:
but it is still more necessary that this part of the thigh should have considerable
muscle, in order that strength may be added to such extent or compass of
motion. Much endurance would not be expected from a horse with a thin
arm. A horse with thin and lanky thighs will not possess the strength which
considerable exertion would sometimes require. In the cuts, p. 855 and 856, the
principal muscles of this part of the thigh are delineated. They are usually
somewhat prominent, and may readily be traced in the living animal: a
very brief notice of them may not be uninteresting.

The continuation from g, p. 356, is the tendinous expansion given to bind and
strengthen these muscles.

nis a very important muscle. It is the principal extensor muscle of the
’ THE STIFLE. 359

hind leg (extensor pedis, extensor of the foot). It commences by a small flat
tendon, common to it, and the flexor metatarsi. Passing over the tibia it
becomes fleshy : but.a little above the hock it changes to a flat tendon, and pur-
sues its course in front of the hock in union with the tendon of the peronwus.
On the fetlock joint they disunite. It now begins to expand, and is finally
inserted into the upper part of the coffin-bone, or bone of the foot, after having
given various fibres to both the pasterns. The course of the corresponding
tendon in the hind leg is given in the cut, p. 856, fig. 7. ‘It helps to flex the
hock-joint, but is principally concerned in the extension of the foot, and also
the pastern and fetlock juints.

At m, p. 356, is another of the extensor muscles, called the peroneus, froma
name given to the fibula. It arises from the whole course of the fibula, and
also becomes tendinous before it reaches the hock. About half way down the
shank it is found in the same sheath with the principal extensor muscle, and is
inserted with it into the coffin-bone. Its office is to co-operate with the extensor
pedis in raising the foot from the ground, and bringing it forward under the
body.

At ois the flewor pedis, one of the principal flexor muscles of the foot, arising
from the upper part of the tibia. As it approaches the hock it is distinguished
by its large round tendon, which is seen to enter into a groove at the back of the
hock. Its tendon passcs down the back of the leg like that of a similar muscle
in the fore leg. It is the perforating flexor muscle of the hind leg, and assists in
flexing the pastern and fetlock.

4 is a very slender muscle, arising from the head of the fibula, and proceed-
ing over the external part of the thigh, and, just above the hock, its tendon
unites with that of the perforating muscle.

j isa very powerful muscle, springing from the head of the upper bone of the
thigh, and, midway down the lower bone of it, ending in a flat tendon, which is
inserted into the point of the hock. Its use is to extend the hock. It is evi-
dently most advantageously situated for powerful action; for it acts almost at
right angles, and its effect is increased in proportion to the projection of the
point of the hock.

We will now turn to the inner side. See cut, p. 355.

m gives a portion of the muscle which has been just described.

n is an inside view of the perforating flexor muscle of the foot.

lis the peronzus,

o is the flexor perforatus muscle, having its origin from near the lower head
of the upper boneof the thigh—becoming tendinous as it passes down the thigh —
expanding over and surrounding the point of the hock, and assisting in extending
it. After this the tendon pursues its course down the posterior part of the leg, ina
manner so much resembling that of similar tendons in the fore leg, that it wil]
be sufficient to refer to a description of the perforated and perforating flexor
tendons at page 354.

Ate is a continuation of the gracilis muscle, p. 355, over the stifle.

At h is the extensor pedis already described, p. 356, with its tendon.

At iis a muscle used to bend the hock, the flexor metatarsi, or bender of the
leg; arising from the external condyle of the os femoris, and inserted into the
large and small metatarsal bones. It is a muscle of considerable power, although
disadvantageously situated, both as to its direction and its being inserted eo near
to the joint. It flexes the hock, the joint turning somewhat inwards.

At k isa short muscle extending from the upper to the lower thigh-bones
(the popliteus), bending the stifle and turning the limb inward.

These cuts represent the situation of some of the principal blood-vessels and
nerves of the hind extremitics.
360 THE HOCK.

In the cut of the inside of the thigh, page 355, p represents the course of the
principal artery ; at are blood-vessels belonging to the groin; at 7 is the large
cutaneous vein, or the vein immediately under the skin, The principal nerves
on the fore part of the inside of the thigh pursue their course at #, in the diree-
tion of the subcutaneous vein ; and those of the posterior part are seen at s,
while at ware those important ligamentous bands at the bending of the hock
which confine the tendons.

In the cut of the outside of the thigh, page 356, p will give the course of
the anterior arteries and veins; q that of the principal nerves, and coming into
sight below; and 7 the bands described in the former plate.

Also, in the cut of the outside of the shoulder and arm, p. 380, the figures
1, 2, and 3, designate the places of the principal artery, nerve, and vein of the
leg ; 4 gives the subcutaneous vein running within the arm; and 5 the sub-
cutaneous vein of the side of the chest.

In the cut of the inside of the arm, p. 331, the lines above represent, in the
order from the front, the principal nerves, arteries, and veins of the shoulder
and arm; and, on the muscles, & represents the principal subcutaneous vein of
the inside of the arm, and i the artery by which it is accompanied.

The stifle joint is not often subject to sprain. The heat and tenderness will
guide to the seat of injury. Occasionally, dislocation of the patella has occurred,
and the horse drags the injured limb after him, or rests it on the fetlock; the
aid of a veterinary surgeon is here requisite. The muscles of the inside of the
thigh have sometimes been sprained. This may be detected by diffused heat,
or heat on the inside of the thigh above the stifle. Rest, fomentations, bleeding,
and physic, will be the proper means of cure.

THOROUGH-PIN.

Mention has been made of wind-galls and their treatment. A similar enlarge-
ment is found above the hock, between the tendons of the flexor of the foot and
the extensor of the hock. As from its situation it must necessarily project on
both sides of the hock, in the form of a round swelling, it is called a thorough-
pin, a, p. 857. It is an indication of considerable work, but is rarely attended
by lameness. The mode of treatment must resemble that for wind-galls.
Although thorough-pin cannot, perhaps, be pronounced to be unsoundness, it
vehoves the buyer to examine well a horse that is disfigured by it, and to ascer-
tain whether undue work may not have injured him in other respects.

THE HOCK.

This is a most important joint, occasionally the evident, and much oftener the
unsuspected seat of lameness, and the proper formation of which is essentially
connected with the value of the horse. It answers to the ancle in the human being.

The inferior head of the tibia is formed into two deep grooves, with three
sharpened ridges, one separating the grooves, and the other two constituting the
sides of them. It is seen at a in the following cut. It rests upon a singularly-
shaped bone, 6, the astragalus, which has two circular risings or projections,
and, with a depression between them, answering exactly to the irregularities of
the tibia. These are received and morticed into each other. At the posterior
part its convex surface is received into a concavity near the base of another
bone, and with which it is united by very strong ligaments. This bone, c, is
zalled the os calcis, or bone of the heel, and it projects upwards, flattened at
its sides, and receives, strongly implanted into it, the tendons of powerful
muscles. These bones rest on two others, the os cuboides, d (cube-formed),
behind, and the larger cuneiform or wedge-shaped bone e, infront. The larger
wedge-shaped bone is sapported by two smaller ones, J, and these two smaller
THE HOCK. 361

ones and the cubvoides by the upper heads of the shank-bone g, and the
splint-bones A. The cu-
boides is placed on the
external splint-bone, and
the cannon-bone, or prin-
cipal bone of the leg ; the
small wedge-bone is
principally evident on
the inner splint-bone,
not seen in the cut; and
the middle wedge-bone
on the shank-bone only,
y- These bones are all
connected together by
very strong ligaments,
which prevent disloca~
tion, but allow a slight
degree of motion between
them, and the surfaces
which are opposed to
each other are thickly
covered by elastic car-
tilage.

Considering the situa-
tion and action of this
joint, the weight and
stress thrown upon it
must be exceedingly
great, and itis necessarily
liable to much injury in
rapid and powerful mo-
tion. What are the pro-
visions to prevent injury ?
The grooved or pulley-
like heads of the tibia and
the astragalus, received
deeply into one another,
and confined by power-
ful ligaments, admitting
freely of hinge-like ac-
tion, but of no side
motion, to which the joint would otherwise be exposed in rapid movement,
or on an uneven surface. A slight inspection of the cut will show that the
stress or weight thrown by the tibia @ on the astragalus 6, does not descend
perpendicularly, but in a slanting direction. By this much concussion is
avoided, or more readily diffused among the different bones; and, the joint
consisting of six bones, each of them covered with elastic cartilage, and
each admitting of a certain degree of motion, the diminished concussion is dif-
fused among them all, and thereby neutralised and rendered comparatively harm-
less. Each of these bones is covered not only by cartilage, but by a mem-
brane secreting synovia ; so that, in fact, these bones are formed into so many
distinct joints, separated from each other and thereby guarded from injury, yet
united by various ligaments—possessing altogether sufficient motion, yet bound
together so strongly“as to defy dislocation. When, however, the work which

CUT OF THE HOCK.

 
362 CURB.

this joint has to perform, and the thoughtlessness and cruelty with which that
work is often exacted, are considered, it will not excite any surprise if this ne-
cessarily complicated mechanism is sometimes deranged. The hock, from its
complicated structure and its work, is the principal seat: of lameness behind.

ENLARGEMENT OF THE HOCK.

First, there is inflammation, or sprain of the hock-joint generally, arising from
sudden violent concussion, by some check at speed, or over-weight, and attended
with enlargement of the whole joint, and great tenderness and lameness. This,
however, like other diffused inflammations, is not so untractable as an intense one
of a more circumscribed nature, and by rest and fomentation, or, perchance,
firing, the limb recovers its action, and the horse becomes fit for ordinary work.

The swelling, however, does not always subside. Enlargement, spread over
the whole of the hock-joint, remains. A horse with an enlarged hock must
always be regarded with suspicion. In truth, he is unsound. The parts, altered
in structure, must be to a certain degree weakened. The animal may discharge
his usual work during a long period, without return of lameness ; but if one of
those emergencies should occur when all his energies require to be exerted, the
disorganised and weakened part will fail. The purchase, therefore, of a horse
with enlarged hock will depend on circumstances. If he has other excellences,
he will not be uniformly rejected ; for he may be ridden or driven moderately
for many a year without inconvenience, yet one extra hard day’s work may
lame him for ever.

CURB.

There are often injuries of particular parts of the hock-joint. Curb is an af-
fection of this kind. It is an enlargement at the back of the hock, three or four
inches below its point. It is represented at d, p. 357, and it is either a strain
of the ring-like ligament which binds the tendons in their place, or of the
sheath of the tendons ; oftener, however, of the ligament than of the sheath.
Any sudden action of the limb of more than usual violence may produce it, and
therefore horses are found to ‘throw out curbs’ after a hardly-contested race,
an extraordinary leap, a severe gallop over heavy ground, or a sudden check in
the gallop. Young horses are particularly liable to it, and horses that are cow-
hocked (vide cut, p. 357),—whose hocks and legs resemble those of the cow, the
hocks being turned inward, and the legs forming a considerable angle outwards.
This is intelligible enough ; for in hocks so formed, the annular ligament must
be continually on the stretch, in order to confine the tendon.

Curbs are generally accompanied by considerable lameness at their first ap-
pearance, but the swelling is not always great. They are best detected by
observing the leg sideway.

The first object in attempting the cure is to abate inflammation, and this will
be most readily accomplished by cold evaporating lotions frequently applied to
the part. Equal portions of spirit of wine, water, and vinegar, will afford an
excellent application. It will be almost impossible to keep a bandage on. If
the heat and lameness are considerable, it will be prudent to give a dose of
physic, and to bleed from the subcutaneous vein, whose course is represented at 1,
page 355 ; and whether the injury is of the annular ligament, or the sheath of
the tendon, more active means will be necessary to perfect the cure. Either a
liquid blister should be rubbed on the part, consisting of a vinous or turpentine
tincture of cantharides, and this daily applied until some considerable swelling
takes place ; or, what is the preferable plan, the hair should be cut off, and the
part blistered as soon as the heat has been subdued. The blister should be re-
peated until the swelling has disappeared, and the horse goes sound. In severe
BONE SPAVIN. 363

cases it may be necessary to fire ; but a fair trial, however, should be given to
milder measures. If the iron is used, it should be applied in straight lines.

There are few lamenesses in which absolute and long-continued rest is more
requisite. It leaves the parts materially weakened, and, if the horse is soon put
to work again, the lameness will frequently return. No horse that has had
curbs should be put even to ordinary work in less than a month after the appa-
rent cure, and, even then, he should very gradually resume his former habits.

A horse with a curb is manifestly unsound. A horse with the vestige of curb
should be regarded with much suspicion, or generally condemned as unsound.

Curb is also an hereditary complaint, and therefore a horse that has once suf-
fered from it should always be regarded with suspicion, especially if either of
the parents has exhibited it.

BOG SPAVIN.

The hock is plentifully furnished with reservoirs of mucus to lubricate the
different portions of this complicated joint. Some of these are found on the in-
side of the joint, which could not be represented in the cut, page 861. From
over-exertion of the joint they become inflamed, and considerably enlarged.
They are wind-galls of the hock. The subcutaneous vein passes over the inside
of the hock, and over some of these enlarged mucous reservoirs, and is com-
pressed between them and the external integument,—the course of the blood
is partially arrested, and a portion of the vein below the impediment, and be-
tween it and the next valve, is distended, and causes the soft tumour on the inside
of the hock, called Bog or Blood spavin.

This is a very serious disease, attended with no great, but often permanent
lameness, and too apt to return when the enlargement has subsided under me-
dical treatment. It must be considered as decided unsoundness. In a horse
for slow draught it is scarcely worth while even to attack it. And in one des-
tined to more rapid action, the probability of a relapse should not be forgotten,
when the chances of success and the expenses of treatment are calculated.

The cause of the disease—the enlarged mucous capsule—lies deep, and is
with difficulty operated upon. Uniform pressure would sometimes cause the
absorption of the fluid contained in cysts or bags like these, but, in a joint
of such extensive motion as the hock, it is difficult, or almost impossible, to
confine the pressure on the precise spot at which it is required. Could it be
made to bear on the enlarged bag, it would likewise press on the vein, and to
agreater degree hinder the passage of the blood, and increase the dilatation
below the obstruction. The old and absurd method of passing a ligature above
and below the enlarged portion of the vein, and then dissecting out the tumour,
is not, in the advanced stage of veterinary science, practised by any surgeon
who regards his reputation. The only method of relief which holds out any
promise even of temporary success is exciting considerable inflammation on the
skin, and thus rousing the deeper seated absorbents to carry away the fluid
effused in the enlarged bag. For this purpose, blisters or firing may be tried :
but in the majority of cases the disease will bid defiance to all appliances, or will
return and baffle our hopes when we had seemed to be accomplishing our object.

A horse with bog spavin will do for ordinary work. He may draw in a cart,
or trot fairly ina lighter carriage, with little detriment to his utility ; but he
will never do for hard or rapid work.

BONE SPAVIN.

A still more formidable disease ranks under the name of Spavin, and is an
affection of the bones of the hock-joint. It has been stated that the bones of
the leg, the shank-bone g, page 861, and the two small splint-bones behind, h,
support the lower layer of the bones of the hock. The cube-bone, d, rests prin-
364 BONE SPAVIN.

cipally on the shank-bone, and in a slight degree on the outer splint-bone. They
middle wedge-bone, 7, rests entirely upon the shank-bone, and the smaller
wedge-bone presses (not seen in the cut) ina very slight degree on the shank-

bone, but principally or almost entirely on the inner splint-bone. Then the

splint-bones sustain a very unequal degree of concussion and weight. Not only

is the inner one placed more under the body and nearer the centre of gravity,

but it has almost the whole of the weight and concussion communicated to the

smaller cuneiform bone carried on to it. It is not, therefore, to be wondered at

that, in the violent action of this joint in galloping, leaping, heavy draught, and

especially in young horses, and before the limbs have become properly knit,

the inner splint-bone, or its ligaments, or the substance which connects it with

the shank-bone, should suffer material injury.

The smith increases the tendency to this by his injudicious management of
the feet. It is a common notion that cutting, and wounds in the feet—from
one foot treading on the other—are prevented by putting on a shoe with a
calkin on the outer heel, that is, the extremity of the heel being considerably
raised from the ground, It is not unusual to see whole teams of horses with
the outer heel of the hind foot considerably raised above the other. This
unequal bearing, or distribution of the weight, cannot fail of being injurious.
It places an unequal strain on the ligaments of the joints, and particularly of
the hock-joint, and increases the tendency to spavin.

The weight and concussion thus thrown on the inner splint-bone produce
inflammation of the cartilaginous substance that unites it to the shank-bone.
In consequence of it, the cartilage is absorbed, and bone deposited; the union
hetween the splint-bone and the shank becomes bony, instead of cartilaginous ;
the degree of elastic action between them is destroyed, and there is formed a
splint of the hind leg. This is uniformly on the inside of the hind leg, because
the greatest weight and concussion are thrown on the inner splint-bones. As
in the fore leg, the disposition to form bony matter having commenced, and the
cause which produced it continuing to act, bone continues to be deposited, and
it generally appears in the form of a tumour, where the head of the splint-bone
is united with the shank, and in front of that union. It is seen at c, page 357.
This is called Bone spavin. Inflammation of the ligaments of any of the
small bones of the hock, proceeding to bony tumour, would equally class under
the name of spavin; but, commonly, the disease commences on the precise
spot that has been described.

While spavin is forming there is always lameness, and that frequently to
a very great degree: but when the membrane of the bone has accommodated
itself to the tumour that extended it, the lameness subsides or disappears, or
depends upon the degree in which the bony deposit interferes with the motion
of the joint. It is well known to horsemen, that many a hunter, with spavin
that would cause his rejection by a veterinary surgeon, stands his work with-
out lameness. The explanation is this; there is no reason why an old bony
tumour on the outside of any of the bones of the hock, free from connexion with
the next bone, and from any tendon, should be at all injurious; as, for instance,
one immediately under e or f, p. 361: but from the complicated nature of the
hock, it is difficult, if not impossible, to be quite sure of the place, or extent,
from inspection, of the tumour, and, besides, the disposition to throw out bone
covered by the tumour, may continue and extend to the joint. The surgeon,
therefore, cannot be perfectly safe in pronouncing a bone spavin to be of no
consequence. Horses with exceedingly large spavins are often seen that are
only slightly lame, or that merely have a stiffness in their gait at first starting,
but which gradually goes off after a little motion ; while others, with the bony
tumour comparatively small, have the lameness so great as to destroy the use-
fulness of the horse. There is always this peculiarity in the lamencss of
BONE SPAVIN. 365

spavin, that it abates, and sometimes disappears, on exercise; and, therefore,
8 horse with regard to which there is any suspicion of this affection should be
examined when first in the morning it is taken from the stable.

If the spavin continues to increase, the bony deposit first spreads over the
lower wedge-bones, f, page 361, for these are nearest to its original seat. They
are capable of slight motion, and share in every action of the joint, but their
principal design is to obviate concussion. The chief motion of the joint, and
that compared with which the motion of the other bones is scarcely to be
regarded, is confined to the tibia a, and the astragalus b, and therefore stiffness
rather than lameness may accompany spavin, even when it is beginning to affect
the small bones of the joint. Hence, too, is the advantage of these bones having
each its separate ligaments and membranes, and constituting so many distinct
joints, since injury may happen to some of them, without the effect being pro-
pagated to the rest. When the bony deposit continues to enlarge, and takes in
the second layer of bones—the larger wedge-bones e—and even spreads to the
cuboid bones on the other side, the lameness may not be very great, because
these are joints, or parts of the joint, in which the motion is small ; but when
it extends to the union of the tibia a, and the astragalus b—when the joint, in
which is the chief motion of the hock, is attacked—the lameness is indeed
formidable, and the horse becomes nearly quite useless. ote

Spavined horses are generally capable of slow work. They are equal to the
greater part of the work of the farm, and therefore they should not be always
rejected by the small farmer, as they may generally be procured at little price.
These horses are not only capable of agricultural work, but they generally im-
prove underit. The lameness in some degree abates, and even the bony tumour
to a certain degree diminishes. There is sufficient moderate motion and
friction of the limb to rouse the absorbents to action, and cause them to
take up a portion of the bony matter thrown out, but not enough to
renew or prolong inflammation. It cannot be said that the plough affords
a cure for spavin, but the spavined horse often materially improves while
working at it.

For fast work, and for work that must be regularly performed, spavined
horses are not well calculated; for this lameness behind produces great difficulty
in rising, and the consciousness that he will not be able to rise without painful
effort occasionally prevents the horse from lying down at all; and the animal
that cannot rest well, cannot long travel far or fast.

The treatment of spavin is simple enough, but far from being always effectual.
The owner of the horse will neither consult his own interest, nor the dictates of
humanity, if he suffers the chisel and mallet, or the gimlet, or the pointed
iron, or arsenic, to be used; yet measures of considerable severity must be
resorted to. Repeated blisters will usually cause either the absorption of the
bony deposit, or the abatement or removal of the inflammation of the liga-
ments, or, as a last resource, the heated iron may be applied. ;

The account of the diseases of the hock is not yet completed. It is well
known that the horse is frequently subject to lameness behind, when no osten-
sible cause for it can be found, and there is no external heat or enlargement to
indicate its seat. Farriers and grooms pronounce these to be affections of
the stifle, or round bone; or, if the gait of the horse and peculiar stiffness of
“motion point out the hock as the affected part, yet the joint may be of its natu-
ral size, and neither heat nor tenderness can be discovered. : The groom has his
own method of unravelling the mystery. He says that it is the beginning of
spavin; but months and years pass away, and the spavin does not appear, and
the horse is at length destroyed as incurably iame. :

Horsemen are indebted to Mr. W. J. Goodwin, V.S. to Her Majesty, for the
discovery of the seat of frequent lameness behind. The cut, p. 361, represents
366 CAPPED HOCK.

the two layers of small bones within the hock — the larger wedge-like
bone e, above ; and the middle f, and the smaller one below, and it will be seen
that almost the whole of the weight of the horse, communicated by the tibia a,
is thrown upon these bones. The cube-bone d does little more than support the
point of the hock c. It is then easy to imagine that, in the concussion of hard
work or rapid travelling, these bones, or the delicate and sensible membranes
in which they are wrapped, may be severely injured. Repeated dissections of
horses that have been incurably lame behind, without anything external, during
life, to point out the place or cause of lameness, have shown that inflammation
of the membranes lining these joints, and secreting the fluid that lubricates them,
has taken place.

Mr. Goodwin narrates a very interesting case in corroboration of this account
of hock lameness. The author of this work had the honour of being present when
the examination took place. “The patient was a harness horse of unusual perfec-
tion, both in shape and action, and was a great favourite with an illustrious per-
sonage. He suddenly became lame behind on the off-leg, but without the least
accident or alteration of structure to account for it. He was turned out for a short
time, and the lameness disappeared. He was then incautiously made to perform
his usual work, until perfectly incapacitated for it by returning and aggravated
lameness. Suspegting the seat of lameness to be in the hock, although the joint
was perfectly unaltered in form, he was, three months after the commencement of
the lameness, blistered and fired, and placed either in a loose place or paddock, as
circumstances seemed to require. Not the least amendment took place at the
end of six months, even in his quiescent state, and, after twelve months
from the time of his being given up for treatment, he was destroyed, his case
being naturally considered a hopeless one. Ulceration of the synovial membrane
was found, taking its origin between the two cuneiform bones. These bones had
become carious, and the disease had gradually extended itself to other parts of
the joint. Mr. Goodwin had no doubt that if the animal had been suffered
to work on for any greater length of time, necrosis, or anchylosis of every bone
concerned in the hock, would have been the result.”—( Veterinarian, iii. 158.)

Much more depends, than they who are not well accustomed to horses
imagine, on the length of the os calcis, or projection of the hock. In propor-
tion to the length of this bone will two purposes be effected. The line of
direction will be more advantageous, for it will be nearer to a perpendicular,
and the arm of the lever to which the power is applied will be lengthened, and
thus mechanical advantage will be gained to an almost incredible extent. ‘The
slightest lengthening of the point of the hock will wonderfully tell in the course
of a day’s work, and therefore it is that the character of the os calcis is of such
immense importance.

The point of the hock is sometimes swelled. A soft fluctuating tumour
appears on it. This is an enlargement of one of the mucous bags of which
mention has been made, and that surrounds the insertion of the tendons into
the point of the hock. It is termed,

CAPPED HOCK,
It is seldom accompanied by lameness, and yet it is a somewhat serious busi-
ness, for it is usually produced by blows and mostly by the injuries which the
horse inflicts upon himself in the act of kicking : therefore it is that a horse with

* These opinions of the seat and nature of on the surface of these bones is effected. In

obscure hock-lameness are now maintained by
the majority of veterinary surgeons, although
some of them differ a little with regard to the
articulation that 1s generally affected, and the
manner in which the deprossions or excavations

the 10th volume of the ‘ Veterinarian,’’ are
some valuable observations on this subject by
Professor Dick, and Messrs. Pritchard and
Spooner,
SWELLED LEGS, 367

acapped hock is very properly regarded with a suspicious eye. The whole of
the hock should be carefully examined in order to discover whether there are
other marks of violence, and the previous history of the animal should be care-
fully inquired into. Does he kick in harness or in the stall, or has he been
lying on a thin bed, or on no bed at all; and thus may the hock have been
bruised, and the swelling produced ?

It is exceedingly difficult to apply a bandage over a capped hock; and punc-
turing the tumour, or passing a seton through it, would be a most injudicious
practice. Blisters, or iodine, repeated as often as may be necessary, are the best
means to be employed. Occasionally the tumour will spontaneously disappear ;
but at other times it will attain a large size, or assume a callous structure, that
will bid defiance to all the means that can be employed.

“ MALLENDERS AND SALLENDERS,

On the inside of the hock, or a little below it, as well as at the bend of the
knee (A, p. 351), there is occasionally a scurfy eruption, called maillenders in the
fore leg, and sallenders in the hind leg. They seldom produce lameness ; but
if no means are taken to get rid of them, a discharge proceeds from them which
it is afterwards difficult to stop. ‘They usually indicate bad stable manage-
ment. ;:

A diuretic ball should be occasionally given, and an ointment of sugar-of-lead
and tar, with treble the quantity of lard, rubbed over the part. Should this
fail, a weak mercurial ointment may be used. Jodine has here also been useful.

The line of direction of the legs beneath the hocks should not be disregarded.
The leg should descend perpendicularly to the fetlock. The weight and stress
will thus be equally diffused, not only over the whole of the hock, but also
the pasterns and the foot. Some horses have their hocks closer than
usual to each other. The legs take a divergent direction outward, and the
toes also are turned outward. These horses are said to be Cat or Cow hocked.
They are generally supposed to possess considerable speed. Perhaps they do
80; and it is thus accounted for. The cow-hocked horse has his legs not only
turned more outward, but bent more under him, and this increases the distance
between the point of the hock and the tendons of the perforating muscle: see b,
in the cut, page 857. It increases the space which is usually occupied by tho-
roughpin, see a, in the same page. Then the point of the hock, moved by the
action of the muscles, is enabled to describe a greater portion of a circle; and in
proportion to the increased space passed over by the point of the hock, will the
space traversed by the limb be increased, and so the stride of the horse may be
lengthened, and, thus far, his speed may be increased. But this advantage is
more than counterbalanced by many evils, This increased contraction of the
muscles is an expenditure of animal power ; and, as already stated, the weight
and the concussion being so unequally distributed by this formation of the
limbs, some part must be over-strained and over-worked, and injury must
ensue. On this account it is that the cow-hocked horse is more subject than
others to thoroughpin and spavin; and is so disposed to curbs, that these hocks
are denominated by horsemen curby hocks. ‘The mischief extends even farther
than this. Such a horse is peculiarly liable to windgall, sprain of the fetlock,
cutting, and knuckling.

A slight inclination to this form in a strong powerful horse may not be very
objectionable, but a horse decidedly cow-hocked should never be selected.

SWELLED LEGS.

The fore legs, but oftener the hind ones, and especially in coarse horses, are
sometimes subject to considerable enlargement. Occasionally, when the horve
368 SWELLED LEGS.

does not seem to labour under any other disease, and sometimes from an appa-
rent shifting of disease from other parts, the hind legs suddenly swell to an
enormous degree from the hock and almost from the stifle to the fetlock,
attended by a greater or less degree of heat, and tenderness of the skin, and
sometimes excessive and very peculiar lameness. The pulse likewise becomes
quick and hard, and the horse evidently labours under considerable fever. It is
acute inflammation of the cellular substance of the legs, and that most sudden
in its attack, and most violent in its degree, and therefore attended by the effu-
sion of a considerable quantity of fluid into the cellular membrane. It occurs
in young horses, and in those which are over-fed and little exercised. Fo-
mentation, diuretics, or purgatives, or, if there is much fever, a moderate bleed-
ing will often relieve the distension almost as suddenly as it appeared.

The kind of swelled legs most frequently occurring and most troublesome
is of a different nature, or rather it is most various in its kind and causes, and
consequences and mode of treatment. Sometimes the legs are filled, but there
is little lameness or inconvenience. At other times the limbs are strangely
gorged, and with a great degree of stiffness and pain, Occasionally the horse
is apparently well at night, but, on the following morning, one or both of the
legs are tremendously swollen; and on its being touched, the horse catches it
up suddenly, and nearly falls as he does so. Many horses, in seemingly perfect
health, if suffered to remain several days without exercise, will have swelled
legs. If the case is neglected, abscesses appear in various parts of the legs; the
heels are attacked by grease, and, if proper measures are not adopted, the horse
has an enlarged leg for life.

The cure, when the case has not been too long neglected, is sufficiently plain.
Physic or diuretics, or both, must be had recourse to. Mild cases will generally
yield to their influence ; but, if the animal has been neglected, the treatment
must be decisive. If the horse is in high condition these should be preceded or
accompanied by bleeding ; but if there are any symptoms of debility, bleeding
would only increase the want of tone in the vessels.

Horses taken from grass and brought into close stables very speedily have
swelled legs, because the difference of food and increase of nutriment rapidly
increase the quantity of the circulating fluid, while the want of exercise takes
away the means by which it might be got rid of. The remedy here is suffi-
ciently plain. Swelled legs, however, may proceed from general debility.
They may be the consequence of starvation, or disease that has considerably
weakened the animal ; and these parts, being farthest from the centre of circula-
tion, are the first to show the loss of power by the accumulation of fluid in
them. Here the means of cure would be to increase the general strength, with
which the extremities would sympathise. Mild diuretics and tonics would
therefore be evidently indicated. °

Horses in the spring and fall are subject to swelled legs. The powers of the
constitution are principally employed in providing a new coat for the animal,
and the extremities have not their share of vital influence. Mingled cordials
and diuretics are indicated here—the diuretic to lessen the quantity of the cir-
culating fluid, and the cordial to invigorate the frame.

Swelled legs are often teasing in horses that are in tolerable or good health:
but where the work is somewhat irregular the cure consists in giving more
equable exercise, walking the horse out daily when the usual work is not
required, and using plenty of friction in the form of hand-rubbing. Bandages
have a greater and more durable effect, for nothing tends more to support the
capillary vessels, and rouse the action of the absorbents, than moderate pressure.
Hay-bands will form a good bandage for the agricultural horse, and their effect
will probably be increased by previously dipping them in water.
369

GREASE.

The physic, or the diuretic ball, may occasionally be used, but very spa-
ringly ; and only when they are absolutely required. In the hands of the
owner of the horse, or of the veterinary surgeon, they may be employed with
benefit; but in those of the carter or the groom they will do far more harm
than good. The frequent and undue stimulus of the urinary organs by the
diuretic ball, will be too often followed by speedy and incurable debility. If
the swelling bids defiance to exercise and friction and bandage, the aid of the
diuretic may be resorted to, but never until these have failed, unless there is an
evident tendency to humour or grease.

Swelled legs, although distinct from grease, is a disease that is apt to degene-
rate into it. Grease is a specific inflammation of the skin of the heels, some-
times of the fore-feet, but oftener of the hinder ones. It is not a contagious
disease, as some have asserted, although when it once appears in a stable it
frequently attacks almost every horse in it. Bad stable management is the true
cause of it.

There is a peculiarity about the skin of the heel of the horse. In its healthy
state there is a secretion of greasy matter from it, in order to prevent excoriation
and chapping, and the skin is soft and pliable. Too often, however, from bad
management, the secretion of this greasy matter is stopped, and the skin of the
heel becomes red, and dry, and scurfy. The joint still continuing to be extended
and flexed, cracks of the skin begin to appear, and these, if neglected, rapidly
extend, and the heel becomes a mass of soreness, ulceration, and fungus,

The distance of the heel from the centre of circulation, and the position of
the hind limbs, render the return of blood slow and difficult. There is also
more variation of temperature here than in any other part of the frame. As
the horse stands in the closed stable, the heat of this part is too often increased
by its being embedded in straw. When the stable door is open the heels are
nearest to it, and receive first, and most powerfully, the cold current of air.
When he is taken from his stable to work the heels are frequently covered with
mire and wet, and they are oftenest and most intensely chilled by the long and
slow process of evaporation which is taking place from them. No one, then, can
wonder at the frequency with which the heels are attacked by inflammation,
and the difficulty there is in subduing it.

Much error has prevailed, and it has led to considerable bad practice, from
the notion of humours flying about the horse, and which, it is said, must have
vent somewhere, and attack the heels as the weakest part of the frame. Thence
arise the physicking, and the long course of diuretics, which tru/y weaken the
animal, and often do irreparable mischief.

Grease is a local complaint. It is produced principally by causes thas act
locally, and it is most successfully treated by local applications. Diuretics and
purgatives nay be useful in abating inflammation ; but the grand object is to get
rid of the inflammatory action which exists in the skin of the heel, and to heal
the wounds, and remedy the mischief which it has occasioned. :

The first appearance of grease is usually a dry and scurfy state of the skin
of the heel, with redness, heat, and itchiness. The heel should be well but
gently washed with soap and water, and as much of the scurf detached as is
easily removable. An ointment, composed of one part plumb. diacet. and seven
of adeps suille, will usually supple, and cool, and heal the part. —

When cracks appear, the mode of treatment will depend on their extent and
depth. If they are but slight, a lotion, composed plumbi sulph. 3ij. et
aluminis 3iiij., dissolved in a pint of water, will often speedily dry them up,
and close them. There is sometimes considerable caprice in the application sf this

BB
370 GREASE,

lotion, which has induced Professor Morton to have recourse to alumen et terebin-
thinus vulgaris one part each, and adeps suille three parts, made into an ointment,

If the cracks are deep, with an ichorous discharge and considerable lameness,
it will be necessary to poultice the heel. A poultice of linseed meal will be
generally effective, unless the discharge is thin and offensive, when an ounce of
finely powdered charcoal should be mixed with the linseed meal; or a poultice
of carrots, boiled soft and mashed. The efficacy of a carrot-poultice is seldom
sufficiently appreciated in cases like this.

When the inflammation and pain have evidently subsided, and the sores
discharge good matter, the calamine ointment may be applied with advantage ;
and the cure will generally be quickened if a very diluted vitriolic or alum
solution is applied. -

The best medicine will consist of mild aloetic balls; gentle diuretics being
given towards the close of the treatment.

After the chaps or cracks have healed, the legs will sometimes continue
gorged and swelled. A flannel bandage, evenly applied over the whole of the
swelled part, will be very serviceable ; or, should the season admit of it, a run
at grass, particularly spring grass, should be allowed. A blister is inadmissible,
from the danger of bringing back the inflammation of the skin, and the discharge
from it; but the actual cautery, special care being taken not to penetrate the
skin, may occasionally be resorted to.

In some cases the cracks are not confined to the centre of the heels, but
spread over them, and extend on the fetlock, and even up the leg, while the
legs are exceedingly swelled, and there is a watery discharge from the cracks,
and an apparent oozing through the skin at other places. The legs are exceed-
ingly tender and sometimes hot, and there is an appearance which the farrier
thinks very decisive as to the state of the disease, and which the better
informed man should not overlook—the heels smoke—the skin is so hot, that
the watery fluid partly evaporates as it runs from the cracks or oozes through
the skin.

There will be great danger in suddenly stopping this discharge. Inflamma-
tion of a more important part has rapidly succecded to the injudicious attempt.
The local application should be directed to the abatement of the inflammation.
The poultices just referred to should be diligently used night and day, and
especially the carrot-poultice ; and when the heat, and tenderness, and stiffness
of motion have diminished, astringent lotions may be applied—either the alum
lotion, or a strong decoction of oak-bark, changed, or used alternately, but not
mixed. The cracks should likewise be dressed with the ointment above-men-
tioned ; and, the moment the horse can bear it, a flannel bandage should be
put on, reaching from the coronet to three or four inches above the swelling.

The medicine should be confined to mild diuretics, mixed with one-third
part of cordial mash; or, if the horse is gross, and the inflammation runs high,a
dose of physic may be given. ° If the horse is strong, and full of flesh, physic
should always precede and sometimes supersede the diuretics. In cases of much
debility, diuretics, with aromatics or tonics, will be preferable.

The feeding should likewise vary with the case, but with these rules, which
admit of no exception, that green meat should be given, and more especially
carrots, when they are not too expensive, and mashes, if the horse will eat them,
and never the fuil allowance of corn.

Walking exercise should be resorted to as soon as the horse is able to bear it,
and this by degrees may be increased to a gentle trot.

From bad stable management at first, and neglect during the disease, a yet
worse kind of grease occasionally appears. The ulceration extends over the
skin of the heel and the fetlock, and a fungus springs from the surface of both,
GREASE. 371

highly sensible, bleeding at the slightest touch, and interspersed with scabs.
By degrees, portions of the fungus begin to be covered with a horny substance
protruding in the form of knobs, and collected together in bunches. ‘These are
known by the name of grapes. A foetid and very peculiar exudation proceeds
from nearly the whole of the unnatural substance. The horse evidently
suffers much, and is gradually worn down by the discharge. The assistance of
a veterinary surgeon is here indispensable.

Some horses are more subject to grease than others, particularly draught
horses, both heavy and light, but particularly the former, and if they have no
degree of blood inthem. It was the experience of this which partly contributed
tothe gradual change of coach and other draught horses to those of alighter breed.
In the great majority of cases, grease arises from mismanagement and neglect.

Everything that has a tendency to excite inflammation in the skin of the
heel is a cause of grease. Therefore want of exercise is a frequent source of
this disease. The fluid which accumulates about the extremities and is unable
to return, is a source of irritation by its continued pressure. When high feeding
‘s added to irregular or deficient exercise, the disease is evidently stil] more likely
to be produced. Want of cleanliness in the stable is a fruitful source of grease.
When the heels are imbedded in filth, they are weakened by the constant mois-
ture surrounding them— irritated by the acrimony of the dung and the urine,
and little prepared to endure the cold evaporation to which they’are exposed
when the horse is taken out of the stable. The absurd practice of washing the
feet and legs of horses when they come from their work, and either carelessly
sponging them down afterwards, or leaving them to dry as they may, is, how-
ever, the most common origin of grease.

When the horse is warmed by his work, and the heels share in the warmth,
the momentary cold of washing may not be injurious, if the animal is immediately
rubbed dry ; yet even this would be better avoided: but to wash out the heels,
and then leave them partially dry or perfectly wet, and suffering from the
extreme cold that is produced by evaporation from a moist and wet surface,
is the most absurd, dangerous, and injurious practice that can be imagined. It
is worse when the post-horse or the plough-horse is plunged up to his belly in
the river or pond, immediately after his work. The owner is little aware how
many cases of inflammation of the lungs, and bowels, and feet, and heels follow.
It would, therefore, be an excellent rule never to wash the heels of these horses.
After they have been suffered to stand for twenty minutes in the stable, during
which time the horse-keeper or the carter may be employed in taking care of
the harness, or carriage, or beginning to dress the horse, the greater part of the
dirt which had collected about the heels may be got rid of with a dry brush ;
and the rest will disappear a quarter of an hour afterwards under the operation
of a second brushing. The trouble will not be great, and the heels will not
be chilled and subject to inflammation.

There has been some dispute as to the propriety of cutting the hair from the
heels *. Custom has very properly retained the hair on our farm-horses. Na-
ture would not have given it had it not been useful. It guards the heel from
being injured by the inequalities of the ploughed field ; it prevents the dirt, in
which the heels are constantly enveloped, from reaching and caking on, and
irritating the skin ; it hinders the usual moisture which is mixed with the clay

 

* Professor Stewart has the following ob-
servations :—‘‘ During two very wet winters
Ihave had opportunity of observing the re-
sults of trimming and no trimming, among
upwards of 500 horses. More than 300 of
these have been employed in coaching and
posting, or work of a similar kind, and about
150 are cart-horsea, Grease, and other skin

diseases of the heels have been of most fre-
quent occurrence where the horses are both
trimmed and washed; they have been com-
mon where the horses were trimmed but not
washed, and there have been very few cases
where washing or trimming were forbidden or
neglected.”—Stable Economy, p. 116.

BB2
372 THE CRUST OR WALL OF THE HOOF.

and mould from reaching the skin, and it preserves an equal temperature in the
parts. If the hair is suffered to remain on the heels of the farm-horses, there is
greater necessity for brushing and hand-rubbing the heels, and never washing them.

Fashion and utility have removed the hair from the heels of our hackney
and carriage horses. When the horse is carefully tended after his work is over,
and his legs quickly and completely dried, the less hair he has about them the
better, for then both the skin and the hair can be made perfectly dry before
evaporation begins, or proceeds so far as to deprive the legs of their heat.
Grease is the child of negligence and mismanagement. It is driven from our
cavalry, and it will be the fault of the gentleman and the farmer if it is not
speedily banished from every stable.

 

CHAPTER XVIII.
THE FOOT.

# The external crust seen at
the quarter.

B The coronary ring.

c The little horny plates
lining the crust.

p The same continued over
the bars,

£ E The two concave surfaces
of the inside of the horny frog.

¥ That which externally is
the cleft of the frog.

G The bars.

u The rounded part of tho
heels, belonging to the frog.

 

This smaller cut exhibits, in as satisfactory a manncr, the mechanism and
structure of the base of the foot.

aa The frog.
6 The sole.
cc The bars,
dd The ernst.

 

The foot is composed of the horny box that covers the extremities of the horse,
and the contents of that box. The hoof or box is composed of the crust or wall,
thecoronary ring and band, the bars, the horny laminz, the sole, and the horny frog.

THE CRUST OR WALL OF THE HOOF.

The crust or wall, is that portion which is seen when the foot is placed on
the ground, and reaches from the termination of the hair to the ground. It is
deepest in front, where it is called the toe, measuring there about three inches
THE CRUST OR WALL OF THE HOOF. 373

and a half in depth (see cut, p. 874), shallower at the sides, which are denomi-
uated the quarters, and of least extent behind, where it is seldom more than an
inch and a half in height, and is termed the heel. The crust in the healthy
foot presents a flat and narrow surface to the ground, ascending obliquely back-
wards, and possessing different degrees of obliquity in different horses. In a
sound hoof the proper degree of obliquity is calculated at forty-five degrees, or
the fourth part of a semicircle, at the front of the foot. When the obliquity is
greater than this, it indicates undue flatness of the sole, and the crust is said
to have “fallen in.” If the obliquity is very much increased the sole projects,
and is said to be pumiced or convex.

If the foot is more upright, or forms a greater angle than forty-five degrees,
it indicates much contraction, and a sole too concave; and this difference of obli-
quity is often so great, that the convexity or concavity of the sole may be
affirmed without the trouble of raising the foot for the purpose of examination.

It is of some importance to observe whether the depth of the crust appears
rapidly or slowly to decrease from the front to the heel. If the decrease is little,
and even at the heel the crust is high and deep, this indicates a foot liable to
contraction, sandcrack, thrush, and inflammation. The pasterns are upright,
the paces of that horse are not pleasant. On the other hand, if the crust
rapidly diminishes in depth, and the heels are low, this is accompanied by too
great slanting of the pastern, and disposition to sprain in the back sinew. The
foot, generally, is liable to be weak and flat, and bruised, and there is more
tendency to the frequent, but obscure lameness, of which there will presently
be occasion to treat—the navicular-joint disease.

The crust is composed of numerous horny fibres, connected together by an
elastic membranous substance, and extending from the coronet to the base of
the hoof. It differs materially in its texture, its elasticity, its growth, and its
occasional fragility, according to the state in which it is kept, and the circum-
stances that are acting upon it.

The exterior wall of the hoof should be smooth and level. Protuberances or
rings round the crust indicate that the horse has had inflammation in the feet,
and that to such a degree, as to produce an unequal growth of horn, and pro-
bably to leave some injurious consequences in the internal part of the foot. If
there is a depression or hollow in the front of the foot, it betrays a sinking of
the coffin-bone, and a flat or pumiced sole. If there is a hollow at the quar-
ters, it is the worst symptom of bad contraction. :

The thickness of the crust, in the front of the foot, is rather more than half an
inch; it becomes gradually thinner towards the quarters and heels, but this
often varies to a considerable extent. In some hoofs, it is not more than half
the above thickness. 1 however there is not, in the majority of horses, more
than half an inch for nail-hold at the toe, and not so much at the quarters, it will
not appear surprising that these horses are occasionally wounded in shoeing, and
especially as some of them are very unmanageable while undergoing this process.

While the crust becomes thinner towards both quarters, it is more so at the
inner quarter than at the outer, because more weight is thrown upon it than
upon the outer. It is more under the horse. It is under the inner splint-bone,
on which so much more of the weight rests than on the outer ; and, being thin-
ner, it is able to expand more. Its elasticity is called more into play, and con-
cussion and injury are avoided. When the expansion of the quarters is pre-
vented by their being nailed to an unbending shoe, the inner quarter suffers
most. Corns are oftenest found there ; contraction begins there ; sand-crack is
seated there. Nature meant that this should be the most yielding part, in order
to obviate concussion, because on it the weight is principally thrown, and
therefore when its power of yielding is taken away it must be the first to suffer.

A careful observer will likewise perceive that the inner quarter is higher
374 THE BARS.

than the outer. While it is thin to yield to the shock, its increased surface
gives it sufficient strength.

On account of its thinness, and the additional weight which it bears, the
inner heel wears away quicker than the outer; a circumstance that should
never be forgotten by the smith. His object is to give a plane and level bearing
to the whole of the crust. To accomplish this, it will be often scarcely necessary
to remove anything from the inner heel, for this has already been done by the
wear of the foot. If he forgets this, as he too often seems to do, and cuts away
with his knife or his buttress an equal portion all round, he leaves the inner
and weaker quarter lower than the outer; he throws an uneven bearing upon
it; and produces corns and sandcracks and splints, which a little care and
common sense might have avoided.

THE CORONARY RING.

The crust does not vary much in thickness (see a, page 372, and 8, in the
accompanying cut), until near the top, at the coronet, or union of the horn of
the foot with the skin of the pasterns, where (w, page 345),
it rapidly gets thin. It is in a mannerscooped and hollowed
out. It likewise changes its colour and consistence, and seems
almost like a continuation of the skin, but casily separable
from it by maceration or disease. This thin part is called
the coronary ring, x, p. 345. It extends round the upper
portion of the hoofs, and receives, within it, or covers, a
thickened and bulbous prolongation of the skin, called the
coronary ligament (see b, in the accompanying cut). This
prolongation of the skin—it is nothing more—is thickly supplied with blood-
vessels. It is almost a mesh of blood-vessels connected together by fibrous
texture, and many of them are employed in secreting or forming the crust or
wall of the foot. Nature has enabled the sensible lamina of the coffin bone,
e, which will be presently described, to secrete a certain quantity of horn, in
order to afford an immediate defence for itself when the crust is wounded or
taken away. Of this there is proof when in sand-crack or quittor it is neces-
sary to remove a portion of the crust. A pellicle of horn, or of firm hard sub-
stance resembling it, soon covers the wound; but the crust is principally formed
from this coronary ligament. Hence it is, that in sand-crack, quittor, and other
diseases in which strips of the crust are destroyed, it is so long in being renewed,
or.growing down. It must proceed from the coronary ligament, and so gradually
creep down the foot with the natural growth or lengthening of the horn, of
which, as in the human nail, a supply is slowly given to answer to the wear
and tear of the part. ‘

Below the coronary ligament is a thin strip of horny matter, which has
heen traced to the frog, and has been supposed by some to be connected with
the support or action of that body, but which is evidently intended to add to
the security of the part on which it is found, and to bind together those various
substances which are cvllected at the coronet. It resembles, more than any-
thing else, the strip of skin that surrounds the root of the human nail, and
which is placed there to strengthen the union of the nail with the substance
from which it proceeds.

 

THE BARS.

At the back part of the foot the wall of the hoof, instead of continuing round
and forming a circle, is suddenly bent in as in the small cut, in page 872, where
drepresents the base of the crust, and e¢ its inflection or bending at the heel. The
bars are, in fact, a continuation of the crust, forming an acute angle, and meet-
ing at a point at the toe of the frog—see a, 6, and ¢, in the smaller cuts—and
THE SOLE. 375

the inside of the bars, like the inside of the crust—see the first and larger cut—
presents a continuance of the horny leaves, showing that it is a part of the same
substance, and helping to discharge the same office.

It needs only the slightest consideration of the cut, or of the natural hoof, to
show the importance of the bars. The arch which these form on either side
between the frog and the quarters, is admirably contrived both to admit of and
to limit to its proper extent the expansion of the foot. When the foot is placed
on the ground, and the weight of the animal is thrown on the leaves of which
mention has just been made, these arches will shorten and widen, in order to
admit of the expansion of the quarters—the bow returning to its natural
curve, and powerfully assisting the foot in regaining its usual form. It can
also be conceived that these bars must form a powerful protection against the
contraction, or wiring in, of the quarters. A moment's inspection of the cut (see
g, page 872) will show that, if the bars are taken away, there will be nothing
to resist the contraction or falling in of the quarters when the foot is exposed
to any disease or bad management that would induce it to contract. One
moment’s observation of them will also render evident the security which they
afford to the frog (f), and the effectual protection which they give to the lateral
portions of the foot.

Then appears the necessity of passing lightly over them, and leaving pro-
Minent, when the foot is pared for shoeing, that which so many smiths cut
perfectly away. They imagine that it gives a more open appearance to the
foot of the horse. Horses shod for the purpose of sale have usually the bars
removed with this view; and the smiths in the neighbourhood of the metropolis
and large towns, shoeing for dealers, too often habitually pursue, with regard
to all their cystomers, the injurious practice of removing the bars. The horny
frog, deprived of its guard, will speedily contract, and become elevated and
thrushy ; and the whole of the heel, having lost the power of resilience or
reaction which the curve between the bar ¢ and the crust d gave it (vide p 372,
cut), will speedily fall in.

THE HORNY LAMINA,

The inside of the crust is covered by thin horny leaves (c, page 372), ex-
tending all round it, and reaching from the coronary ring to the toe. They are
about 500 in number, broadest at their base, and terminating in the most
delicate expansion of horn. They not a little resemble the inner surface of a
mushroom. In front they run in a direction from the coronet to the toe, and
towards the quarters they are more slanting from behind forwards. They cor-
respond, as will be presently shown, with similar cartilaginous and fleshy leaves
on the surface of the coffin-bone, and form a beautiful elastic body, by which
the whole weight of the horse is supported.

THE SOLE

Is under and occupies the greater portion of the concave and elastic surface ot
the foot (see b, page 872), extending from the crust to the bars and frog. It is
not so thick as the crust, because, notwithstanding its situation, it does not
support so much weight as the crust ; and because it was intended to expand, in
order to prevent concussion, when, by the descent of the bone of the foot, tho
weight was thrown upon it. It is not so brittle as the crust, and it is more
elastic than it. It is thickest at the toe (see ¢, page 346), because the first
and principal stress is thrown on that part. The coffin-bone fis driven for-
ward and downward in that direction. It is likewise thicker where it unites
with the crust than it is towards the centre, for a similar and evident reason,
because there the weight is first and principally thrown.
376 THE FROG.

In a state of nature it is, to a certain degree, hollow. The reason of this is
plain. It is intended to descend or yield with the weight of the horse, and by
that gradual descent or yielding most materially lessen the shock which would
result from the sudden action of the weight of the animal in rapid and violent
exercise; and this descent can only be given by a hollow sole. A flat sole,
already pressing upon the ground, could not be brought lower ; nor could the
functions of the frog be then discharged ; nor would the foot have so secure a
hold. Then if the sole is naturally hollow, and hollow because it must descend,
the smith should not interfere with this important action. When the foot will
bear it, he must pare out sufficient of the horn to preserve the proper concavity ;
also a small portion at the toe and near the crust, and cutting deeper towards
the centre. He must put on a shoe which shall not prevent the descent of
the sole, and which not only shall not press upon it, but shall leave sufficient room
between it and the sole to admit of this descent. If the sole is pressed upon by
the coffin-bone during the lengthening of the elastic lamine, and the shoe will
not permit its descent, the sensible part between the coffin-bone and the horn will
necessarily be bruised, and inflammation and lameness will ensue. It is from
this cause, that if a stone insinuates itself between the shoe and the sole, it pro-
duces so much lameness. Of the too great concavity of the sole, or the want of
concavity in it, we shall treat when we arrive at diseases of the foot.

THE FROG.

In the space between the bars, and accurately filling it, is the Frog. It is a
triangular portion of horn, projecting from the sole, almost on a level with the
crust, and covering and defending a soft and elastic substance called the sensible
frog. It is wide at the heels, and there extending beyond a portion of the crust ;
narrowing rapidly when it begins to be confined between the bars, and terminat-
ing in a point at somewhat more than half the distance from the heel to the toe.
It consists of two rounded or projecting surfaces, with a fissure or cleft between
them reaching half way down the frog, and the two portions again uniting to
form the point or toe of the frog.

The frog is firmly united to the sole, but it is perfectly distinct from it. It
is of a different nature, being softer, and far more elastic ; and it is secreted from
a different surface, for it is thrown out from the substance which it covers. It
very much resembles a wedge with the sharp point forwards ; and it is placed
towards the back part of the foot. The foot is seldom put flush and flat upon
the ground, but in a direction downwards, yet somewhat forwards; then the
frog evidently gives safety to the tread of the animal, for it occasionally ploughs
itself into the ground, and prevents the horse from slipping. This is of consi-
derable consequence, when some of the paces of the horse are recollected, in
which his heels evidently come first to the ground, and in which the danger
from slipping would be very great. Reference needs only be made to the gallop
as illustrative of this.

The frog being placed at, and filling the hinder part of the foot, discharges a
portion of the duty sustained by the crust ; for it supports the weight of the animal.
It assists, likewise, and that to a material degree, in the expansion of the foot.
It is formed internally of two prominences on the sides (see a, p. 372), and a
cleft in the centre, presenting two concavities with a sharp projection in the
middle, and a gradually rounded one on each side. It is also composed of a
substance peculiarly flexible and elastic. What can be so well adapted for the
expansion of the foot when a portion of the weight of the body is thrown on it?
How easily will these irregular surfaces yield and spread out, and how readily
return again to their natural state? In this view, therefore, the horny frog is
a powerful agent in opening the foot; and the diminution of the substance of
THE COFFIN-BONE. 377

the frog, and its elevation above the ground, are both the canse and the conse-
quence of contraction—the cause, as being able no longer powerfully to act in
expanding the heels, and the consequence, as obeying a law of nature, by which
that which no longer discharges its natural function is gradually removed. It
is, however, the cover and defence of the internal and sensible frog, which will be
presently treated of ; enough, however, has been said to show the absurdity of
the common practice of unsparingly cutting it away. In order to discharge, in
any degree, some of the offices which we have assigned to it, and fully to dis-
tharge even one of them, it- must come in occasional contact with the ground,
In the unshod horse it is constantly so: but the additional support given by
the shoes, and more especially the hard roads over which the horse is now com-
pelled to travel, render this complete exposure of the frog to the ground, not
soly unnecessary, but injurious. Being of so much softer consistence than the
rest of the foot, it would be speedily worn away : occasional pressure, however,
or contact with the ground, it must have.

The rough and detached parts should be cut off at cach shoeing, and the sub-
stance of the frog itself, so as to bring it just above or within the level of the
shoe. It will then, in the descent of the sole, when the weight of the horse is
thrown upon it in the putting down of the foot, descend likewise, and pressing
upon the ground, do its duty ; while it will be defended from the wear, and
bruise, and injury that it would receive if it came upon the ground with the
first and full shock of the weight. This will be the proper guide to the smith
in shoeing, and to the proprietor in the direction which he gives. The
latter should often look to this, for it isa point of very great moment. A few
smiths carry the notion of frog pressure to an absurd extent, and leave the
frog beyond the level of the sole,—a practice which is dangerous in the horse of
slow draught, and destructive to the hackney or the hunter; but the majority
of them err in a contrary way, and, cutting off too much of the frog, lift it above
the ground, and destroy its principal use. It should be left just above, or within
the level of the shoe.

THE COFFIN-BONE.

The interior part of the foot must now be considered. The lower pastern, a
small portion of which (see d, page 345) is contained in the horny box, has been
already described, p. 850.—Beneath it, and altogether inclosed in the hoof, is
the coffin-bone, or proper bone of the foot, (see f, page 845, and d, fig. 1, page
350). It is fitted to, and fills the fore part of the hoof, occupying about half of
it. It is of a light and spongy structure (see d, fig. 1, page 350), and filled
with numerous minute foramina. Through these pass the blood-vessels and
nerves of the foot, which are necessarily numerous, considering the important
and various secretions there carrying on, and the circulation through the foot
which could not possibly be kept up if these vessels did not run through the
substance of the bone. Considering the manner in which this bone is inclosed
in the horny box, and yet the important surfaces around and below it that are
to be nourished with blood, the circulation which is thus carried on within the
very body of the bone is one of the most beautiful provisions of nature that is
to be found in the whole frame. No inconvenience can arise from occasional
or constant pressure, but the bone allows free passage to the blood, and protects
it from every possible obstruction. -

The fore part of the coffin-bone is not only thus perforated, but it is curiously
roughened’ for the attachment of the numerous minute laminew about to be
described. On its upper surface it presents a concavity for the head of the
lower pastern, p. 350. In front, immediately above d, is a striking prominence,
into which is inserted the extensor tendon of the foot. At the back e, p. 345,
378 THE SENSIBLE FROG.

it is sloped for articulation with the navicular bone, and more underneath, is a
depression for the reception of the perforating flexor tendon, m, continued down
the leg, passing over the navicular bone at n, and at length inserted into this
bone. On either side, as seen p. 350, are projections called the wings, or heels
of the coffin-bone, and at the bottom it is hollowed to answer to the convexity
of the internal part of the sole.

That which deserves most attention in the coffin-bone is the production of
the numerous laminew round its front and sides. They are prolongations of the
thick and elastic membrane covering it, and consist of cartilaginous, fleshy
plates, proceeding from it, running down the coffin-bone, and corresponding
with and received between the horny leaves that line the inside of the hoof-
bone—each horny plate being received between two sensitive plates, and vice
versa. These lamin are exceedingly sensitive and vascular, and elastic, and,
as first simply and beautifully explained by Mr. Percivall, their elasticity is
not inherent in the laminw, but in the substance which connects these laminz
with the coffin-bone, and which, while it contains highly elastic properties,
affords a convenient bed for the numerous vessels that secrete the lamin.
While the animal is at rest, the whole weight of the horse is supported by
them, and not by the sole. This extraordinary fact has been put to the test of
experiment. The sole, bars, and frog were removed from the foot of a horse,
and yet as he stood, the coffin-bone did not protrude, or in the slightest degreo-
descend ; but when the rapidity with which the foot descends is added to the
weight of the horse, these little leaves, horny and fleshy, gradually lengthen,
and suffer the bones to press upon the sole. The sole then descends, and in
descending, expands ; and so, by an admirable mechanism, the violent shock
which would be produced by the pressure of such a weight as that of the horse,
and the velocity with which it descends, is lessened or destroyed, and the com-
plicated apparatus of the foot remains uninjured. When the foot is again
lifted, and the weight which pressed upon it is removed, the principle of elasti-
city is called into exercise, and by it the sole resumes its concavity, and the horny
frog its folded state ;—the quarters return to their former situation,—the leaves
regain their former length, and every thing is prepared for a repetition of action.

THE SENSIBLE SOLE.

Between the coffin-bone and the horny sole is situated the sensible sole,
p. 345, formed above of a substance of a ligamentous or tendinous nature, and
below of a cuticular or skin-like substance, plentifully supplied with blood.
vessels, It was placed between the coffin-bone and the sole, by its yielding
structure to assist in preventing concussion, and also to form a supply of horn for
the sole. It extends beyond the coffin-bone, but not at all under the frog.
Leaving a space for the frog, it proceeds over the bars, and there is covered by
some lamine, to unite with those that have been described, page 372, as found
in the bars. It is here likewise thicker, and more elastic, and by its elasticity
is evidently assisting in obviating concussion. It is supplied with nervous
fibres, and is highly sensible, as the slightest experience in horses will evince.
The lameness which ensues from “he pressure of a stone or of the shoe on the
sole is caused by inflammation of the sensible sole. Corns result from bruise
and inflammation of the sensible sole, between the crust and the bar.

THE SENSIBLE FROG.

The coffin-bone does not occupy more than one half of the hoof. The pos-
terior part is filled by a soft mass, partly ligamentous, and partly tendinous
(9, page 345). Its shape below corresponds with the cavities of the horny
frog ; in front it is attached te the inferior part of the coffin-bone ; and farther
THE CARTILAGES OF THE FOOT 37%

back, it adheres to the lower part of the cartilages of the heels, where they
begin to form the rounded protuberances that constitute the heel of the foot.
It occupies the whole of the back part of the foot above the horny frog and
between the cartilages. Running immediately above the frog, and along the
greater part of it, we find the perforans flexor tendon, which passes over the
navicular bone, e, p. 845, and is inserted into the heel of the coffin-bone.

THE NAVICULAR BONE

Is placed behind and beneath the lower pastern-bone, and behind and above the
heel of the coffin-bone, e, p. 845, so that it forms a joint with both bones, and
answers a very important office in strengthening the union between these parts,
in receiving a portion of the weight which is thrown on the lower pastern and
in enabling the flexor tendon to act with more advantage. Supposing that this
tendon were inserted into the coffin-bone without the intervention of the navi-
cular bone, it would act at great mechanical disadvantage in bending the pastern,
for it is inserted near the end of the coffin-bone, and the weight, concentrated
about the middle of the bone, is far off, and requires a great power to raise it ;
but when the navicular bone is interposed, the centre of motion becomes the
posterior edge of that bone, where it is in contact with the tendon, and then it
will be seen that the distance of the power from the centre of motion is nearly
or quite the same as the weight, and very great expenditure of muscular power
will be saved. In the one case, the power must be at least double the weight,
in the other they will be nearly equal ; and also the angle at which the tendon
is inserted, is considerably more advantageous. Perhaps this is the principal
use of the navicular bone ; yet at the same time we are aware of the benefit
which accrues (see page 345) from a portion of the weight being taken from
the coffin-bone, and thrown on the navicular bone, and from it on the tendon,
and the tendon resting on the elastic frog underneath. The navicular bone is
sometimes, but inaccurately, said to descend with the motion of the foot. It
does not do that. It cannot; for it is connected both with the pastern and
coffin-bones by inelastic ligaments. When, however, the horny bulb, with its
tuft of hair, at the back of an oblique fetlock, descends in the rapid gallop, and
almost touches the ground, the navicular bone, being as it were a part of the
pastern, must descend with it. With this exception, both in the extending and
the bending of the pastern, the navicular bone turns or rolls upon the other bones
rather than descends or ascends, and with this remarkable advantage, that when
the pastern is extended (see page 345), the navicular bone is placed in that
situation which enables the flexor tendon to act with greatest advantage in again
bending the foot.

THE CARTILAGES OF THE FOOT.

There is a groove extending along the upper part of the coffin-bone and on
either side, except at the protuberance which receives the extensor tendon ¢,
page 345, occupied by cartilage, which, like the crust, is convex outwards and
concave inwards. It extends to the very posterior part of the foot, rising about
the quarters half an inch or more above the hoof, and diminishing in height
forward and backward. These cartilages occupy a greater portion of the foot
than does the coffin-bone, as will be seen in the lowest cut, page 350, where
they are represented as extending far behind the coffin-bone. They are held in
their situation not merely by this groove, but by other connexions with the coffin-
bone, the navicular bone, and the flexor tendon, and are thus perfectly secured.

Below are other cartilages connected with the under edges of the former, and
on either side of the frog.

Between these cartilages is the sensible frog, filling up the whole of the space.

a
380 INFLAMMATION OF THE FOOT, OR ACUTE FOUNDER.

and answering several important purposes, being an elastic bed on oo a
cular bone and the tendon (see page 345) can play with security, and wit pu
concussion or shock, by which all concussion communicated to the cartilages of
the foot are destroyed—by which these cartilages are kept asunder, and the expan-
sion of the upper part of the foot preserved. As the descent of the sole increases
the width of the lower part of the foot, so the elevation of the frog, a portion of _
it being pressed upward and outward by the action of the navicular bone and
tendon, causes the expansion of its upper part. Precisely as the strong muscle
peculiar to quadrupeds at the back of the eye (see page 127), being forcibly
contracted, presses upon the fatty matter in which the eye is imbedded, which
may be displaced, but cannot be squeezed into less compass, and which, being
forced towards the inner corner of the eye, drives before it that important and
beautiful mechanism the haw, so the elastic and yielding substance the frog,
being pressed upon by the navicular bone and the tendon, and the pastern, and
refusing to be condensed into less compass, forces itself out on either side of them,
and expands the lateral cartilages, which again, by their inherent elasticity,
recur to their former situation, when the frog no longer presses them outward.
It appears, that by a different mechanism, but both equally admirable, and
referable to the same principle, viz. that of elasticity, the expansion of the upper
and lower portions of the hoof are effected, the one by the descent of the sole,
the other by the compression and rising of the frog.

It is this expansion upward, which contributes principally to the preservation
of the usefulness of the horse, when our destructive methods of shoeing are so
calculated to destroy the expansion beneath. In draught horses, from the long
continued as well as violent pressure on the frog, and from the frog on the carti-
lage, inflammation is occasionally produced, which terminates in the cartilages
being changed into bony matter.

 

CHAPTER -XIX.
THE DISEASES OF THE FOOT.

eps

Or these there is a long list. That will not be wondered at by those who
have duly considered the complicated structure of the foot, the duty it has to
perform, and the injuries to which it is exposed. It will be proper to commence
with that which is the cause of many other diseases of the foot, and connected
with almost all.

INFLAMMATION OF THE FOOT, OR ACUTE FOUNDER.

The sensible lamin, or fleshy plates on the front and sides of the coffin-bone,
being replete with blood-vessels, are, like every other vascular part, liable to
inflammation, from its usual causes, and particularly from the violence with
which, in rapid and long-continued action, these parts are strained and bruised.
When ina severely contested race they have been stretched to their utmost,
while, at the fullest stride of the horse, his weight has been thrown on them
with destructive force; or, when the feet have been battered and bruised in a
hard day’s journey, it will be no wonder if inflammation of the over-worked
parts should ensue, and the occurrence of it may probably be produced and the
disease aggravated by the too prevalent absurd mode of treating the animal. If
a horse that has been ridden or driven hard is suffered to stand in the cold, or if
his feet are washed and not speedily dried he is very iikely to have “ fever in
INFLAMMATION OF THE FOOT, OR ACUTE FOUNDER, 38)

the feet.” There is no more fruitful source ot inflammation in the human
being, or the brute, than these sudden changes of temperature. This has been
explained as it regards grease, but it bears more immediately on the point now
under consideration. The danger is not confined to change from heat to cold.
Sudden transition from cold to heat is as injurious, and therefore it is that so
many horses, after having been ridden far in frost and snow, and placed imme-
diately in a hot stable, and littered up to the knees, are attacked by this com-
plaint. The feet and the lungs are the organs oftenest attacked, because they
have previously suffered most by our mismanagement, and are most disposed to
take on disease, and that which would cause slight inflammation of other parts,
or trifling general derangement, will produce all its mischief on these organs ;
therefore it is that horses, the crust or laminz of whose feet are warped or
obliquely placed, are most subject to it.

Sometimes there is a sudden change of inflammation from one organ to another.
A horse may have laboured for several days under evident inflammation of the
lungs; all at once that will subside, and the discase will appear in the feet,
or inflammation of the feet may follow similar affections in the bowels or
the eyes. In cases of severe inflammation of the lungs, it may not be bad practice
to remove the shoes and poultice the feet.

To the attentive observer the symptoms are clearly marked, and yet there is
no disease so often overlooked by the groom and the carter, and even by the
veterinary surgeon. The disease may assume an acute or a chronic form. The
earliest symptoms of fever in the feet are fidgetiness, frequent shifting of the
fore-legs, but no pawing, much less any attempts to reach the belly with the
hind-feet. ‘I'he pulse is quickened, the flanks heaving, the nostrils red, and
the horse, by his anxious countenance, and possibly moaning, indicating great
pain. Presently he looks about his litter, as if preparing to lie down, but he
does not do so immediately ; he continues to shift his weight from foot to foot ;
he is afraid to draw his feet sufficiently under him for the purpose of lying
down: but at length he drops. The circumstance of his lying down at an
early period of the disease will sufficiently distinguish inflammation of the
feet from that of the lungs, in which the horse obstinately persists in standing
until he drops from mere exhaustion. His quietness when down will distin-
guish it from colic or inflammation of the bowels, in both of which the horse
is up and down, and frequently rolling and kicking when down. When the
grievance is in the feet, the horse experiences so much relief, from getting rid
of the weight painfully distending the inflamed and highly sensible lamine,
that he is glad to lie as long as he can. He will likewise, as clearly as in
inflammation of the lungs or bowels, point out the seat of disease by looking
at the part. His muzzle will often rest on the feet or the affected foot. He
must be inattentive who is not aware of what all this indicates. _

If the feet are now examined, they will be found evidently hot. The patient
will express pain if they are slightly rapped with a hammer, and the artery at the
pastern will throb violently. No great time will now pass, if the disease is
suffered to pursue its course, before he will be perfectly unable to rise ; or, if
he is forced to get up, and one foot is lifted, he will stand with difficulty on the
other, or perhaps drop at once from intensity of pain.

The treatment will resemble that of other inflammations, with such differ-
ences as the situation of the disease may suggest. Bleeding is indispensable ;
and that to its fullest extent. If the disease is confined to the fore-feet, four
quarts of blood should be taken as soon as possible from the toe of each at the
situation pointed out, fig. 2, p- 346, and in the manner already described ;
care being taken to open the artery as well as the vein. The feet may like-
wise be put into warm water, to quicken the flow of the blood, and increase
882 CHRONIC LAMINITIS.

the quantity abstracted. Poultices of linseed meal, made very soft, should
cover the whole of the foot and pastern, and be frequently renewed, which will
promote evaporation from the neighbouring parts, and possibly through the pores
of the hoof, and, by softening and rendering supple the hoof, will relieve its
painful pressure on the swelled and tender parts beneath. More fully to accom-
plish this last purpose, the shoe should be removed, the sole pared as thin as
possible, and the crust, and particularly the quarters, well rasped. All this
must be done gently, and with a great deal of patience, for the poor animal
can scarcely bear his feet to be meddled with. There used to be occasional
doubt as to the administration of physic, from fear of metastasis of inflam-
mation which has sometimes occurred, and been generally fatal. When,
however, there is so much danger of losing the patient from the original attack,
we must run the risk of the other. Sedative and cooling medicines should be
diligently administered, consisting of digitalis, nitre, and emetic tartar.

If no amendment is observed, three quarts of blood should be taken from
each foot on the following day. In extreme cases, a third bleeding of two
yuarts may be justifiable, and, instead of the poultice, cloths kept wet with
water in which nitre has been dissolved immediately before, and in the propor-
tion of an ounce of nitre to a pound of water, may be wrapped round the feet.
About the third day a blister may be tried, taking in the whole of the pastern
and the coronet ; but a cradle must previously be put on the neck of the horse,
and the feet must be covered after the blister, or they will probably, be sadly
blemished. The horse should be kept on mash diet, unless green meat can be
procured for him ; and even that should not be given too liberally, nor should
he, in the slightest degree, be coaxed to eat. When he appears to be recover-
ing, his getting on his feet should not be hurried. It should be left perfectly
to his own discretion ; nor should even walking exercise be permitted until he
stands firm on his feet. When that is the case, and the season will permit,
two months’ run at grass will be very serviceable.

It is not always, however, or often, that inflammation of the feet is thus
easily subdued ; and, if it is subdued, it sometimes leaves after it some fearful
consequences. The loss of the hoof is not an unfrequent one. About six or
seven days from the first attack, a slight separation will begin to appear be-
tween the coronet and the hoof. This should be carefully attended to, for the
separated horn will never again unite with the parts beneath, but the disunion
will extend, and the hoof will be lost. It is true that a new hoof will be formed,
but it will be smaller in size and weaker than the first, and will rarely stand
hard work. When this separation is observed, it will be a matter of calculation
with the proprietor of the horse whether he will suffer the medical treatment
to proceed.

CHRONIC LAMINITIS,

This is a species of founder, insidious in its attack, and destructive to the
horse. It is a milder form of the preceding disease. There is lameness, but it
is not so severe as in the former case. The horse stands as usual. The crust is
warm, and that warmth is constant, but it is not often probably greater than in
astate of health. The surest symptom is the action of the animal. It is dia-
metrically opposite to that in the navicular disease. The horse throws as much
of his weight as he can, on the posterior parts of his feet.

The treatment should be similar to that recommended for the acute disease—
Llood-letting, cataplasms, fomentations, and blisters, ard the last much sooner
and much more frequently than in the former disease,
383

PUMICED FEET.

The sensible and horny little piates which were elongated and partially sepa-
rated during the intensity of the inflammation of founder, will not always per-
fectly unite again, or will have lost much of their elasticity, and the coffin-bone,
no longer fully supported by them, presses upon the sole, and the sole becomes
flattened, or convex, from this unnatural weight, and.the horse acquires a
PpUMICcED Foot. This will also happen when the animal is used too soon after
an attack of inflammation of the feet, and before the lamine have regained suf-
ficient strength to support the weight of the horse, or to contract again by their
elastic power when they have yielded to the weight. When the coffin-bone is
thus thrown on the sole, and renders it pumiced, the crust at the front of the
hoof will “fall in,” leaving a kind of hollow about the middle of it.

Pumiced feet, especially in horses with large, wide feet, are frequently
produced without this acute inflammation. Undue work, and especially
much battering of the feet on the pavement, will extend and sprain these
laminz so much, that they will not have the power to contract, and thus the
coffin-bone will be thrown backward on the sole, A very important law of
nature will unfortunately soon be active here. When pressure is applied to any
part, the absorbents become busy in removing it; so, when the coffin-bone
begins to press upon the sole, the sole becomes thin from the increased wear
and tear to which it is subjected by contact with the ground, and also because
these absorbents are rapidly taking it away.

This is one of the diseases of the feet for which there is no cure. No skill
is competent to effect a reunion between the separated fleshy and horny lamine,
or to restore to them the strength and elasticity of which they have been
deprived, or to take up that hard horny substance which speedily fills the space
between the crust and the receding coffin-bone. Some efforts have been made
to palliate the disease, but they have been only to a slight degree successful.
If horses, on the first appearance of flat feet, were turned out in a dry place,
or put into a box for two or three months, sufficient stress would not be thrown
on the lamin to increase the evil, and time might be given for the growth of
horn enough in the sole to support the coffii-bone ; yet it is much to be doubted
whether these horses would ever be useful, even for ordinary purposes. The
slowest work required of them would drive the coffin-bone on the sole, and the
projection would gradually reappear, for no power and no length of time can again
unite the separated leaves of the coffin-bone and the hoof. All that can be done
in the way of palliation is by shoeing. Nothing must press on the projecting
and pumiced part. If the projection is not considerable, a thick bar shoe is the
best thing that can be applied; but should the sole have much descended, a
shoe with a very wide web, bevelled off so as not to press on the part, may be
used. These means of relief, however, are only temporary, the disease will
proceed ; and, at no great distance of time, the horse will be useless.

The occasional removal of the shoe, and compelling the horse to stand for
a while on the crust and lamina, has been resorted to. The bar shoe and the
leathern sole, and occasional dressing with tar ointment have had their advocates,
and it is sufficiently plain that the pumiced foot should have plenty of cover.

A somewhat similar affection, known by the name of a “ Seedy Toe, is thus
described by Mr. W. C. Spooner :—“ It can scarcely be called a disease, but it
is rather a natural defect, which may be considerably increased by labour and
bad shoeing. It arises from too great dryness of the horn, which renders it
brittle, and causes its fibres to separate. There is a want of that tough
clastic material which connects the longitudinal fibres together, and produces
that strong bond of union between them and the horny laminz and the sole. There
384 CONTRACTION.

isa hollow space within the foot, which sometimes extends upward and around,
go as to admit a large probe. Neither the bone nor the laminae, however, are
exposed, but are still protected by the internal portion of the crust. The only
thing to be done is to anoint the foot occasionally, particularly the affected part,
with tar and grease. A blister may also be applied to excite the development
of a new growth of horn, that which is become dry and brittle being occasionally
cut away *.”
CONTRACTION.

The cut page 372, will give a fair idea of the young healthy foot, approach.
ing nearly to a circle, and of which the quarters form the widest part, and the
inner quarter (this is the near foot) rather wider than the outer. This shape
is not long preserved in many horses, but the foot increases in length, and nar-
rows in the quarters, and particularly at the heel, and the frog is diminished in
width, and the sole becomes more concave, and the heels higher, and lameness,
or at least a shortened and feeling action, ensues.

It must be premised that there is a great deal more horror of contracted heele
than there is occasion for. Many persons reject a horse at once if the quarters
are wiring in ; but the fact is, that although this is an unnatural form of the”
hoof, it is slow of growth, and nature kindly makes that provision for the slowly
altered form of the hoof which she does in similar cases—she accommodates the
parts to the change of form. As the hoof draws in, the parts beneath, and par-
ticularly the coffin-bone, and especially the heels of that bone, diminish ; or,
after all, it is more a change of form than of capacity. As the foot lengthens
in proportion as it narrows, so does the coffin-bone, and it is as perfectly adjusted
as before to the box in which it is placed. Its laminew are in as intimate and
perfect union with those of the crust as before the hoof had begun to change.
On this account it is that many horses, with very contracted feet, are perfectly
sound, and no horse should be rejected merely because he has contraction. He
should undoubtedly be examined more carefully, and with considerable suspi-
cion; but if he has good action, and is otherwise unexceptionable, there is no
reason that the purchase should not be made. A horse with contracted feet, if
he goes sound, is better than another with open but weak heels.

The opinion is perfectly erroneous that contraction is the necessary conse-
quence of shoeing. There can be no doubt that an inflexible iron ring being
nailed to the foot prevents, to a very considerable degree, the descent of the sole
and the expansion of the heels below; and it is likewise probable, that when the
expansion of the heels is prevented they often begin to contract. But here
again nature, cut off from one resource, finds others. If one of the jugular
veins is lost, the blood pursues its course by other channels, and the horse does not
appear to suffer in the slightest degree. Thus also if the expansion of the heels
below is diminished, that of the cartilages above is made more use of. If the
coffin-bone has not so much descent downward, it probably acquires one back-
ward, and the functions of the foot are usefully if not perfectly performed. The
plain proof of this is, that although there are many horses that are injured or
ruined by bad shoeing, there are others, and they are a numerous class, who
suffer not at all from good shoeing, and scarcely even from bad. Except it be
from accident, how seldom is the farmer’s horse lame; and it might even be
farther asked, how seldom is his foot much contracted? Some gentlemen who
are careful of their horses have driven them twenty years, and principally over
the rough pavement of towns, without a day’s lameness. Shoeing may be a
necessary evil, but it is not the evil which some speculative persons have
supposed it to be ; and the undoubted fact is, that when the horse is put to real

 

© Spooner on the Foot of the Horse,
CONTRACTION. 385

hard work, and when the injury produced by shoeing in destroying the expan-
sibility of the foot would most of all show itself, the foot lasts a great deal longer
than the leg; nay, horsemen tell us that one pair of good feet is worth two
pairs of legs.

Having thus premised that contraction is not inevitably accompanied by
lameness, and that shoeing, with all its evils, does not necessarily injure the
foot, those cases of contraction, too numerous, which are the consequence of our
stable management, and which do cripple and ruin the horse, may be considered.
There is nothing in the appearance of the feet which would enable us to decide
when contraction is or is not destructive to the usefulness of the animal ; his
mamner of going, and his capability for work, must be our guides. Lameness
usually accompanies the beginning of contraction ; it is the invariable attendant
on rapid contraction, but it does not always exist when the wiring in is slow or
of long standing.

A very excellent writer, particularly when treating of the foot of the horse,
Mr. Blaine, has given us a long and correct list of the causes of injurious
contraction, and most of them are, fortunately, under the control of the owner
of the animal. He places at the head of them, neglect of paring. The hoof is
continually growing, the crust is lengthening, and the sole is thickening. This
is a provision for the wear and tear of the foot in an unshod state; but when it
is protected by a shoe, and none of the horn can be worn away by coming in
contact with the ground, and the growth of horn continues, the hoof grows
high, and the sole gets thick, and, in consequence of this, the descent of the
sole and the expansion of the heels are prevented, and contraction is the result.
The smith might lessen, if not prevent the evil, by carefully thinning the sole
and lowering the heels at each shoeing; but the first of these is a matter of
considerable labour, and the second could not be done effectually without being
accompanied by the first, and therefore they are both neglected. The pre-
judice of many owners of horses assists in increasing the evil; they imagine
that a great deal of mischief is done by cutting away the foot. Mischief may
be the result of injudicious cutting, when the bars are destroyed and the frog is
elevated from the ground ; but more evil results from the unyielding thickness
of horn impairing the elastic and expansive principle of the foot. If gentlemen
would occasionally stand by, and see that the sole is properly thinned, and the
heels lowered, they would be amply repaid in the comfort and usefulness of
the horse.

Ill-judged economy is another source of this disease. If the shoes of one
smith will, with ordinary work, last a little more than three weeks, while
another contrives to make his last six weeks, he is supposed to be the better
workman and the more honest man, and he gets the greater part of the custom.
His shoe is suffered to remain on during the whole time, to the manifest injury
of the feet, and that injury is materially increased by the greater thickness
and weight of these shoes, and the tightness with which they are fastened on,
the nails being necessarily placed nearer to the quarters, and possibly an addi~
tional nail or two used in the fastening, and these also applied at the quarters.
There is no rule which admits of so little exception, as that, once in about every
three weeks, the growth of horn which the natural wear of the foot cannot get
rid of, should be pared away—the toc should be shortened in most feet—the sole
should be thinned, and the heels lowered. Every one who has carefully ob~
served the shape of the horse’s foot, must have seen that in proportion to its
height or neglected growth, it contracts and closes round the coronet. A
low-heeled horse might have other serious defects, of which it will be our duty
to speak, but he has seldom a contracted foot.

Another source of contraction is the want of natural moisture. The unshod

co
386 CONTRACTION.

colt has seldom contracted feet, nor does the horse at grass acquire them,
because the hoof is kept cool and damp by occasional rain, and by the regular
dew. It is thusrendered supple, and its elasticity is preserved, and the expan-
sive power of the foot is uninjured. The hoof of the stabled horse sometimes
has not one drop of moisture on it for several days. The effect of this, in the
contraction of the horn, is sufficiently evident. Hence the propriety of stopping
the feet where there is the least tendency to contraction. The intelligent
and careful groom will not omit it a single night. Cow-dung, with a small
portion of clay to give it consistence, is a common and very good stopping.
A better one isa piece of thick felt cut to the shape of the sole and soaked
in water. The common stopping of tar and grease is peculiarly objection-
able, for it closes the pores of the feet, and ultimately increases the dryness
and brittleness which it was designed to remedy.

The usual management of the farmer's horse that is often turned out after
his daily task is exacted, or whose work is generally performed where the fect
are exposed to moisture, is an excellent preventive against contraction.

Some persons have complained much of the influence of litter. If the horse
stands many hours in the day with his feet imbedded in straw, it is supposed
that the hoof must be unnaturally heated ; and it is said that the horn will con-
tract under the influence of heat. It is seldom, however, that the foot is so
surrounded by the litter that its heat will be sufficiently increased to produce
this effect. It will be difficult to produce the case in which contraction, or
thrush, or tenderness, have been produced by the horse standing on dry litter.
There are thousands of horses that stand upon straw twenty hours out of the
twenty-four, without receiving the slightest injury from it. The author of
this work is not one of those who would, during the day, remove all litter
from under the horse. It gives a naked and uncomfortable appearance to the
stable. There is a considerable difference in our own feelings whether we stand
for an hour or two on the hard stones, or a soft carpet, and especially whether
we beat our feet upon the one or the other. Humanity and a proper care of
the foot of the horse should induce the owner to keep some litter under the
animal during the day ; but his feet need not sink so deeply in it that their
temperature becomes much affected. If the straw is suffered to remain until
it is wet, hot, and rotten, the effluvia proceeding from it may produce cough, or
inflammation of the eyes, or thrushes in the feet ; but alight bed of straw, with
tolerable attention to cleanliness, can never do harm. “There are horses,”
says Professor Stewart, “ that, in the habit of pawing and stamping slip about
and sometimes lame themselves on the bare stones ; many disposed to lie down
during the day, will not, or ought not, to do it, with a slight portion of litter
under them. It is a frequent observation with regard to road horses, and many
others, that the more a horse lies the better he works. Lame or tender-footed
horses cannot lie too much, and a great deal of standing ruins the best legs and
feet. Some horses, indeed, do not need this day-bedding, but many are the
better for it, and none are the worse.”*

Thrushes are much oftener the consequence than the cause of contraction.
The horny frog, yielding to the pressure of the contracted quarters, is diminished
in size, and the lower portion of the fleshy frog becomes imprisoned, irritated,
and inflamed, and pus or matter is discharged at the cleft ; yet there are many
heels in the last stage of contraction that are not thrushy. On the other
hand, thrush never long existed, accompanied by much discharge, without pro-
ducing a disposition to contraction ; therefore, thrush may be considered as both
the cause and consequence of contraction.

The removal of the bars takes away a main impediment to contraction.

 

* Stewart’s Stable Economy, p. 139,
CONTRACTION. 397

Their use in assisting the expansion of the foot has been already stated, and
should a disposition to contraction be produced by any other cause, the cutting
away of the bars would hasten and aggravate the evil ; but the loss of the bar
would not of itself produce contraction.

The contraction, however, that is connected with permanent lameness,
although increased by the circumstances which we have mentioned, usually
derives its origin from a different source, and from one that acts violently and
suddenly. Inflammation of the little plates covering the coffin-bone is the most
usual cause ; and a degree of inflammation not sufficiently intense to be charac-
terised as acute founder, but quickly leading to sad results, may and does spring
from causes almost unsuspected. There is one fact to which we have alluded,
and that cannot be doubted, that contraction is exceedingly rare in the agricul-
tural horse, but frequently occurs in the stable of the gentleman and the coach-
proprietor. It is rare where the horse is seemingly neglected and badly shod ;
and frequent where every care is taken of the animal, and the shoes are unex-
ceptionable and skilfully applied. Something may depend upon the breed.
Blood horses are particularly liable to contraction. Not only is the foot naturally
small, but it is disposed to become narrower at the heels. On the other hand,
the broad, flat foot of the cart-horse is subject to diseases enough, but contrac-
tion is seldom one of the number*. In horses of equal blood nota little seems to
depend upon the colour, and the dark chesnut is proverbially prone to con-
traction.

Whatever is the cause of that rapid contraction or narrowing of the heels
which is accompanied by severe lameness, the symptoms may be easily distin-
guished. While standing in the stable the horse will point with, or place for-
ward, the contracted foot, or, if both feet are affected, he will alternately place
one before the other. When he is taken out of the stable, he will not, perhaps,
exhibit the decided lameness which characterises sprain of the flexor tendon, or
some diseases of the foot : but his step will be peculiarly short and quick, and
the feet will be placed gently and tenderly on the ground, or scarcely lifted
from it in the walk or the trot. It would seem as if the slightest irregularity
of surface would throw the animal down, and so it threatens to do, for he is
constantly tripping and stumbling. If the fore-feet are carefully observed, one
or both of them will be narrowed across the quarters and towards the heels. In
a few cases the whole of the foot appears to be contracted and shrunk ; but in
the majority of instances, while the heels are narrower, the foot is longer.
The contraction appears sometimes in both heels: at other times in the inner
heel only ; or, if both are affected, the inner one is wired in the most, either
from the coronet to the base of the foot, or only or principally at the coronet—
oftener near the base of the foot—but in most cases the hollow being greatest
about mid-way between the coronet and the bottom of the foot. This irregu-
larity of contraction, and uncertainty as to the place of it, prove that it is some
internal disorganization, the seat of which varies with the portion. of the attach-
mhent between the hoof and the foot that was principally strained or injured.

severe, and the frog and the shorter lamina
towards the heel are the first to suffer, and
contraction ensues. We do not find con-

* A valued correspondent suggests, that
the difference between these two kinds

of horses may perhaps throw some light on
the subject. The long continued and heavy
pressure on the frog in the cart-horse pro-
duces ossification of the cartilages from which
the blood-horse is free. In the quickness of
the action of the blood-horse, the expansion
of the frog is not sufficiently continued to
produce this effect; but the concussion is

traction in the hind feet, where there is
little contraction, nor ossification, because the
pressure is chiefly on the toe. Quick draught
horses have it both ways, but chiefly in con-
traction.

The reader will form his own opinion on
this subject.

aoa
388 CONTRACTION.

In every recent case the contracted part will be hotter than the rest of the foot,
and the sole will, in the majority of cases, be unnaturally concave. .

Of the treatment of contraction attended with lameness little can be said that
will be satisfactory. Numberless have been the mechanical contrivances to
oppose the progress of contraction, or to force back the foot to its original shape,
and many of them have enjoyed considerable but short-lived reputation. A clip
was placed at the inside of each hecl, which, resting on the bars, was intended
to afford an insurmountable obstacle to the farther wiring in of the foot, while
the heels of the shoe were bevelled outward in order to give the foot a tendency
to expand. The foot, however, continued to contract, until the clip was
imbedded in the horn, and worse lameness was produced.

A shoe jointed at the toe, and with a screw adapted to the heels, was con-
trived, by which, when softened by poulticing, or immersion in warm water,
the quarters were to be irresistibly widened. They were widencd by the daily
and cautious use of the screw until the foot seemed to assume its natural form,
and the inventor began to exult in having discovered a cure for contraction:
but, no sooner was the common shoe again applied, and the horse had returned
to his work, than the heels began to narrow, and the foot became as con-
tracted as ever. Common sense would have foretold that such must have
been the result of this expansive process ; for the heels could have been only
thus forced asunder at the expense of partial or total separation from the
interior portions of the foot with which they were in contact.

The contracted heel can rarely or never permanently expand, for this plain
reason, that although we may have power over the crust, we cannot renew the
lamin, or restore the portion of the frog that has been absorbed.

Tf the action of the horse is not materially impaired, it is better to Jet the
contraction alone, be it as great as it will. If the contraction has evidently
produced considerable lameness, the owner of the horse will have to calen-
late between his value if cured, the expense of the cure, and the probability of
failure.

The medical treatment should alone be undertaken by a skilful veterinary
surgeon, and it will principally consist in abating any inflammation that may
exist, by local bleeding and physic, paring the sole to the utmost extent that it
will bear; rasping the quarters as deeply as can be, without their being too
much weakened, or the coronary ring (see b, p. 346) injured; rasping deeply
likewise at the toe, and perhaps scoring at the toe. The horse is afterwards
made to stand during the day in wet clay, placed in one of the stalls. He is
at night moved into another stall, and his feet bound up thickly in wet cloths;
or he is turned out into wet pasturage, with tips, or, if possible, without them,
and his feet are frequently pared out, and the quarters lightly rasped. In five
or six months the horn will generally have grown down, when he may be taken
up, and shod with shoes unattached by nails on the inner side of the foot, and
put to gentle work. The foot will be found very considerably enlarged, and
the owner will, perhaps, think that the cure is accomplished. The horse
may, possibly, for a time stand very gentle work, and the inner side of the foot
being left at liberty, its natural expansive process may be resumed : the inter-
nal part of the foot, however, has not been healthily filled up with the expansion
of the crust. If that expansion has been effected forward on the quarters, the
crust will no longer be in contact with the lengthened and narrowed ‘heels of
the coffin-bone. There will not be the natural adhesion and strength, and a very
slight cause, or even the very habit of contraction, will, in spite of all care and
the freedom of the inner quarter in very many instances, cause the foot to wire
in again as badly as before. .
THE NAVICULAR-JOINT DISEASE. 389

THE NAVICULAR-JOINT DISEASE.

Many horses with well-formed and open feet become sadly and permanently
lame, and veterinary surgeons have been puzzled to discover the cause. The
farrier has had his convenient explanation “ the shoulder ;” but the scientific
practitioner may not have been able to discover an ostensible cause of lameness
in the whole limb. There is no one accustomed to horses who does not recollect
an instance of this.

By reference to the cut, e, page 345, it will be seen that, behind and beneath
the lower pastern-bone, and behind and above the heel of the coffin-bone, is a
small bone called the navicular or shuttle bone. It is so placed as to streng-
then the union between the lower pastern and the coffin-bone, and to enable
the flexor tendon, which passes over it in order to be inserted into the bottom
of the coffin-bone, to act with more advantage. It forms a kind of joint with
that tendon. There is a great deal of weight thrown on the navicular-bone,
and from the navicular-bone on the tendon; and there is a great deal of motion
or play between them in the bending and extension of the pasterns. It is
very easy to conceive that, from sudden concussion, or from rapid and over-
strained motion, and that, perhaps, after the animal has been sometime at
rest, and the parts have not adapted themselves for motion, there may be
too much play between the bone and the tendon—the delicate membrane
which covers the bone, or the cartilage of the bone, may be bruised, and in-
flamed, and destroyed ; that all the painful effects of an inflamed and opened
joint may ensue, and the horse be irrecoverably lame. Numerous dissec-
tions have shown that this joint, formed by the tendon and the bone, has been
the frequent, and the almost invariable, seat of these obscure lamenesses. The
membrane covering the cartilage of the bone has been found in an ulcerated
state; the cartilage itself has been ulcerated and eaten away; the bone has
become carious or decayed, and bony adhesions have taken place between
the navicular and the pastern and the coffin-bones, and this part of the foot has
often become completely disorganised and useless. This joint is probably the
seat of lameness, not only in well-formed and perfect feet, but in those which
become lame after contraction ; for in proportion as the inner frog is compressed
by the contraction of the heels, and is absorbed by that pressure, and the sole is
become concave, and the horny frog, and the coffin-bone too, thereby elevated,
there will be less room for the action of this joint, and more danger of the
tendon and the delicate membrane of the navicular-bone being crushed between
that bone and the horny frog.

Stable management has little to do with the production of this disease, any
farther than if a horse stands idle in the stable several days, and the structure
of the foot, and all the apparatus connected with motion, become unused to
exertion, and indisposed for it, and he is then suddenly and violently exercised,
this membrane is very liable to be bruised and injured. This, amongst other
evils, will be lessened by a loose box, in which a horse will always take some
exercise *,

 

* To Mr. James Turner the veterinary pro-
feasion is indebted for a knowledge of the seat
and cause of this lameness. In the year 1816
he first alluded to it, and the truth and im-
portance of his discovery is now universally
allowed,

According to Mr. Turner, contraction of the
hoof is more or less apparent in the majority
of horses that have been accustomed to be
shod. This is often long before they have
attained the highest value for work, and not

unfrequently before they are five years old.
This contraction is not, however, necessarily
connected with lameness—a large proportion
of horses in the very midst of labour are per-
fectly free from lameness.

The next deviation from nature is the pas-
sive state to which tho foot is submitted at
least twenty-two or twenty-three hours out of
the twenty-four, and sometimes for several
consccutive days. Let this be compared with
the few hours during which tho feet of a horse
390 SAND CRACK.

"The cure of navicular disease is difficult and uncertain. The first and all
important point is the removal of the inflammation in this very susceptible
membrane. Local bleeding, poulticing, and physie will be our principal re-
sources. If there is contraction, this must, if possible, be removed by the
means already pointed out. If there is no contraction, it will nevertheless be
prudent to get rid of all surrounding pressure, and to unfetter, as much as pos-
sible, the inside heel of the coffin-bone, by paring the sole and rasping the
quarters, and using the shoe without nails on the inner quarter, and applying
cold poultices to the coronet and the whole of the foot. This is a case, however,
which must be turned over to the veterinary surgeon, for he alone, from his
knowledge of the anatomy of the foot, and the precise seat of the disease, is
competent to treat it. If attacked on its earliest appearance, and before ulce-
ration of the membrane of the joint has taken place, it may be radically cured :
but ulceration of the membrane will be with difficulty healed, and caries of the
bone will for ever remain.

Blistering the coronet will often assist in promoting a cure by diverting the
inflammation to another part, and it will materially quicken the growth of the
horn. A seton passed through the frog by a skilful operator, and approach-
ing as nearly as possible to the seat of disease, has been serviceable.

In cases of old contraction, attended by a short and feeling step, newrotomy,
or the excision of a portion of the nerve (for an explanation of the nature and
effects of which see page 158), may be resorted to with decided advantage.
Not only will the lameness be removed, but, by the foot being again brought
fully and firmly upon the ground, the inner side of the shoe being unfettered by
nails, a portion of the contraction may be removed by the sole being allowed to
descend and the foot to expand at each contact with the ground.

Even when the navicular-joint is particularly suspected, if there is no appa-
rent inflammation (and that would be readily detected by the heat of the foot),
neurotomy may be practised with the hope of alleviating the sufferings of the
animal, and thus removing a portion of the lameness; but if the lameness is
extreme, either with or without contraction, and especially if there is heat
about the foot, the operation is dangerous. There is, probably, ulceration of
the membrane—possibly, decay of the bone; and the additional friction to
which the parts would be subjected, by the freer action of the horse, the sense
of pain being removed, would cause that ulceration or decay to proceed more
rapidly until the foot would be completely disorganised, or the tendon would

be gradually worn through by rubbing against the roughened surface of the
bone.

SAND-CRACK.

This, as its name imports, is a crack or division of the hoof from above down-
ward, and into which sand and dirt ave too apt to insinuate themselves. It is
so called, because it most frequently occurs in sandy districts, the heat of the
sand applied to the feet giving them a dispesition to crack. It occurs both in

at pasture are in a quiescent state, and there
will be no cause of surprise in the change of
form and position, and character, and the state
of contraction—which takes place in the foot
deprived of its natural pressure and motion.
The first consequence of contraction is the
gradual displacement cf the navicular and
coffin bones. They ascend within the hoof.
An unnatural arch is formed by the ascent of
the frog, and the delicate synovial membrane
lining the joint is crushed and bruised by
the very material which nature has bestowed
as a defence. ‘Chis bruiso of the synovial

membrane lining the joint is the veritable
source of this complaint, the actual cause of the
whole not consisting in the wear and tear of the
part, but having its origin in rest. It is en-
gendered in the stable, but it becomes perma-
nently established by sudden violence out of
it. General contraction of the foot of the
horse may take place toa great extent with
comparative impunity, but it is a partial con-
traction or pressure which is the root of tho
evil.— Turner on the Navicular Disease

Veterinarian, vol. ii. p. 53.
SAND-CRACK. 891

the fore and the hind feet. In the fore feet it is usually found in the inner
quarter (see g. page 352), but occasionally in the-outer quarter, because there
is the principal stress or effort towards expansion in the foot, and the inner
quarter is weaker than the outer. In the hind feet the crack is almost invaria-
bly found in the front, because in the digging of the toe into the ground in the
act of drawing, the principal stress is in front.

This is a most serious defect. It indicates a brittleness of the crust, some-
times natural, but oftener the consequence of mismanagement or disease, which,
in spite of every means adopted, will probably be the source of future annoy-
ance. Ona hoof that has once been thus divided no dependence can be placed,
unless, by great care, the natural suppleness of the horn has been restored and
is retained.

Sand-crack may happen in an instant from a false step or over-exertion, and
therefore a horse, although he may spring a sand-crack within an hour after
the purchase, cannot be returned on that account.

It is always necessary to examine the inner quarter of the foot at the time of
purchase, for it has more than once occurred that, by low dealers, and particu~
larly at fairs, a sand-crack has been neatly covered with pitch, and then, the
whole of the hoof having been oiled, the injury was so adroitly concealed that
an incautious person might be easily deceived.

The crack sometimes does not penetrate through the horn. It then causes
no lameness ; nevertheless, it must not be neglected. It shows that there is
brittleness, which should induce the purchaser to pause ; and, if proper means
are not taken, it will generally soon penetrate to the quick. It should be pared
or rasped fairly out ; and if the paring or rasping has been deep, the foot
should be strengthened by a coating of pitch, with coarse tape bound over it,
and a second coating of pitch covering this. Every crack should be pared or
rasped to ascertain its depth. If it penetrates through the crust, even although
no lameness exists, a firing iron, red-hot, should be passed somewhat deeply
above and below it, in order to prevent its lengthening—the edges should be
thinned to remove any painful or injurious pressure, and the foot should be
bound up in the manner directed, care being taken that the shoe does not press
upon the crust immediately under the sand-crack.

If the crack has penetrated through the crust, and lameness has ensued, the
case is more serious. It must be carefully examined, in order to ascertain that
no dirt or sand has got into it; the edges must be more considerably thinned,
and if any fungus is beginning to protrude through the crack, and is imprisoned
there, it must be destroyed by the application of the butyr (chloride) of anti-
mony. This is preferable to the cautery, because the edges of the horn will
not be thickened or roughened, and thus become a source of after-irritation.
The iron must then be run deeply across, above, and below the crack, as in
the other case; a pledget of dry tow being placed in the crack, in and over it,
and the whole bound down as tightly as possible. On the third day the part
should be examined, and the caustic again applied if necessary: but if the
crack is dry, and defended by a hard horny crust, the sooner the pitch plaster
is put on the better.

The most serious case is, when, from tread or neglect, the coronet is divided.
The growth of horn proceeds from the coronary ligament, and unless this liga-
ment is sound the horn will grow down disunited. The method to be here
adopted is to run the back of the firing-iron over the coronet where it is
divided. Some inflammation will ensue; and when the scab produced by the
cautery peels off, as it will in a few days, the division will be obliterated, and
sound and united horn will grow down. When there is sufficient horn above
the crack, a horizontal line should be drawn with a firing-iron between tho
392 TREAD AND OVER-REACH.

sound horn and the crack. The connexion between the sound part and the
crack will thus be prevented, and the new horn will gradually and safely
descend, but the horse should not be used until sufficient horn has grown down
fairly to isolate the crack. In this case, as in almost every one of sand-crack,
the horse should be kept as quiet as possible. It is not in the power of the
surgeon to effect a perfect cure, if the owner will continue to use the animal.
When the horn is divided at the coronet, it will be five or six months before it
will grow fairly down, and not before that, should the animal be used even for
ordinary work. When, however, the horn is grown an inch from the coronet,
the horse may be turned out—the foot being well defended by the pitch plaster,
and that renewed as often as it becomes loose—a bar-shoe being worn, chambered
s0 as not to press upon the hoof immediately under the crack, and that shoe
being taken off, the sole pared out, and any bulbous projection of new horn
being removed once in every three weeks.

To remedy the undue brittleness of the hoof, there is no better application
than that recommended in page 182, the sole being covered at the same time
with the common cow-dung or felt stopping.

TREAD AND OVER-REACH.

Under these terms are comprised bruises and wound of the coronet, inflicted
by the other feet.

A rreap is said to have taken place when the inside of the coronet of one
hind foot is struck by the calkin of the shoe of the other, and a bruised or
contused wound is inflicted. The coronary ring is highly vascular externally,
and within it is cartilaginous; the blow, therefore, often produces much pain
and hemorrhage, and contusion and destruction of the parts. The wound may
appear to be simple, but it is often of a sadly complicated nature, and much
time and care will need to be expended in repairing the mischief. Mr. Perci-
vall very accurately states that ‘“‘the wound has, in the first place, to cast off a
slough, consisting of the bruised, separated, and deadened parts; then the chasm
thereby exposed has to granulate ; and finally, the sore has to cicatrize and form
new horn *.”

A tread, or wound of the ccronet, must never be neglected, lest gravel
should insinuate itself into the wound, and form deep ulcerations, called sinuses
or pipes, and which constitute quittor. Although some mildly stimulating escha-
rotic may be occasionally required, the caustic, too frequently used by farriers,
should be carefully avoided, not only lest quittor should be formed, but lest the
coronary ligament should be so injured as to be afterwards incapable of secret-
ing perfect horn. When properly treated, a tread is seldom productive of
much injury. If the dirt is well washed out of it, and a pledget of tow, dipped
in Friar’s balsam, bound over the wound, it will, in the majority of cases,
speedily heal. Should the bruise be extensive or the wound deep, a poultice
may be applied for one or two days, and then the Friar’s balsam, or digestive
ointment. Sometimes a soft tumour will form on the part, which will be
quickly brought to suppuration by a poultice; and when the matter has run
out, the ulcer will heal by the application of the Friar’s balsam, or a weak
solution of blue vitriol.

An ovER-REAcH is a tread upon the heel of the coronet of the fore foot by
the shoe of the corresponding hind foot, and either inflicted by the toe orby the
inner edge of the inside of the shoe. The preventive treatment is the bevel-
ling, or rounding off, of the inside edge or rim of the hind shoes. The cure is,
the cutting away of the loose parts, the application of Friar’s Balsam, and pro-
tection from the dirt.

* Percivall’s Hippopathology, vol. i. p. 243.
FALSE QUARTER. 393

There is a singular species of over-reaching, termed FoRGING oY CLICKING.
The horse, in the act of trotting, strikes the toes of the hind shoes against the
fore ones. The noise of the clicking is unpleasant, and the trick or habit
is not altogether free from danger. It is most frequent in young horses, and is
attributable to too great activity or length of stride in the hind legs. The rider
may do something by keeping the head of the horse well up; but the smith
can effect more by making the hind shoes of clicking horses short in the toe,
and having the web broad. When they are too long, they are apt to be torn off
—when too narrow, the hind foot may bruise the sole of the fore one, or may be
locked fast between the branches of the fore shoe *.

FALSE QUARTER.

If the coronary ligament, by which the horn of the crust is secreted, is divided
by some cut or bruise, or eaten through by any caustic, there will occasionally
be a division in the horn as it grows down, either in the form of a permanent
sand-crack, or one portion of the horn overlapping the other. It occasionally
follows neglected sand-crack, or it may be the consequence of quittor. This is
exteriorly an evident fissure in the horn, and extending from the coronet to
the sole, but not always penetrating to the laminez. It is a very serious
defect, and excecdingly difficult to remedy ; for occasionally, if the horse is
over- weighted or hurried on his journey, the fissure will open and bleed, and
very serious inconvenience and lameness may ensue. Grit and dirt may insinu-
ate itself into the aperture, and penetrate to the sensible laminw. Inflamma-
tion will almost of necessity be produced ; and much mischief will be effected.
While the energies of the animal are not severely taxed, he may not experience
much inconvenience or pain ; but the slightest exertion will cause the fissure
to expand, and painful lameness to follow.

This is not only a very serious defect, but one exceedingly difficult to remedy.
The coronary ligament must be restored to its perfect state, or at least to the
discharge of its perfect function. Much danger would attend the application of
the caustic in order to effect this. A blister is rarely sufficiently active: but
the application, not too severely, of a heated flat or rounded iron to the coronet
at the injured part affords the best chance of success—the edges of the horn
on either side of the crack being thinned, the hoof supported—and the separated
parts held together by a firm encasement of pitch, as described when speaking
of the treatment of sand-crack. The coronet must be examined at least once in
every fortnight, in order to ascertain whether the desired union has taken
place ; and, as a palliative during the treatment of the case, or if the treatment
should be unsuccessful, a bar-shoe may be used, and care taken that there
be no bearing at or immediately under the separation of the horn. This will be
best effected, when the crust is thick and the quarters strong, by paring off alittle
of the bottom of the crust at the part, so that it shall not touch the shoe ; but
if the foot is weak, an indentation or hollow should be made in the shoe. Strain
or concussion on the immediate part will thus be avoided, and, in sudden or
violent exertion, the crack will not beso likely to extend upward to the coronet,
when whole and sound horn has begun to be formed there t.

In some cases false quarter assumes a less serious character. The horn
grows down whole, but the ligament is unable to secrete that which is perfectly

 

* Stewart's Stable Economy, p. 393.

t James Clark, whose works have not been
valued as they deserve, expresses in few words
the real state of the case, and the course that
‘Should be pursued :—

“We may so far palliate the complaint as
to render the horse something useful by using

a shoe of auch a construction as will support
the limb without resting or pressing too much
upon the weakened quarter.” A proper stop-
ping should also cover the sole, on which
some coarse tow may be placed, and a piece of
leather over that; the whole being confined
by a broad web-shoe,
394 QUITTOR.

healthy, and, therefore, a narrow slip of horn ot a different and lighter colour is
produced. ‘This is sometimes the best result that can be procured when the
surgeon has been able to obliterate the absolute crack or separation. It is,
however, to be regarded as a defect, not sufficient to condemn the horse, but
indicating that he has had sand-crack, and that a disposition to sand-crack may
possibly remain. There will also, in the generality of cases, be some degree of
tenderness in that quarter, which may produce slight lameness when unusual
exertion is required from the horse, or the shoe is suffered long to press on the

part.

QUITTOR.

This has been described as being the result of neglected or bad tread or over-
reach ; but it may be the consequence of any wound in the foot, and in any
part of the foot. In the natural process of ulceration, matter is thrown out
from the wound. It precedes the actual healing of the part. The matter
which is secreted in wounds of the foot is usually pent up there, and, in-
creasing in quantity, and urging its way in every direction, it forces the
little fleshy plates of the coffin-bone, from the horny ones of the crust, or the
horny sole from the fleshy sole, or even eats deeply into the internal parts of
the foot. These pipes or sinuses run in every direction, and constitute the
essence of quittor.

If it arises from a wound at the bottom of the foot, the purulent matter which
is rapidly formed is pent up there, and the nail of the shoe or the stub remains in
the wound, or the small aperture which was made is immediately closed again.
This matter, however, continues to be secreted, and separates the horny sole
from the fleshy one to a considerable extent, and at length forces its way
upwards, and appears at the coronet, and usually at the quarter, and there slowly
oozes out, while the aperture and the quantity discharged are so small that the
inexperienced person would have no suspicion of the extent of the mischief
within, and the difficulty of repairing it. The opening may scarcely admit a
probe into it, yet over the greater part of the quarter and the sole the horn
may have separated from the foot, and the matter may have penetrated under
the cartilages and ligaments, and into the coffin joint. Not only so, but two mis-
chievous results may have been produced,—the pressure of the matter wherever
it has gone has formed ulcerations that are indisposed to heal, and that require
the application of strong and painful stimulants to induce them to heal; and,
worse than this, the horn, once separated from the sensible parts beneath, will
never again unite with them, Quittor may occur in both the fore and the hind
feet.

It will be sufficiently plain that the aid of a skilful practitioner is here requi-
site, and also the full exercise of patience in the proprietor of the horse. It
may be necessary to remove much of the horny sole, which will be speedily
reproduced when the fleshy surface beneath can be brought to a healthy con-
dition ; but if much of the horn at the quarters must be taken away, five or six
months may probably elapse before it will be sufficiently grown down again to
render the horse useful.

Measures of considerable severity are indispensable. The application of
some caustic will alone produce a healthy action on the ulcerated surfaces; but
on the ground of interest and of humanity we protest against that brutal prac-
tice, or at least the extent to which it is carried, that is pursued by many
ignorant smiths, of coring out, or deeply destroying the healthy as well as the
_diseased parts—and parts which no process will again restore. The unhealthy
surface must be removed ; but the cartilages and ligaments, and even portions of
the bone, need nat to be sacrificed.

The experienced veterinary surgeon will alone be able to counsel the proprictor
QUITTOR. 395

of the horse when, in cases of confirmed quittor, there is reasonable hope of
permanent cure. A knowledge of the anatomy of the foot is necessary to enable
him to decide what parts, indispensable to the action of the animal, may have
been irreparably injured or destroyed, or to save these parts from the destructive
effect of torturing caustics. When any portion of the bone can be felt by the
probe the chances of success are diminished, and the owner and the operator
should pause. When the joints are exposed, the case is hopeless, although, in a
great many instances, the bones and the joints are exposed by the remedy and
not by the disease. One hint may not be necessary to the practitioner, but it
may guide the determination and hopes of the owner: if, when a probe is in-
troduced into the fistulous orifice on the coronet, the direction of the sinuses or
pipes is backward, there is much probability that a perfect cure may be effected ;
but if the direction of the sinuses is forward, the cure is at best doubtful. In
the first instance, there is neither bone nor joint to be injured ; in the other,
the more important parts of the foot are in danger, and the principal action and
concussion are found.

Neglected bruises of the sole sometimes lay the foundation for quittor.
When the foot is flat, it is very liable to be bruised if the horse is ridden fast
over a rough and stony road; or, a small stone, insinuating itself between
the shoe.and the sole, or confined by the curvature of the shoe, will
frequently lame the horse. The heat and tenderness of the part, the occasional
redness of the horn, and the absence of puncture, will clearly mark the bruise.
The sole must then be thinned, and particularly over the bruised part, and, in
neglected cases, it must be pared even to the quick, in order to ascertain whether
the inflammation has run on tosuppuration. Bleeding at the toe will be clearly
indicated ; and poultices, and such other means as have either been described under
“ Inflammation of the Feet,” or will be pointed out under the next head. The
principal causes of bruises of the foot are leaving the sole too much exposed by
means of a narrow-webbed shog, or the smith paring out the sole too closely, or
the pressure of the shoe on the sole, or the introduction of gravel or stones
between the shoe and the sole.

The author subjoins the mode of cure in this disease, as it has been practised
by two veterinary surgeons. They are both excellent, and, so far as can well be
the case, satisfactory.

Mr. Percivall says :—‘‘ The ordinary mode of cure consists in the introduction
of caustic into the sinus; and so long as the cartilage preserves its integrity—by
which I mean, is free from caries—this is perhaps the most prompt and effectual
mode of proceeding. The farrier’s practice is to mix about half a drachm of
corrosive sublimate in powder with twice or thrice the quantity of flour, and
make them into a paste with water. This he takes up by little at a time with
the point of his probe, and works it about in the sinus until the paste appears
rising in the orifice above. After this is done he commonly has the horse walked
about for an hour or two, or even sent to slow work again, which produces a
still more effectual solution of the caustic, at the same time that it tends greatly
to its uniform and thorough diffusion into every recess and winding of the sinus.
The consequence of this sharp caustic dressing is a general slough from the
sinus. Every part of its interior surface is destroyed, and the dead particles
become agglutinated, and cast off along with the discharges in the form of a dark
firm curdled mass, which the farrier calls the core ; and so it commonly proves,
for granulations follow close behind it, and fill up the sinus.”*

The other mode of treatment is that of Mr. Newport, a surgeon of long stand-
ing :—“ After the shoe has been removed, thin the sole until it will yield to
the pressure of the thumb ; then cut the under parts of the wall in an oblique

 

* Percivall’s Hippopathology, vol. i. p. 248.
396 PRICK OR WOUND IN THE SOLE OR CRUST

direction from the heel to the anterior part, immediately under the seat of com-

plaint, and only as far as it extends, and rasp the side of the wall thin enough | .

to give way to the pressure of the over- distended parts, and put on a bar shoe -
rather elevated from the frog. Ascertain with a probe the direction of the
sinuses, and introduce into them a saturated solution of sulphate of zine, by
means of a small syringe. Place over this dressing the common cataplasm, or
the turpentine ointment, and rencw the application every twenty-four hours.
I have frequently found three or four such applications complete a cure. I
should recommend that when the probe is introduced, in order to ascertain the
progress of cure, that it be gently and carefully used, otherwise it may break
down the new-formed lymph. I have found the solution very valuable, where
the synovial fluid has escaped, but not to be used if the inflammation of the
parts is great.” *

PRICK OR WOUND IN THE SOLE OR CRUST.

This is the most frequent cause of quittor. It is evident that the sole is very
liable to be wounded by nails, pieces of glass, or even sharp flints. Every part
of the foot is subject to injuries of this description. The usual place at which
these wounds are found is in the hollow between the bars and the frog, or in the
frog itself. In the fore feet the injury will be generally recognized on the inner
quarter, and on the hind feet near the toe. In fact these are the thinnest parts
of the fore and hind feet. Much more frequently the laminw are wounded by
the nail in shoeing ; or if the nail does not penetrate through the internal surface
of the crust, it is driven so close to it that it presses upon the fleshy parts
beneath, and causes irritation and inflammation, and at length ulceration.
When a horse becomes suddenly lame, after the legs have been carefully ex-
amined, and no cause of lameness appears in them, the shoe should be taken off.
In many cases the offending substance will be immediately detected, or the
additional heat felt in some part of- the foot will point out the seat of injury ;
or, if the crust is rapped with the hammer all round, the flinching of the horse
will discover it; or pressure with the pincers will render it evident.

When the shoe is removed for this examination the smith should never be
permitted to wrench it off, but each nail should be drawn separately, and ex-
amined as it is drawn, when some moisture appearing upon it will not unfre-
quently reveal the spot at which matter has been thrown out.

Sudden lameness occurring within two or three days after the horse has been
shod will lead to the suspicion that the smith has been in fault; yet no one
who considers the thinness of the crust, and the difficulty of shoeing many feet,
will blame him for sometimes pricking the animal. His fault will consist in
concealing or denying that of which he will almost always be aware at the time
of shoeing, from the flinching of the horse, or the dead sound, or the peculiar
resistance that may be noticed in the driving of the nail. We would plead the
cause of the honest portion of an humble class of men, who discharge this mecha-
nical part of their business with a skill and good fortune scarcely credible; but
we resign those to the reproaches and the punishment of the owner of the horse
who too often, and with bad policy, deny that which accident, or possibly
momentary carelessness, might have occasioned, and the neglect of which is
fraught with danger, although the mischief resulting from it might at the time
have been easily remedied.

When the seat of mischief is ascertained, the sole should be thinned round it,
and at the nail-hole, or the puncture, it should be pared to the quick. The
escape of some matter will now probably tell the nature of the injury, and
remove its consequences. If it be puncture of the sole effected by some

 

* Tho Veterinarian, vol. i. p. 329,
PRICK OR WOUND IN THE SOLE OR CRUST. 397

nail, or any similar body, picked up on the road, all that will be necessary isa
little to enlarge the opening, and then to place on it a pledget of tow dipped in
Friar’s balsam, and over that a little common stopping. If there is much
heat and Jan.eness, a poultice should be applied.

The part of the sole that is wounded and the depth of the wound should be
taken into consideration. It will be seen, by reference to the cut in page 345, that
adeep puncture towards the back part of the sole, and penetrating even into the
sensible frog, may not be productive of serious consequence. There is no great
motion in the part, and there are no tendons or bones in danger. A puncture
near the toe may not be followed by much injury. There is little motion in
that part of the foot, and the internal sole covering the coffin-bone will soon
heal. A puncture, however, about the centre of the sole may wound the flexor
tendon where it is inserted into the coffin-bone, or may even penetrate the joint
which unites the navicular-bone with the coffin-bone, or pierce through the
tendon into the joint which it forms with the navicular-bone, and a degree of
inflammation may ensue, that, if neglected, may be fatal. Many horses have
been lost by the smallest puncture of the sole in these dangerous points. All’
the anatomical skill of the veterinarian should be called into requisition, when
he is examining the most trifling wound of the foot.

If the foot has been wounded by the wrong direction of a nail in shoeing, and
the sole is well-pared out over the part on the first appearance of Jameness, little
more will be necessary to be done. The opening should be somewhat enlarged,
the Friar’s balsam applied, and the shoe tacked on, with or without a poultice,
according to the degree of lameness or heat, and on the following day all will
often be well. It may, however, be prudent to keep the foot stopped for a few
days. If the accident has been neglected, and matter begins to be formed, and
to be pent up and to press on the neighbouring parts, and the horse evidently
suffers extreme pain, and is sometimes scarcely able to put his foot to the
ground, and much matter is poured out when the opening is enlarged, further
precautions must be adopted. The fact must be recollected that the living and
dead horn will never unite, and every portion of the horny sole that has sepa-
rated from the fleshy sole above must be removed. The separation must be
followed as far as it reaches. Much of the success of the treatment depends on
this. No small strip or edge of separated horn must be suffered to press upon
any part of the wound. The exposed fleshy sole must then be touched, but
not too severely, with the butyr (chloride) of antimony, some soft and dry tow
being spread on the part, the foot stopped, and a poultice placed over all if the
inflammation seems to require it. On the following day a thin pellicle of horn
will frequently be found over a part or the whole of the wound. This should
be, yet very lightly, again touched with the caustic ; but if there is an appear-
ance of fungus sprouting from the exposed surface, the application of the butyr
must be.more severe, the tow being again placed over it, so as to afford consider-
able yet uniform pressure. Many days do not often elapse before the new horn
covers the whole of the wound. In these extensive openings the Friar’s balsam
will not always be successful, but the cure must be effected by the judicious and
never-too-severe use of the caustic. Bleeding at the toe, and physic, will be
resorted to as useful auxiliaries when much inflammation arises.

Insearghing the foot in order to ascertain the existence of prick, there is often
something very censurable in the carelessness with which the horn is cut away
between the bottom of the crust and the sole, so as to leave little or no hold for
the nails, although some months must elapse before the horn will grow down
sufficiently far for the shoe to be securely fastened.

When a free opening has been made below, and matter has not broken out at
the coronet, it will rarely be necessary to remove any portion of the horn at the
398 CORNS.

quarters, although we may be able to ascertain by the use of the probe that the:
separation of the crust extends for a considerable space above the sole.

CORNS.

In the angle between the bars (c, p. 374) and the quarters, the horn of the avle
has sometimes a red appearance, and is more spongy and softer then at any other:
part. The horse flinches when this portion of the horn is pressed upon, and
occasional or permanent lameness is produced. This disease of the foot is.
termed corns: bearing this resemblance to the corn of the human being, that.
it is produced by pressure, and is a cause of lameness. When corns are
neglected, so much inflammation is produced in that part of the sensible sole,
that suppuratioa follows, and to that, quittor succeeds, and the matter either un-
dermines the horny sole, or is discharged at the coronet.

The pressure hereby produced manifests itself in various ways. When the.
foot becomes contracted, the part of the sole inclosed between the external crust
that is wiring in, and the bars that are opposing that contraction (see cut, p.
3874), is placed in a kind of vice, and becomes inflamed ; hence it is rare to see
a contracted foot without corns. When the shoe is suffered to remain on too
long, it becomes imbedded in the heel of the foot ; the external crust grows
down on the outside of it, and the bearing is thrown on this angular portion of '
the sole. No part of the sole can bear continued pressure, and inflammation
and corns are the result. From the length of wear the shoe sometimes becomes
loosened at the heels, and gravel insinuates itself between the shoe and the
erust, and accumulates in this angle, and sometimes seriously wounds it.

The bars are too frequently cut away, and then the heel of the shoe must be
bevelled inward, in order to answer to this absurd and injurious shaping of the
foot. By this slanting direction of the heel of the shoe inward, an unnatural
disposition to contraction is given, and the sole must suffer in two ways,—in
being pressed upon by the shoe, and squeezed between the outer crust and the
external portion of the bar. The shoe is often made unnecessarily narrow at
the heels, by which this angle, seemingly less disposed to bear pressure than any
other part of the foot, is exposed to accidental bruises. If, in the paring out of"
the foot, the smith should leave the bars prominent, he too frequently neglects
to pare away the horn in the angle between the bars and the external crust ; or
if he cuts away the bars, he scarcely touches the horn at this point; and thus,
before the horse has been shod a fortnight, the shoe rests on this angle, and pro-
duces corns. The use of a shoe for the fore feet, thickened at the heels, is, and
especially in weak feet, a source of corns, from the undue bearing there is on
the heels, and the concussion to which they are subject.

The unshod colt rarely has corns. The heels have their natural power of
expansion, and the sensible sole at this part can scarcely be imprisoned, while
the projection of the heel of the crust and the bar is a sufficient defence from
external injury. Corns seem to be the almost inevitable consequence ‘of shoe-
ing, which, by limiting, or in a manner destroying, the expansibility of the foot,
must, when the sole attempts to descend, or the coffin-bone has a backward and
downward direction (see cut, p. 345), imprison and injure this portion of the
sole. This evil consequence is increased when the shoe is badly formed, or
kept on too long, or when the paring is omitted or injudiciously extended to the
bars. By this unnatural pressure of the sole, blood is thrown out, and enters
into the pores of the soft and diseased horn which is then secreted ; therefore the
existence and the extent of the corn is judged of by the colour and softness of
the horn at this place.

Corns are most frequent and serious in horses with thin horn and flat soles,
and low weak heels. ‘They do not often occur in the outside heel. Ii is of a
CORNS. 399

stronger construction than the inside one. The method adopted by shoeing-
smiths to ascertain the existence of corn by the pain evinced when they
pinch the bar and crust with their irons, is very fallacious. If the horn is natu-
rally thin, the horse will shrink under no great pressure although he has no corn,
and occasionally the bars are so strong as not to give way under any pressure.

The cure of old corns is difficult ; for as all shoeing has some tendency to
produce pressure here, the habit of throwing out this diseased horn is difficult
to get rid of when once contracted; recent corns, however, will yield to good
shoeing.

The first thing to be done is well to pare out the angle between the crust and
the bars. Two objects are answered by this: the extent of the disease will be
ascertained, and one cause of it removed. A very small drawing-knife must be
used for this purpose. The corn must be pared out to the very bottom, taking
care not to wound the sole. It may then be discovered whether there is any
effusion of blood or matter underneath. If this is suspected, an opening must
be made through the horn, the matter evacuated, the separated horn taken
away, the course and extent of the sinuses explored, and the treatment recom-
mended for quittor adopted. Should there be no collection of fluid, the butyr of
antimony should be applied over the whole extent of the corn, after the horn has
been thinned as closely as possible. The object of this is to stimulate the sole to
throw out more healthy horn. In bad casesa bar-shoe may be put on, so cham-
bered, that there shall be no pressure on the diseased part. This may be
worn for one or two shoeings, but not constantly, for there are few frogs that
would bear the constant pressure of the bar-shoe ; and the want of pressure on
the heel, generally occasioned by their use, would produce a softened and
bulbous state of the heels, that would of itself be an inevitable source of lameness.

Mr. Turner is in the habit of using a shoe that promises to lessen to a very
material degree the sufferings of the horse. The ground surface of the shoe is
so bevelled off, that it does not come into contact with the ground, and thus
much concussion is saved to the horse. A slight space, however, should be left
between the heel of the foot, and that of the shoe; and which cannot be better
occupied than by the leather sole, preventing the insinuation of foreign bodies,
and yet preserving the heel from concussion.

In unusually troublesome cases of corns, recourse should be had to the bar-shoe.

Mr. Spooner, of Southampton, very properly states, that the corns occasion-
ally fester, and the purulent matter which is secreted, having no dependent
orifice, ascends, torturing the animal to a dreadful extent, and breaks out at
the coronet. These cases are very troublesome. Sinuses are formed, and the
evil may end in quittor. A large and free dependent orifice must then be
made, and a poultice applied ; to which should succeed a solution of sulphate
of zine, with the application of the compound tar ointment.

The cause of corn is a most important subject of inquiry, and which a care-
ful examination of the foot and the shoe will easily discover. The cause being
ascertained, the effect may, to a great extent, be afterwards removed. Turning
out to grass, after the horn is alittle grown, first with a bar-shoe, and afterwards
with the shoe fettered on one side, or with tips, will often be serviceable. A
horse that has once had corns to any considerable extent should, at every
shoeing, have the seat of corn well pared out, and the butyr of antimony ap-
plied. The seated shoe (hereafter to be described) should be used, with a web
sufficiently thick to cover the place of corn, and extending as far back as it can
he made to do without injury to the frog. .

Low weak heels should be rarely touched with the knife, or anything more
be done to them than lightly to rasp them, in order to give them a level surface.
The inner heel should be particularly spared. Corns are seldom found in the
400 THRUSH.

hind feet, because the heels are stronger, and the feet are not exposed to so much
concussion ; and when they are found there, they are rarely or never productive
of lameness. There is nothing perhaps in which the improvement in the
veterinary art has relieved the horse from so much suffering as shoeing. Where
corns now exist of any consequence, they are a disgrace to the smith, the groom,
and even to the owner.

THRUSH.

This is a discharge of offensive matter from the cleft of the frog. It is in-
flammation of the lower surface of the sensible frog, and during which pus is
secreted together with, or instead of horn. When the frog is in its sound state,
the cleft sinks but a little way into it; but when it becomes contracted or
otherwise diseased, it extends in length, and penetrates even to the sensible horn
within, and through this unnaturally deepened fissure the thrushy discharge pro-
ceeds. A plethoric state of the body may be a predisposing cause of thrush, but the
immediate and grand cause is moisture. This should never be forgotten, for it will
lead a great way towards the proper treatment of the disease. If the feet are habi-
tually covered with any moist application—his standing so much on his own
dung is a fair example—thrush will inevitably &ppear. It is caused by any-
thing that interferes with the healthy structure and action of the frog. We
find it in the hinder feet oftener and worse than in the fore, because in our
stable management the hinder feet are too much exposed to the pernicious effects
of the dung and the urine, moistening, or as it were macerating, and at the
same time irritating them. The distance of the hinder feet from the centre of
the circulation would also, as in the case of grease, more expose them to accu-
mulations of fluid and discharges of this kind. In the fore feet, thrushes are
usually connected with contraction. We have stated that they are both the
cause and the effect of contraction, The pressure on the frog from the wiring
in of the heels will produce pain and inflammation; and the inflammation, by
the increased heat and suspended function of the part, will dispose to contrac-
tion. Horses of all ages, and in almost all situations, are subject to thrush.
The unshod colt is frequently thus diseased.

Thrushes are not always accompanied by lameness. In a great many cases
the appearance of the foot is scarcely, or not at all altered, and the disease can
only be detected by close examination, or the peculiar smell of the discharge.
The frog may not appear to be rendered in the slightest degree tender by it,
and therefore the horse may not be considered by many as unsound. Every
disease, however, should be considered as legal unsoundness, and especially a
disease which, although not attended with present detriment, must not be
neglected, for it will eventually injure and lame the horse. All other things
being right, a horse should not be rejected because he has a slight thrush, for
if the shape of the hoof is not altered, experience tells us that the thrush is
easily removed ; but if this is not soon done, the shape of the foot and the
action of the horse will be altered, and manifest wnsoundness will result.

The progress of a neglected thrush, although sometimes slow, is sure. The
frog begins to contract in size—it becomes rough, ragged, brittle, tender—the
discharge is more copious and more offensive—the horn gradually disappears—a
mass of hardenened mucus usurps its place—this easily peals off, and the sen-
sible frog remains exposed—-the horse cannot bear it to be touched—fungous
granulations spring from it—they spread around—the sole becomes under-run,
and canker steals over the greater part of the foot.

There are few errors more common or more dangerous than this, that the exist-
ence of thrush is a matter of little consequence, or even, as some suppose, &
benefit to the horse—a discharge for superabundant humours—and that it
CANKER. 401

should not be dried up too quickly, and in some cases not dried upatall. Ifa
young colt, fat and full of blood, has a bad thrush, with much discharge, it will
be prudent to accompany the attempt at cure by a dose of physic or a course
of diuretics. A few diuretics may not be injurious when we are endeavouring
to dry up thrush in older horses : but the disease can scarcely be attacked too
soon, or subdued too rapidly, and especially when it steals on so insidiously,
and has such fatal consequences in its train. If the heels once begin to contract
through the baneful effect of thrush, it will, with difficulty, or not at all, be
afterwards removed.

There are many recipes to stop a running thrush. Almost every application of
an astringent, but not of too caustic nature will have the effect. The common
ZEgyptiacum (vinegar boiled with honey and verdigrease) is a good lini-
ment ; but the most effectual and the safest—drying up the discharge speedily,
but not suddenly—is a paste composed of blue vitriol, tar, and lard, in propor-
tions according to the virulence of the canker. A pledget of tow covered with it
should be introduced as deeply as possible, yet without force, into the cleft of the
frog every night, and removed in the morning before the horse goes to work,
Attention should at the same time, as in other diseases of the foot, be paid to the
apparent cause of the complaint, and that cause should be carefully obviated or
removed. Before the application of the paste, the frog should be examined, and
every loose part of the horn or hardened discharge removed; and if much of the
frog is then exposed, a larger and wider piece of tow covered with the paste may
be placed over it, in addition to the pledget introduced into the cleft of the frog.
It will be necessary to preserve the frog moist while the cure is in progress, and
this may be done by filling the feet with tow covered by common stopping, or
using the felt pad, likewise covered with it. Turning out would be prejudicial
rather than of benefit to thrushy feet, except the dressing is continued, and the
feet defended from moisture.

CANKER

Isa separation of the horn from the sensible part of the foot, and the spronting
of fangous matter instead of it, occupying a portion or even the whole of
the sole and frog. It is the occasional consequence of bruise, puncture, corn,
quittor, and thrush, and is exceedingly difficult to cure. It is more frequently
the consequence of neglected thrush than of any other disease of the foot, or
rather it is thrush involving the frog, the bars, and the sole, and making the
foot in one mass of rank putrefaction. ,

It is oftenest found in, and is almost peculiar to the heavy breed of cart horses,
and partly resulting from constitutional predisposition, Horses with white legs
and thick skins, and much hair upon their legs,—the very character of many
dray horses, —are subject to canker, especially if they have had an attack of
grease, or their heels are habitually thick and greasy. The disposition to can-
ker is certainly hereditary. The dray horse likewise has this disadvantage, that
in order to give him foot-hold, it is sometimes necessary to raise the heels, of the
hinder feet so high, that all pressure on the frog is taken away ; its functions are
destroyed, and it is rendered liable to disease. Canker, however, arises mostly
from the peculiar injury to which the feet of these horses are subject from the
enormous shoes with which they are covered—the bulk of the nails with which
these shoes are fastened to the foot, the strain of the foot in the violent although
short exertion of moving heavy weights; but, most of all, neglect of the feet
and the filthiness of the stable in these establishments.

Although canker is a disease most difficult to remove, it is easily prevented.
Attention to the punctures to which these heavy horses, with their clubbed feet
and brittle hoofs, are more than any others subject in shoeing, and to the

DD
402 OSSIFICATION OF THE CARTILAGES.

bruises and treads on the coronet, to which from their awkwardness and weight
they are so liable, and the greasy heels which a very slight degree of neg-
ligence will produce in them, and the stopping of the thrushes, which are 80
apt in them to ran on to the separation of the horn from the sensible frog, will
most materially lessen the number of cankered feet. Where this disease often
occurs, the owner of the team may be well assured that there is gross misma-
nagement either in himself or his horsekeeper, or the smith, or the surgeon,
and it will rarely be a difficult matter to detect the precise nature of that mis-
management,

The cure of canker is the business of the veterinary Surgeon, and a most
painful and tedious business it is. The principles on which he proceeds are, first
of all, to remove the extraneous fungous growth, and for this purpose he will
need the aid of the knife and the caustic, or the cautery, for he should cut away
every portion of horn which is in the slightest degree separated from the sensible
parts beneath. He will have to discourage the growth of fresh fungus, and to
bring the foot into that state in which it will again secrete healthy horn.
Here he will remember that he has to do with the surface of the foot; that this
is a disease of the surface only, and that there will be no necessity for those
deeply-corroding and torturing caustics which penetrate to the very hone. A
slight and daily application of the chloride of antimony, and that not where the
new horn is forming, but on the surface which continues to be diseased, and
accompanied by as firm but equal pressure as can be made—the careful avoid-
ance of the slightest degree of moisture—the horse being exercised or worked
in the mill, or wherever the foot will not be exposed to wet, and that exercise
adopted as early as possible, and even from the beginning if the malady is con-
fined to the sole and frog—these means will succeed if the disease is capable of
cure. Humanity, perhaps, will dictate, that, considering the long process of
cure in a cankered foot, and the daily torture of the caustic, and the suffering
which would otherwise result from so large or exposed a surface, the nerves of
the leg should be divided in order to take away the sense of pain; but then,
especial care must be taken that the horse is placed in such a situation, and
exposed to such work, that, being insensible to pain, he may not injuriously
batter and bruise the diseased parts.

Medicine is not of much avail in the cure of canker. It is a mere local
disease ; or the only cause of fear is, that so great a determination of blood to
the extremities having existed during the long progress of cure, it may in
some degree continue, and produce injury in another form. Grease has occa-
sionally followed canker. They have been known to alternate. It may, there-
fore, be prudent, when the cure of a cankered foot is nearly effected, to subject
the horse to a course of alteratives or diuretics.

OSSIFICATION OF THE CARTILAGES,

Mention has been made of the side cartilages of the foot, occupying (sce
cut, page 350) a considerable portion of the external side and back part of
the foot. They are designed to preserve the expansion of the upper part of the
foot, and especially when that of the lower part is limited or destroyed by care-
less shoeing. These cartilages are subject to inflammation, and the result of
that inflammation is, that the cartilages are absorbed, and bone substituted in
their stead. This ossification of the cartilages frequently accompanies ringbone,
but it may exist without any affection of the pastern joint. It is oftenest found
in horses of heavy draught. It arises not so much from concussion, as from
sprain, for the pace of the horse is slow. The cause, indeed, is not well under-
stood, but of the effect there are too numerous instances, Very few heavy
draught horses arrive at old age without this change of structure ; and particu-
WEAKNESS OF THE FOOT. 403

larly if they are much employed in the paved streets. The change commences
sometimes at the anterior part of the cartilage, but much oftener at the posterior
and inferior part. ‘From the combined operation of great weight and high
action, the feet, and particularly the heels, come with great force on the ground.
The cartilages, being imbedded in the heels of the feet, are, therefore, the parts
that receive the greatest degree of concussion, the consequence of which is that
subacute inflammation is set up, and the secreting vessels deposit ossific instead
of cartilaginous matter, in the room of that which is absorbed in the usual
process of nature.” *

No evident inflammation of the foot, or great, or perhaps even perceptible
lameness, accompanies this change ; a mere slight degree of stiffness may have
been observed, which, in a horse of more rapid pace, would have been lameness.
Even when the change is completed, there is not in many cases anything more
than a slight increase of stiffness, little or not at all interfering with the useful-
ness of the horse. When this altered structure appears in the lighter horse,
the lameness is more decided, and means should be taken to arrest the progress
of the change. These are blisters or firing ; but, after the parts have become
bony, no operation will restore the cartilage. Some benefit, however, will be
derived from the use of leather soles. Advantage has resulted from bar shoes
in conjunction with leather.

Connected with ringbone the lameness may be very great. This has been
spoken of in page 351.

WEAKNESS OF THE FOOT.

This is more accurately a bad formation, than a disease; often, indeed, the
result of disease, but in many instances the natural construction of the foot.
The term weak foot is familiar to every horseman, and the consequence is too
severely felt by all who have to do with horses. In the slanting of the crust
from the coronet to the toe, a less angle is almost invariably formed, amounting
probably to not more than forty instead of forty-five degrees; and, after the
horse has been worked for one or two years the line is not straight, but a little
indented or hollow, midway between the coronet and the toe. This has been
described as the accompaniment of pumiced feet, but it is often seen in weak
feet, that, although they might become pumiced by severity of work, do not
otherwise have the sole convex. The crust is not only less oblique than it
ought to be, but it has not the smooth, even appearance of the good foot. The
surface is sometimes irregularly roughened, but it is much oftener roughened in
circles or rings. The form of the crust likewise presents too much the appear-
ance of a cone; the bottom of the foot is unnaturally wide in proportion to the
coronet ; and the whole of the foot is generally, but not always, larger than it
should be.

When the foot is lifted, it will often present a round and circular appearance,
with a fullness of frog, that would mislead the inexperienced, and indeed be con-
sidered as almost the perfection of structure ; but, being examined more closely,
many glaring defects will be seen. The sole is flat, and the smith finds that it
will bear little or no paring. The bars are small in size. They are not cut
away by the smith, but they can be scarcely said to have any existence. The
heels are low, so low that the very coronet seems almost to touch the ground ;
and the crust, if examined, appears scarcely thick enough to hold the nails.

Horses with these feet can never stand much work. ‘They will be subject to
corns, to bruises of the sole, to convexity of the sole, to punctures in nailing, to

 

® W. C. Spooner on the Foot of the Horse, page 249.
pp2
404 FRACTURES.

breaking away of the crust, to inflammation. of the foot, and to sprain and injury
of the pastern, and the fetlock, and the flexor tendon.

These feet admit of little improvernent. Shoeing as seldom as may be, and
with a light yet wide concave web ; little or no paring at the time of shoeing,
and as little violent work as possible, and especially on rough roads, may pro-
tract for a long period the evil day, but he who buys a horse with these feet
will sooner or later have cause to repent his bargain.

CHAPTER XX.
FRACTURES.

 

Accipents of this description are not of frequent occurrence, but when they
do happen it is not always that the mischief can be repaired : occasionally, how-
ever, and much more frequently than is generally imagined, the life of a valuable
animal might be saved if the owner, or the veterinary surgeon, would take a
little trouble, and the patient is fairly tractable, and that, in the majority of
cases, he willsoon become. The number of valuable animals is far too great that
are destroyed under a confused notion of the difficulties of controlling the patient,
or the incurable character of the accident. Messrs. Blaine and Percival] have
given a valuable record of the usual cases and treatment of fracture which occur
in the practice of the English veterinary surgeon, and the splendid work of
Hurtrel d’Arboval contains a record of all that has been attempted or effected
on the Continent. The author of this volume must confine himself to a rapid
survey of that which they have described, adding a few cases that have been
brought under his own observation, or communicated to him by others.

With the exception of accidents that occur in casting the animal for certain
operations, and his struggles during the operation, the causes of Fracrure are
usually blows, kicks, or falls, and the lesion may be considered as simple, con-
fined to one bone, and not protruding through the skin—or compound, the bone
or bones protruding through the skin—or complicated, where the bone is broken or
splintered in more than one direction. Theduty of the veterinary surgeon resolves
itself into the replacing of the displaced bones in their natural position, the keep-
ing of them in that position, the healing of the integument, and the taking of such
measures as will prevent any untoward circumstances from afterwards occurring.

In the greater number of cases of fracture it will be necessary to place the
horse under considerable restraint, and even to suspend or sling him.

The cut in the next page contains a view of the suspensory apparatus used by
Mr. Percivall. A broad piece of sail-cloth, furnished with two breechings, and
two breast-girths, is placed under the animal’s belly, and, by means of ropes and
pulleys attached to a cross beam above, he is elevated or lowered as circum-
stances may require. It will seldom be necessary to lift the patient quite off
the ground, and the horse will be quietest, and most at his ease, when his feet
are suffered just to touch it. The head is confined by two collar ropes, and tie
head-stall well padded. Many horses may plunge about and be difficult to
manage at first, but, generally speaking, it is not long ere they become perfectly
passive.

The use of the different buckles and straps which are attached to the sail-
cloth will be evident on inspection. If the horse exhibits more than usual
   

FRACTURES,

400

uneasiness, other ropes may be attached to the corners of the saiJ-cl Thi
will afford considerable relief to the ts eee
the bandages.

I

bi
]

i
;

    

Se er

Fo
Se :

In many cases the fracture, although a simple one, may be visible on the
slightest inspection ; in others, there may be merely a suspicion of its existence.
Here will be exhibited the skill and the humanity of the educated surgeon, or
the recklessness and brutality of the empiric. The former will carefully place
his patient in the position at once the least painful to the sufferer, and the most
commodious for himself. He will proceed with gentleness, patience, and ma~
nagement—no rough handling or motion of the parts, inflicting torture on the
animal, and adding to the injury already received. It is interesting to observe
how soon the horse comprehends all this, and submits to the necessary inspec-
tion ; and how complete and satisfactory the examination terminates under the
superintendence of the humane and cautious practitioner, while the brute in
human shape fails in comprehending the real state of the case.

Heat, swelling, teaderness, fearfulness of the slightest motion, crepitus, and
especially change of the natural position of the limb, are the most frequent
indications of fracture.

The probability of reunion of the parts depends upon the depth of the wound
connected with the fracture—the contusion of the soft parts in the immediate
neighbourhood of it—the blood-vessels, arterial or venous, that have been
wounded—the propinquity of some large joint to which the inflammation may
be communicated—dislocation of the extremities of the fractured joint—injuries
of the periosteum—the existence of sinuses, caries, or necrosis, or the frac-
ture being compound, or broken into numerous spicula or splinters.

In a horse that is full of flesh, the cure of fracture is difficult ; likewise in an
old or worn-out horse—or when the part is inaccessible to the hand or to instru-
ments—or when separation has taken place between the parts that were begin-
ning to unite—or where the surrounding tissues have been or are losing their

patient, as well as add to the security of

l
(
|
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406 FRACTURES.

vitality-—-or when the patient is already afflicted with any old or permanent
disease.

It may be useful briefly to review the various seats of fracture.

Fracture of THE skuLL.—The skull of the horse is so securely defended
by the yielding resistance of the temporal muscle, that fracture rarely occurs
except at the occipital ridge ; and should a depression of bone be there effected,
it will produce complete coma, and bid defiance to all surgical skill. Fracture
of the skull is generally accompanied by stupidity, convulsive motions of the
head or limbs, laborious breathing, and a staggering walk. The eyes are
almost or quite closed, the head is carried low, and the lower lip hangs down.
Blows on the cranium, which the brutality of man too often inflicts, as well as
many accidents, are very serious matters, and require considerable attention, for,
although it may have been ascertained that the cranium is uninjured, there
may be considerable concussion of the brain.

It having been known that a horse had received a violent blow on the head,
the strictest examination of the part should take place. An artillery horse
broke loose from his groom, and, after galloping about, dashed in to his own
stall with such force as sadly to cut his face under the forelock. The farrier
on duty sewed up the wound, proper dressings were applied, and in a little more
than a fortnight the wound was healed and the horse dismissed, apparently well.
Four days afterwards the patient moved stiffly; the jaws could not be separated
more than a couple of inches, and there was evident locked jaw. The horse
was cast, and the place where the wound had been was most carefully examined.
On cutting to the bottom of it, a fracture was discovered, and a piece of bone
three-fourths of an inch long was found on the centre of the parictal suture.
This was removed—the wound was properly dressed, and a strong aloetic drink
was given with great difficulty. The aloetic drink was repeated—the bowels
became loosened—the tetanic symptoms diminished, and in less than three
weeks the horse was perfectly cured.*

This is a very interesting case. There was some carelessness in entrusting
the treatment of the wound to the farrier ; but the surgeon afterwards repaired
the error as well as he could, and no one was better pleased than he was at the
result. A violent blow being received on the forehead, the part should always
be most carefully examined.

Hurtrel D'Arboval relates three cases of fracture of the skull. One occurred
in a mare that ran violently against a carriage. The skull was depressed, and a
portion of bone was removed, but it was four months ere complete re-union of
the edges was effected. Another horse received a violent kick on the forehead.
The union of the depressed bones was effected after the external wound was
healed, but there was always a depression, an inch in length. An aged mare
met with the same accident. A depression here remained as large as a finger.

FRracrure OF THE ARCH OF THE ORBIT OF THE EYE.—A very interesting
account of this, followed by perfect cure, is related at p- 186.

FRactTuRE OF THE NASAL BONES.—This will sometimes occur from falling, or
be produced by a kick from another horse, or the brutality of the attendant
or the rider. We have seen a passionate man strike a horse about the head
with a heavy-hunting whip. The danger of punishment of this kind is obvious F
and so would be the propriety of using the whip for another purpose. A fracture
of this kind is generally accompanied by a laceration of the membrane of the nose,
and considerable hwmorrhage, which, however, may generally be arrested by the
application of cold water. The fractured portion of bone is usually depressed,
and, the space for breathing being diminished, difficulty of respiration occurs.

 

* Veterinarian vol. vii. p. 142.
FRACTURES, 407

The author had a case of fracture of both nasal bones. He was enabled to elevate
the depressed parts, but the inflammation and swelling were so great, that the
animal was threatened with suffocation. The operation of tracheotomy was
resorted to, and the animal did well.

If there is fracture of the nasal bones with depression, and only alittle way from
the central arch and the section between the nostrils, a slightly curved steel rod
may be cautiously introduced into the passage, and the depressed portions
carefully raised. If this cannot be effected, the trephine must be applied a
little above or below the fracture, and the elevator or steel rod be intro-
duced through the aperture. If the fracture is in any other part of the bone,
it will be impossible to reach it with the elevator, for the turbinated bones are
in the way. The trephine must then be resorted to in the first instance. The
wound, if there is any, must be covered, and a compress kept on it.

A writer ina French journal relates a case in which a horse was violently
kicked, and there was a contused wound with depression of bone. The trephine
was applied. Fifteen splinters were extracted, and the case terminated well. It
nevertheless, too often happens that, in these injuries of the nasal membrane, the
inflammation will obstinately continue in despite of ali that the surgeon can
do, and the natural termination of every injury of the membrane of the nose,
and, in fact, of every chronic disease of the frame, will appear—glanders,

If, however, glanders do not appear, some portion of bone may remain
depressed, or the membrane may be thickened by inflammation. ‘he nasal
passage will then be obstructed, and a difficulty of breathing, resembling
roaring, will ensue,

THE SUPERIOR MAXILLARY OR UPPER JAW-BoneE, will occasionally be frac-
tured. Mr. Cartwright had a case in which it was fractured by a kick at the
situation where it unites with the lachrymal and malar bones. He applied the
trephine, and removed many small pieces of bone. The wound was then covered
by adhesive plaster, and in a month the parts were healed.

Mr. Clayworth speaks of a mare who being ridden almost at speed, fell and
fractured the upper jaw, three inches above the corner incisors. The front teeth
and jaw were turned like a hook completely within the lower ones. She was
cast, a balling iron put into her mouth, and the surgeon, exerting considerable
force, pulled the teeth outward into their former and proper situation. She
was then tied up so that she could not rub her muzzle against any thing,
and was well fed with bean-meal, and linseed tea. Much inflammation
ensued, but it gradually subsided, and, at the expiration of the sixth week,
the mouth was quite healed, and scarcely a vestige of the fracture remained.

A very extraordinary and almost incredible account of a fracture of the
superior maxillary bone is given in the records of the Royal and Central Society
of Agriculture in France.- A horse was kicked by a companion. There was frac-
ture of the upper part of the superior maxillary, and zygomatic bones, and the
eye was almost forced out of the socket. Few men would have dared to under-
take a fracture like this, but M. Revel shrank not from his duty. He removed
several small splinters of bone—replaced the larger bones—returned the eye to.
its socket—confined the parts by means of sufficient sutures—slung the horse,
and rendered it impossible for the animal to rub his head against any thing.
In six weeks, the cure was complete.

Tue MAXILLARY BONE OR LOWER Jaw, is more subject to fracture, and par-
ticularly in its branches between the tushes and the lower teeth, and at the
symphysis between the two branches of the jaw. Its position, its length and
the small quantity of muscle that’ covers it, especially anteriorly, are among
the causes of its fracture, and the same circumstances combine to render a re-
union of the divided parts more easy to be accomplished. Mr. Blaine relates
408 FRACTURES.

that in a fracture of the lower jaw he succeeded by making a strong leather
frame that exactly encased the whole jaw. The author of this volume has
effected the same object by similar means. ;

M. H. Boulay attended a horse, fracture of whose lower maxillary had
taken place at the neck of that bone, between the tushes and the corner incisor
teeth, The whole of the interior part of the maxillary bone in which the
incisor tecth were planted was completely detached from the other portion of
the bone, and the parts were merely held together by the membrane of the
mouth.

The horse was cast—the corner tooth on the left side extracted—the wound
thoronghly cleansed—the fractured bones brought into contact—some holes
were drilled between the tushes and the second incisor teeth, above and below,
through which some pieces of brass wire were passed, and thus the jaws were
apparently fixed immoveably together. The neck of the maxillary bone was
surrounded by a sufficient compress of tow, and a ligature tied around it, with
its bearing place on the tushes, and all motion thus prevented.

The horse was naturally an untractable animal, and in his efforts to open
his jaws the wires yielded to his repeated struggles, and were to a certain
degree separated. The bandage of tow was, however, tightened, and was
sufficient to retain the fractured edges in apposition.

The mouth now began to exhale an infectious and gangrenous odour ;
the animal was dispirited, and would not take any food; gangrene was evi-
dently approaching, and Mr. Boulay determined to amputate the inferior
portion of the maxillary bone, the union of which seemed to be impossible.
The sphacelated portion of the maxillary was entirely removed ; every frag-
ment of bone that had an oblique direction was sawn away, and the rough and
uneven portions which the saw could not reach were rasped off.

Before night, the horse had recovered his natural spirits, and was searching
for something to eat. On the following day a few oats were given to him,
and he ate them with so much appetite and ease, that no one looking at him
would think that he had been deprived of his lower incisor teeth. On the
following day some hay was given to him, which he ate without difficulty, and
in a fortnight was dismissed, the wounds being nearly healed *.

In the majority of these cases of simple fracture a cure might be effected, or
should, at least, be attempted, by means of well adapted bandages around the
muzzle, confined by straps. It will always be prudent to call in veterinary aid,
and it is absolutely necessary in case of compound fracture of the lower jaw.

Fracture oF THE spinE.—This accident, fortunately for the horse, is not
of frequent occurrence, but it has been uniformly fatal. It sometimes happens
in the act of falling, as in leaping a wide ditch ; but it oftener occurs while a
horse is struggling during a painful operation. It is generally sufficiently evi-
dent while the horse ison the ground. Either a snap is heard, indicative of
the fracture, or the struggles of the hind-limbs suddenly and altogether cease.
In a few cases the animal has been able to get up and walk to his stable; in
others, the existence of the fracture has not been apparent for several hours:
showing that the vertebres, although fractured, may remain in their place for a
certain period of time. The bone that is broken is usually one of the posterior
dorsal or anterior lumbar vertebre. There is no satisfactory case upon record
of reunion of the fractured parts.

In the human being, the depressed portion of the spinal arch and of the frac-
tured vertebre have been removed by a dextrous operation, and sensibility and
the power of voluntary motion have, in cases few and far between, been restored ;

* Rec, de Méd, Vét., Nov. 1838.
FRACTURES. 409

but in the horse this has rarely or never been effected. We should consider
him a bold operator, but we should not very much dislike him, who made one
trial, at least, how far surgical skill might be available here.

Mr. W. C. Spooner relates an interesting case, and many such have probably
occurred. A horse had been clipped about three weeks, and was afterwards
galloped sharply on rough ground, and pulled up suddenly and repeatedly,
for the purpose of sweating him. After that he did not go so well as
before, and would not canter readily, although he had previously been much
used to that pace. ‘Iwo days before he was destroyed, the groom was riding
him at a slow pace, when he suddenly gave way behind and was carried home,
and could not afterwards stand. He had, doubtless, fractured the spine slightly
when pulled up suddenly, but without displacing the bones *.

M. Dupuy was consulted respecting a mare apparently palsied. She had
an uncertain and staggering walk, accompanied by evident pain. After various
means of relief had in vain been tried during five-and-twenty days, she was
destroyed. A fracture of the last dorsal vertebra was discovered. It had never
been quite complete, and ossific union was beginning to take place.

Fracture oF THE RIBS.—These fractures are not always easily recognised.
Those that are covered by the scapula may exist for a long time without being
detected, and those that are situated posteriorly are so thickly covered by
muscles as to render the detection of the injury almost impossible. A man was
trying to catch a mare ina field. She leaped at the gate, but failing to clear it,
she fell on her back on the opposite side. She lay there a short time, and then
got up, and trotted to the stable. She was saddled, and her master, a heavy
man, cantered her more than three miles. She then became unusually dull
and sluggish, and was left on the road. She was bled ; and on the following
morning an attempt was made to lead her home. She was not, however, able
to travel more than a mile. On the following morning she was evidently
in great pain, and a veterinary surgeon, discovering a slight depression of the
spinous processes of the eleventh and twelfth dorsal vertebre and detecting a
certain crepitus, ordered her to be destroyed. On post mortem examination, the
twelfth dorsal vertebra was found fractured, and the eleventh, twelfth, and
thirteenth ribs on the near side were all fractured about two inches from their
articulation with the vertebra t.

Hurtrel D’Arboval says that “the two ribs behind the elbow are the most
subject to fracture, and the false ribs, from the yielding motion which they
possess, are least liable.” The ordinary causes of fracture are kicks and blows,
or falls on the chest, and especially in leaping. The fractures are generally
about their middle, and, in the true ribs, commonly oblique. They are occa-
sionally broken into splinters, and if those splinters are directed inward, they
may seriously wound the pleura or lungs. In order most certainly to detect
the situation and extent of these fractures, it may be necessary to trace the
rib through its whole extent, and, should there be any irregularity, to press
firmly upon it above and below in order to ascertain the nature and extent of
the injury.

If fracture is detected, it is not often that much essential good can be done.
If there is little or no displacement, a broad roller should be tightly drawn
round the chest, in order to prevent as much as possible the motion of the ribs
in the act of breathing, and to throw the labour on the diaphragm and the
abdominal muscles until the fractured parts are united. If the fractured parts
protrude outwards, a firm compress must be placed upon them. If they are
depressed, it will always be advisable to place a firm bandage over the seat of

 

* Veterinarian, vol. xi. p. 207. + Veterinarian, vol. iii. p. 681.
410 FRACTURES.

fracture, although, perhaps, there may be scarcely the possibility of elevating
them to any considerable degree. Should much irritation be the consequence
of the nature or direction of the fracture, proper means must be adopted to
allay the constitutional disturbance that may be produced. General or local
bleedings will be most serviceable*.

Fracture oF THE PELVIS.—This is not of frequent occurrence, on account
of the thickness of the soft parts which surround the pelvis, and protect it
from injury, but it is of a most serious character when it does take place, on
account of the violence which must have been necessary to produce it. The
usual causes are falls from a considerable height, or heavy blows on the pelvis.
The injury may have reference to the internal or external portion of the pelvis.
In the first case, the danger may not be discovered until irreparable mischief
is produced. When it is chiefly external, the altered appearance of the hip
speaks for itself. It is rarely in our power to afford any assistance in cases
like this, except when there are fractured portions of the bone that may be
partially or entirely removed, or the projecting spine of the ilium is only par-
tially fractured.

M. Levrat gives an interesting account of a case of fracture of the right
side of the pelvis, near the acetabulum, in leaping a wide ditch when hunting.
“ The lameness which it occasioned,” says he, “‘ was such that the toe of the
foot was scarcely permitted to touch the ground while the motion was at all
rapid. When the motion was slow the foot was placed flat on the ground, but
with great difficulty moved forward. On applying my right hand to the fractured
part, which did not exhibit any heat, and seizing with my left hand the point
of the thigh, I felt a movement of the ischium, which easily enabled me to
judge of the fracture and its seat, and to discover that none of the fractured
parts were displaced. I ordered her to be kept quiet for three weeks, and then
permitted to wander about the stable. At the end of two months she was
mounted and exercised at a foot pace, and in another month she was enabled
to sustain the longest day’s work without lameness. In the following year
she was placed in the stud of the Baron de Stael, where she produced some
good foalst.”

The Annals of the school at Alfort contain the case of an old mare with frac-
ture of the pelvis and of the left ischium, and in whom union of the bones was
effected so promptly, that on the thirtieth day very little lameness remained,
and she shortly returned to her usual work. She soon afterwards died from
some other cause, and the state of the osseous parts was thoroughly examined.
These cases, however, stand almost alone, and post mortem examination dis-
covers fractures of the ischium and the pelvis, and each bone divided into many
pieces, so that it is impossible for the hind quarters of the animal to be sup-
ported—also fractures of the external angle of the ilium, which rarely is again
consolidated, and roughness of the bony fragments, which produce sad laceration
of the soft parts. Fracture of the ischium presents almost insuperable difficulties
—that of the ilium is uniformly fatal {.

Fracture or THE TaiL.—This accident is not of frequent occurrence,
except from accidental entanglement, or the application of brute force. The
fracture is easily recognised, frequently by the eye and always by the fingers.
If the tail is not amputated, a cord passed over a pulley, and with a small

 

* Cases of anchylosis of the vertebre of extending even to the haunch.—Sandifort®
the horse are too frequent, from the heavy Mus. Anat. vol. ii. p. 38 to 44, and iii. p. 243.
weights and sudden and violent concussion t+ Rec, de Méd. Vét., Nov. 1831, and
which are too frequently thrown on these Veterinarian, vol. vi. p- 390.
parts. Complete anchylosis of all the dorsal t Dict. Vét, Mar, Hurtrel D’Arboval, vol.
aud lumbar vertebrae have been produced, ii. p, 586.
FRACTURES. 41)

weight attached to it, will bring the separated bones again into apposition,
and in about a month the natural cartilage of the part will be sufficiently
re-instated.

FRracTURES OF THE Limps.—These, fortunately, are of rare occurrence in
the horse, for although their divided edges might be easily brought again into
apposition, it would be almost impossible to retain them in it, for the slightest
motion would displace them. A rapid survey of each may not, however, be
altogether useless.

Fracture oF THE SHOULDER.—The author is not aware of the successful
treatment. of this accident by any English veterinary surgeon. Mr. Fuller
attempted it, but from the difficulty of keeping the divided edges of the bone
in apposition with each other, and the natural untractableness of the animal,
and symptoms of tetanus beginning to appear, the patient was destroyed. The
fracture was a little above the neck of the scapula, and the muscles were dread-
fully lacerated.*

It is not at all times easy to discover the existence and precise situation of
fracture of the humerus. The lameness is very great—the animal will not
bear at all upon the broken limb—he will drag it along the ground—he will
move slowly and with difficulty, and his progression will consist of a succes-
sion of short leaps. The lifting of the foot will give very great pain. If he
is roughly handled, he will sometimes rear, or throw himself suddenly down.
By careful application of the hand a crepitus will more or less distinctly be
heard. The chances are always materially againt the union of a fracture of
the humerus. The patient must be kept constantly suspended, and splints and
bandages carefully applied. M. Delaguette attended an entire draught-horse,
whose humerus had been fractured by the kick of amare. The fracture ex-
tended longitudinally through two-thirds of the length of the bone, and the
parts were separated from each other. They were brought again into appo-
sition, and kept so by means of pitch plasters and splints. The horse was
put into slings; the pavement of the stable was taken up; a hollow dug
under the fractured limb, and this depression filled with straw, in order to afford
a soft support for the foot. He was bled, gruel alone given as food, and injec-
tions daily administered.

On the 25th day the rollers were removed and replaced. On the 40th day he
began to rest on the fractured limb. On the 60th day the bandages were
removed—the fracture had been well consolidated, and the horse rested his
weight upon it. It is reluctantly added that he was afterwards destroyed, on
account of some disease of the loinst.

Fracture of tHe arm.—This accident is not of untrequent occurrence.
It commonly takes an oblique direction, and is usually first discovered by th>
displacement of the limb. Mr. Gloag, of the 10th Hussars, gives an interesting
account of a case that occurred in his practice. ‘An entire black cart-horse was
grazing in a field, into which some mares were accidentally turned. One of
them kicked him severely a little above the knee. He, however, contrived to
get home, and, being carefully examined, there was found a simple fracture of
the radius, about an inch and a half above the knee. The ends of the fractured
bone could be heard distinctly grating against each other, both in advancing
the leg and turning it sideway from the body. He was immediately placed in
asling not completely elevated from the ground, but in which he could occa-
sionally relieve himself by standing. The leg was well bathed with warm
water, and the ends of the bone brought as true to their position as possible.
Some thin slips of green wood were then immersed in boiling water until they

 

* Veterinarian, vol. viii. p. 143. + Journal Pratique, Dec. 1834.
432 FRACTURES,

would readily bend to the shape of the knee, and they were tied round the
joint, reaching about nine inches above and six below the knee, the ends of
them being tied round with tow. : ,

A fortnight afterwards he became very troublesome, knocking his foot on the
ground, and when, at the expiration of the sixth week, he was taken from the
slings, there was a considerable bony deposit above the knee. This, however,
gradually subsided as the horse regained his strength, and, with the exception
of turning the leg a little outwards, he is as useful as ever for common purposes*.”

FRacTuRE oF THE ELGOwW.—This is far more exposed to danger than the
two last bones, and is oftener fractured. The fracture is generally an oblique
one, and about two-thirds from the summit of the limb. It is immediately
detected by the altered action, and different appearance of the limb. It is
not so difficult of reduction as either the humerus or the scapula, when the
fracture is towards the middle of the bone. A great quantity of tow saturated
with pitch must be placed around the elbow, and confined with firm adhesive
plasters, the ground being hollowed away in the front of the injured leg, so
that no pressure shall be made by that foot.

Fracture oF THE FEMUR.—Considering the masses of muscle that sur-
round this bone, and the immense weight which it supports, it would naturally
be deemed impossible to reduce a real fracture of the femur. If the divided
bones are ever united, it is a consequence of the simple repose of the parts, and
their tendency to unite. Professor Dick, however, relates a very singular and
interesting account of the cure of fracture of the femur. He was requested to
attend a bay mare that had met with an accident in leaping a sunken fence. He
found a wound in the stifle of the hind leg running transversely across the
anterior of the articulation, about an inch and a half in length, and in it was a
portion of bone that had been fractured, and that had escaped from its situation
towards the inside of the stifle, where it was held by a portion of ligament.
The isolated nature of the fractured portion, the difficulty, or rather impossibility
of replacing it in its situation, and the few vessels which the connecting medium
possessed, rendered it impossible that union would be effected; he therefore
determined to remove it.

Having enlarged the wound, and divided the portion of capsular ligament
which retained it in its place, he extracted the bone, and found it to be the
upper part of the inner anterior condyle of the femur, measuring three inches
in length, one inch and a half in breadth, and about an inch in thickness,
and being in shape nearly similar to the longitudinal section of a hen’s egg.

After the removal of the bone the animal seemed very much relieved; the
wound was firmly sewed up, adhesive strapping applied over it, and the part
kept wet with cold water.

Two days afterwards considerable swelling had taken place ; she seemed to
suffer much, and there was some oozing from the wound. Fomentations were
again applied, and she was slung.

She now began rapidly to improve, and, although one of the largest articula-
tions in the body had been Jaid open and a part of the articular portion of the
bone removed, the wound healed so rapidly that in three weeks she walked
with little lameness to a loose box. At the expiration of another three weeks
the Professor again visited her. On being led out she trotted several times
along the stable yard, apparently sound, with the exception of moving the limb
in a slight degree wider than usual, and so completely was the part recovered
that, had it not been for a small scar that remained, a stranger could not have
known that such an accident had taken place.t

 

* Veterinarian, vol. iv. p. 422. t Veterinarian, vol. ii. -p. 140,
FRACTURES. 413

FRacTURE OF THE PATELLA.—This does occasionally, though very seldom
occur. It is usually the consequence of violent kicks, or blows, and if this
singular bone is once disunited, no power can bring the divided portions of the
bone together again.

Fracrurs oF Tue T1B1a.—This affection is of more frequent occurrence, and
of more serious ‘consequence than we were accustomed to imagine it to be.
Mr. Trump, twelve years ago, first called the attention of the profession to some
singular circumstances connected with the tibia. A large draught horse be-
longing to the Dowlais Iron Company, at Merthyr Tydvil, came in from his
labour very lame in the near hind leg, but with no visible sign of any severe
injury being received. The foot was searched, but nothing farther was done.
He stood in the stable several days, and then was turned into a field, and was
discovered one morning with the limb dependent, and a fracture of the tibia just
above the hock.

Fourteen or sixteen months after that, another horse came home from a
journey of seven miles, lame, with a slight mark on the inside of the thigh—a
mere scratch, and very little tumefaction. There was nothing to account for
such severe lameness: but, a few mornings afterwards, the tibia was seen to be
fractured. The front of the bone was splintered as from a blow.

Two months after that, another horse had been observed to be lame seven or
eight days. A slight scratch was observed on the inside of the thigh, with
a little swelling, and increased heat and tenderness just above the hock.
Mr. Trump had examined the foot during the time that the horse stood in
the stable, not being satisfied that the apparently slight injury on the thigh could
account for the lameness. He was turned to grass, and three days afterwards
the tibia was found broken at the part mentioned, and evidently from a blow.
Were there not positive proof of the circumstance, it would have been deemed
impossible that a fracture, and of such a bone, could have existed so long
without detection.*

Mr. J. 8S. Mayer gives an interesting account of the successful treatment of
a case of fracture of the tibia. The simplicity of the process will, we trust,
encourage many another veterinary surgeon to follow his example.

“A horse received a blow on the tibia of the near leg, but little notice
was taken of it for two or three days. When, however, we were called in to
examine him, we found the tibia to be obliquely fractured about midway
between the hock and the stifle, and a small wound existing on the inside of the
leg. It was set in the following manner :—The leg from the stifle down to the
hock was well covered with an adhesive compound ; it was then wrapped round
with fine tow, upon which another layer of the same adhesive mixture was laid,
the whole being well splinted and bandaged up, so as to render what was a
slightly compound fracture a simple one. The local inflammation and sympa-
thetic fever that supervened were kept down by antiphlogistic measures. At
the end of six weeks the bandages and splints were removed, and readjusted in
a similar way as before, and at the termination of three months from the time
of the accident he was discharged, cured, the splints being wholly taken off, and
merely an adhesive stay kept on the leg. The horse is now at work and quite
sound, there being merely a little thickening, where the callus is formed.”+

Fracture oF THE Hock.—Thisis not of frequent occurrence, but very diffi-
cult to treat, from the almost impossibility of finding means to retain the bone in its
situation. A case, however, somewhat simple in its nature occurred in the practice
of Mr. Cartwright. A colt, leaping at some rails, got his leg between them, and,
unable to extricate himself, hung over on the other side. After being liberated

 

* Veterinarian, vol. iii. p. 394. ciation, Some other cases of the successful
+ The Transactions of the Vet. Med. Asso- treatment of fractures are related in this work.
414 FRACTURES.

it appeared on examination, that there was a simple horizontal fracture of the

whole of the os calcis about the middle. A splint was contrived so as to reach
from the middle of the tibia to that of the cannon bone, and this was applied to
the front of the leg, keeping the hock from its usual motion, and relaxing the
muscles inserted into the os calcis. Underneath this splint a charge was applied
about the part, in order to form a level surface for the splint to rest upon. The
whole was bound together by proper adhesive bandages, and he was ordered to be
kept quiet in the stable, but not to be slung. In about two months the hock
was fired and became perfectly sound *.

FracrukE OF THE CANNON OR SHANK BonE.—This is of more frequent
occurrence than that of any other bone, on account of the length of the leg, and
the danger to which it is exposed. There is rarely any difficulty in detecting its
situation, but there is sometimes a great deal in bringing the divided edges of
the bone again into apposition. A kind of windlass, or a power equal to it, is
occasionally necessary to produce sufficient extension in order to effect the desired
purpose: but the divided edges being brought into apposition are retained there
by the force of the muscles above. . Splints reaching from the foot to above the
knee should then be applied. The horse should be racked up during a fortnight,
after which, if the case is going on well, the animal may often be turned out.

In cases of compound fracture the wounds should be carefully attended to:
but Mr. Percivall says that he knows one or two old practitioners, who are in the
habit of treating these cases in a very summary and generally successful manner.
They employ such common support, with splints and tow and bandages, as the
case seems to require, and then the animal with his leg bound up is turned out,
if the season permits; otherwise he is placed in a yard or box, where there is:
not much straw to incommode his movements. The animal will take care not.
to impose too much weight on his fractured limb; and, provided the parts are
well secured, nature will generally perform the rest t.

FRactTuneE oF THE sEsamorp BonES.—There are but two instances of this on
record. The first is related by Mr. Fuller of March. He was galloping steadily
and not rapidly a horse of his own, when the animal suddenly fell as if he had
been shot. He was broken down in both fore legs. The owner very humanely
ordered him to be immediately destroyed. Both the perforans and perforatus
tendons of the near fore leg were completely ruptured, just where they pass
over the sessamoid bone, which was fractured in a transverse direction. The
sessamoid bone of the off leg was fractured in the same direction, but the
tendons were entire t.

The second case is one described by Mr. Harris of Preston. A strong coach-
like animal was gallopped rapidly. He had not gone more than a hundred
yards before he suddenly fell, and it was with great difficulty that he could be
led home, a distance of about two miles. There was soon considerable swelling
in the off fore leg—great pain on the animal's attempting to walk, and his fetlock
nearly touched the ground. Some slight crepitus could be detected, but the
exact seat of it could not be ascertained. Mr. Harris considered the case as
hopeless, but the owner would have some means tried to save the animal. He
was accordingly bled and physicked, and cold lotions and bandages were applied
to the foot. Two days afterwards some bony spicule began to protrude through
the skin, and, the case being now perfectly hopeless, the animal was destroyed.
The inner sessamoid bone was shivered to atoms §.

FRACTURE OF THE UPPER PASTERN.— Thick and strong, and movable as this
bone seems to be, it is occasionally fractured. This has been the consequence of

 

* Veterinarian, vol. iii. p. 69. + Veterinarian, vol. iii, p. 393.
t Percivall’s Hippopathology, vol. i. p. 269. § Veterinarian, vol. v. p. 375.
FRACTURES. ALS

a violent effort by the horse to save himself from falling, when he has stumbled.
—it has happened when he has been incautiously permitted to run down a
steep descent—and has occurred when a horse has been travelling on the best
road, and at no great pace.

The existence of fracture in this bone is, generally speaking, easily detected.
The injured foot is as lightly as possible permitted to come in contact with the
ground. As little weight as may be is thrown on it, or, if the animal is com-
pelled to use it, the fetlock is bent down nearly to the ground, and the toe is
turned upward. If the foot is rotated a crepitus is generally heard.

This, however, is not always the case. M. Levrat was requested to examine a
horse that had suddenly become lame. The near hind leg was retracted, and the
foot was kept from touching the ground. He carefully examined the foot, and
discovered that much pain was expressed when the pastern was handled. He
suspected fracture of the bone, but he could not detect it. He bled the animal,
ordered cooling applications to the part, and gave a dose of physic. ‘Three days
afterwards he again saw his patient, and readily detected a fracture, taking a
direction obliquely across the pastern*.

The probability of success in the treatment of this fiacture, depends on its heing
a simple or compound one. If it runs laterally across the bone, it may be readily
and successfully treated—if it extends to the joints above and below, it will pro-
bably terminate in anchylosis, and if the bone is shivered, as it too frequently is,
into various parts, there would scarcely seem the possibility of a successful
treatment of the case. The instances, however, are numerous in which the case
terminates successfully. Hurtrel D’Arboval recommends that a bandage steeped
in some adhesive matter should be applied from the coronet to the middle of the
leg. On this some wet pasteboard is to be moulded, enveloped afterwards in a
linen bandage. A small splint is now to be applied before and behind aud on
each side and the hollow places are filled with tow, in order to give them an equal
bearing. If this does not appear to be sufficiently secure, other splints, thicker
and broader, are placed over those extending to the knee or the hock.

The case related by M. Levrat was treated in this way. It will be com-
paratively seldom that it will be necessary to suspend the patient. The animal,
under the treatment of M. Levrat, kept his foot in the air for nearly three
weeks, At the end of that period he now and then tried to rest his toe on the
litter. Six weeks after the accident, he began to throw some weight on the foot ;
and a few days afterwards he was able to go to a pond, about fifty paces from
his stable, and where, of his own accord, he took a foot-bath for nearly an hour
atatime, At the expiration of another month he was mounted, and went very
well at a walking-pace ; he was, however, still lame when he was trotted.

Another horse, treated by the same surgeon, was soon able to rest on the bad
leg, in order to change his position—he was allowed three weeks after that,
and then commenced his former daily work—the drawing of a heavy cart.
He limped a little when he was trotted; but did as much slow work as he waz
ever accustomed to do.

Fracture oF THE LOWER PASTERN.—Although this bone is much shorter
than the upper pastern, there are several instances of fracture of it. The frac-
tures of this bone are commonly longitudinal, and often present a lesion of con-
tinuity extending from the larger pastern to the coffin-bone. It is frequently
splintered, the splinters taking this longitudinal direction. Hurtre] D’Arboval
relates three cases of this, and in one of them the bone was splintered into four
pieces. In several instances, however, this bone has been separated into eight
or ten distinct pieces. When the fracture of the bone is neither compound

 

* Rec, de Méd. Vét., Nov. 1831.
aie FRACTURES.

nor complicated, it may be perfectly reduced by proper bandaging, and, in
fact, there have been cases, in which union has taken place with slight assist-
ance from art beyond the application of a few bandages. , :

M. Gazot relates a very satisfactory termination of fracture of this bone ina
carriage-horse. The animal fell, and was totally unable to rise again. He was
placed on some hurdles, and drawn home. A veterinary surgeon being con-
sulted, recognized fracture of the lower pastern in both feet, and advised that
the animal should be destroyed. It was a favourite horse, between five and six
years old, and the owner determined to give it a chance of recovery.

M. Gazot was consulted. He plainly recognized a transverse fracture in the
lower pastern of the right leg, and a longitudinal one in the left pastern. They
were both of them simple fractures. The horse was manageable, and seemed
to comprehend the whole affair. He was a favourite of the groom as well as
the master, and it was determined to give him a chance of recovery. He had
plenty of good litter under him, which was changed twice in the day. The
first object that was attempted to be accomplished was the healing of the
excoriations that had taken place in drawing him home, and abating the inflam-
mation that was appearing about the pasterns.

At the termination of the first week all these were healed, the horse fed
well, and was perfectly quiet, except that when he was tired of lying on one
side he contrived to get on his knees and then to raise himself on his haunches,
and, having voided his urine and his dung, he turned himself upon the other
side, without the bandages round his pasterns being in the slightest degree inter-
fered with.

At the expiration of the second week he seemed to wish to get up. Tho
groom had orders to assist him, and a sling was passed under him. Some oats
were placed in the manger, and he seemed to enjoy the change for a little while.
Soon afterwards he began to be uneasy, and a copious perspiration appeared
on every part. He was immediately lowered, when, with evident delight, he
stretched out his head and his legs, and lay almost without motion during
several hours. On the following day he was again placed in the sling, and again
lowered as soon as he appeared to be fatigued.

At the expiration of a month from the time of the accident he could get up
without assistance, and would continue standing two or three hours, when he
lay down again, but with a degree of precaution that was truly admirable. The
bandages around the pasterns had been continued until this period, and had
been kept wet with a spirituous embrocation. The horse was encouraged to
walk a little, some corn being offered to him in a sieve. He was sadly lame,
and the lameness was considerably greater in the left than in the right foot. A
calculous enlargement could also be felt in the direction of the fracture on each
pastern ; but it was greatest in the left fetlock, and there was reason to fear the
existence of anchylosis, between the pastern bones of the left leg. That foot
was surrounded with emollient cataplasms, and, two days afterwards, was pared
out, and the cautery applied over both pasterns, the spirituous embrocation
being continued.

A fortnight afterwards the effect of the cautery was very satisfactory. The
action of the part was more free, and there was no longer any fear of anchylosis.
It was however deemed prudent to apply the cautery over the right pastern.
Walking exercise was now recommended, and in the course of another month
the lameness was much diminished. It was most on the left side, which, how-
ever, had resumed its former degree of inclination.

At the expiration of four months the horse was sent to work. His master, how-
ever, doubting the stability of the cure, sold him, for which he ought to have had

his own legs broken, and he fell into bad hands. He was worked hardiy and half °° °
ON SHORING. 47

starved; nevertheless, the calculus continued to diminish, and the lameness
altogether disappeared. He soon, however, passed into better hands. He was
bought by a farmer at Chalons, in whose service he long remained, in good con-
dition, and totally free from lameness, His last owner gave him the name of
Old Broken Leg *.

Fracture OF THE COFFIN BoNE.—This is an accident of very rare occurrence,
and difficult to distinguish from other causes of Jameness. The animal halts
very considerably—the foot is hot and tender—the pain seems to be exceedingly
great, and none of the ordinary causes of lameness are perceived. According to
Hurtrel D’Arboval, it is not so serious an accident as has been represented.
The fractured portions cannot be displaced, and in a vascular bone like this, the
union of the divided parts will be readily effected.

Mr. Percivall very properly remarks, that, “ buried as the coffin and navicular
bones are within the hoof, and out of the way of all external injury as well as
of muscular force, fracture of them cannot proceed from ordinary causes. It
is, perhaps, thus produced :—in the healthy foot, in consequence of the elas-
ticity of their connections, these bones yield or spring under the impression they
receive from the bones above, and thus are enabled to bear great weights, and
sustain violent shocks without injury ; but, disease in the foot is often found to
destroy this elasticity, by changing the cartilage into bone, which cannot receive
the same weight and concussion without risk of fracture. Horses that have
undergone the operation of neurotomy more frequently meet with this accident
than others, because they batter their senseless feet with a force which, under
similar circumstances, pain would forbid the others from doing +.”

FracTURE OF THE NAVICULAR BONE has been sufficiently considered under
the article “ Navicular Joint Disease,” p. 391.

Mr. Mayer sums up his account of the treatment of fractures in a way that
reflects much credit on him and the profession of which he is a member. “ Let.
your remedies,” says he, ‘‘ be governed by those principles of science, those dic-
tates of humanity, and that sound discretion, which, while they raise the moral
and intellectual superiority of man, distinguish the master of his profession
from the bungling empiric }.”

CHAPTER XXI. ;
ON SHOEING.

Tux period when the shoe began to be nailed to the foot of the horse is un-
eertain. William the Norman introduced it into our country.

We have seen, in the progress of our inquiry, that, while it affords to the
foot of the horse that defence which seems now to be necessary against the
destructive effects of our artificial and flinty roads, it has entailed on the animal
some evils. It has limited or destroyed the beautiful expansibility of the lower
part of the foot—it has led to contraction, although that contraction has not
always been accompanied by lameness—in the most careful fixing of the best

 

¥ Recueil de Med. Vét.1834, p.7. No apology + Percivall’s Hippopathology, vol. i. page
is offered for the introduction of cases like 272.
this. The cause of science and of humanity $ Vet. Trans. vol. i. p. 245.
is equally served.
EL
418 ON SHOEING.

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 occasionally 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 be first taken off. We have something 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 after looking care-
lessly 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 separates
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 and steady hold of the shoe, and sometimes tear off portions 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 1s to be examined for lameness, each nail should be
partly 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 stander-by 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 convenient
method of removing that portion of the crust into which dirt 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 carrying it
to too great an extent. The act of paring is a work of much more labour than
the proprietor of the horse often imagines. The smith, except he is overlooked,
will frequently give himself as little trouble about it as he can; and that portion
of horn which, in the unshod foot, would be worn away by contact with the
ground is suffered to accumulate 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 horn should be left on the foot, which will
defend the internal parts from being bruised, and yet suffer 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 buttress, that most destructive of all
instruments, being, except on very particular occasions, banished from every
respectable forge, the smith sets to work with his drawing-knife, and removes
the growth of horn, until the sole will yield, although in the slightest possible
degree, to the strong pressure of his thumb. 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 some 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.
ON SHOEING. 419

The quantity of horn to be removed in order to leave the proper degree of"
thickness will vary with different 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 pumiced 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 bruising of it by its pressure on the edge of the seating. The
crust should be reduced to a perfect level, all round, 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, accommodate his paring to the
comparative wear of the heels, and be exceedingly careful to leave them pre-
cisely level.

If the reader will recollect what has been said of the intention and action of
the bars, he will readily perceive that the smith should be checked in his
almost universal fondness for opening the heels, 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
s0 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 been already 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 been already 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 direction which is given 1o the bearing at 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 the 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 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 cannot come in
contact with the ground, and thus be enabled to do its duty. The ragged 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 judg-
ment in order to be properly discharged ; and the proprietor of horses will
find it his interest occasionally to visit the forge, and complain of the careless,
or idle, or obstinate fellow, while he rewards by some trifling gratuity the expert
and diligent workman. He should likewise remember that a great deal more
depends on the paring out of the foot than on the construction of the shoe; that

EE 2
420 PUTTING ON THE SHOE.

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 OF THE SHOE,

The foot being thus prepared, the smith looks about for a shoe. He should
select one that as nearly as possible fits the foot, or may be easily altered to the
foot. He will sometimes, and especially if he is an idle and reckless fellow,
care 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 mate-
rially 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 travelling, dirt and gravel are apt to insinuate themselves
between the web of the shoe and the sole. If the shoe were flat, they would
be permanently retained there, and would bruise the sole, and be productive of
injury; but when the shoe is properly bevelled 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 pro-
perly 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 to expand the quarters, while
it is defended from the wear and injury it would receive if it came on the
ground with the first and full shock of the weight.

The nail-holes are, on the ground side, placed as 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 a 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 fiat or a little bevelled.
It likewise occupies more time in the 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 longer time in the
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 the foot, and detects any little elevations by the deeper colour of
the bummed horn. This practice has been much inveighed against ; butit 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
CALKINS.—CLIPS. 421

previous preparation of the foot, the heat must be injurious both to the sensible
and insensible parts of the foot.

The heels of the shoe should be examined as to their proper width, What-
ever 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
posterior 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 corn,
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
ina heavy country. A shoe, the web of which projects inward as far as it can
without touching the frog, affords protection to the angle between the bars and
the crust.

Of the manner of attaching the shoe to the foot the owner 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 consistent 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 practised.

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 prevent unpleasant or dangerous slipping. If, however
calkins are used, they should be placed on both sides. If the outer heel only is
raised with the calkin, as is too often the case, the weight cannot be thrown
evenly on the foot, and undue straining and injury of some part of the foot or
of the leg must be the necessary consequence. Few things deserve more the
attention of the horseman than this most absurd and injurious of all the prac-
tices of the forge. One quarter of an hour’s walking, with one side of the shoe
or boot raised considerably above the other, will painfully convince us of what
the horse must suffer from this too common method of shoeing. It cannot be
excused even in the hunting shoe. If the horse is ridden far to cover, or gal-
loped over much hard and flinty ground, he will inevitably suffer from this
unequal distribution 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 degree, or the other heel of the shoe should be raised
to the same level by a gradual thickening. Of the use of calkins in the hinder
foot we shall presently speak.

CLIPS.

These are portions of the upper edge of the shoe, hammered 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 injurious. 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 drawing. A clip on the outside of each shoe,
at the beginning of the quarters, will give security to it. Clips are likewise
necessary on the shoes of all heavy horses, and of all others who are disposed to
stamp, or viclently paw with their feet, and thus incur the danger of displacing
the shoe ; but they are evils, inasmuch as they press upon the crust as it grows
’

422 DIFFERENT KINDS OF SHOES.

down, and they should only be used when circumstances 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 overreaching 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 quarters, 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 be thus enabled to dig his toe more firmly into the ground, and
urge himself forward, and throw his weight into the collar with greater advan-
tage: but the calkins must not be too high, and they must be of an equal
height on each heel, otherwise, as has been stated with regard to the fore feet,
the weight will not be fairly distributed over the foot, and some part of the
foot or the leg will materially suffer. The nails in the hinder shoe may be
placed nearer to the heel than in the fore shoe, because, from the comparatively
liitle weight and concussion thrown on the hinder feet, there is not so much
danger of contraction.

DIFFERENT KINDS OF SHOES.

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 least in every month ; for if the contractor, by a heavy 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 acknow-
ledged 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 decidedly acknowledged in the racer, who wears a shoe only suffi-
ciently thick to prevent it from bending when it is used.

THE CONCAVE-SEATED SHOE,

The proper form and construction of the shoe is a subject deserving of very
serious inquiry, for it is most important to ascertain, if possible, the kind of
shoe that will do the least mischief to the feet. A cut is subjoined of that which
is useful and valuable for general purposes. It is employed in many of our best
forges, and promises gradually to supersede the flat and the simple concave
shoe, although it must, in many respects, yield to the unilateral shoe.

It presents a perfectly flat surface to the ground, in order to give as many
points of bearing as possible, except that, on the outer edge, there is a groove
or fuller, in which the nail-holes are punched, so that, sinking into the fuller,
THE CONCAVE-SEATED SHOE. 423

their heads project but a little way, and are soon worn down level with the
shoe. The ground surface of the common shoe used in the country is somewhat
convex, and the inner rim of the shoe comes first on the ground: the conse-
quence of this is, that the weight, instead of being borne fairly on the crust, is
supported by the nails and clenches, which must be injurious to the foot, and
often chip and break it.

 

The web of this shoe is of the same thickness throughout, from the too to
the heel ; and it is sufficiently wide to guard the sole from bruises, and, as much
so as the frog will permit, to cover the seat of corn.

On the foot side it is seated. The outer part of it is accurately flat, and of
the width of the crust, and designed to support the crust, for by it the whole
weight of the horse is sustained.

Towards the heel this flattened part is wider and occupies the whole
breadth of the web, in order to support the heel of the crust aud its
reflected part—the bar: thus, while it defends the horn included within this
angle from injury, it gives that equal pressure upon the bar and the crust, which
is the best preventive against corns, and a powerful obstacle to contraction.

Jt is fastened to the foot by nine nails—five on the outside, and four on the
inner side of the shoe; those on the outside extending a little farther down
towards the heel, because the outside heel is thicker and stronger, end there is
more nail-hold ; the last nail on the inner quarter being farther from the heel
on account of the weakness of that quarter. For feet not too large, and where
moderate work only is required from the horse, four nails on the outside, and
three on the inside, will be sufficient ; and the last nail being far from the heels,
will allow more expansion there.

The inside part of the web is bevelled off, or rendered concave, that it may
not press upon the sole. Notwithstanding our iron fetter, the sole does, although
to a very inconsiderable extent, descend when the foot of the horse is put on
the ground. It is unable to bear constant or even occasional pressure, and if it
tame in contact with the shoe, the sensible sole between it and the coffin-bone
would be bruised, and lameness would ensue. Many of our horses, from too
early and undue work, have the natural concave sole flattened, and the disposi-
424 THE UNILATERAL SHOE.

tion to descend and the degree of descent are thereby increased. The concave
shoe prevents, even in this case, the possibility of much injury, because the sole
can never descend in the degree in which the shoe is or may be bevelled. A shoe
bevelled still farther is necessary to protect the projecting or pumiced foot.

THE UNILATERAL, OR ONE SIDE NAILED SHOE.

For a material improvement in the art of shoeing, we are indebted to Mr.
‘Turner of Regent Street. What was the state of the foot of the horse a few
years ago? Anunyielding iron hoof was attached to it by four nails in each
quarter, and the consequence was, that in nine cases out of ten the foot under-
went a very considerable alteration in its form and in its usefulness. Before it
had attained its full development—before the animal was five years old, there
was, in a great many cases, an evident contraction of the hoof. There was an
alteration in the manner of going. The step was shortened, the sole was hol-
lowed, the frog was diseased, the general elasticity of the foot was destroyed—
there was a disorganization of the whole horny cavity, and the value of the
horse was materially diminished. What was the grand cause of this? It was
the restraint of the shoe. The firm attachment of it to the foot by nails in
each quarter, and the consequent strain to which the quarters and every
part of the foot were exposed, produced a necessary tendency to contraction,
from which sprang almost all the maladies to which the foot of the horse is
subject.

The unilateral shoe has this great advantage: it is identified with the grand
principle of the expansibility of the horse’s foot, and of removing or preventing
the worst ailments to which the foot of the horse is liable. It can be truly
stated of this shoe, that while it affords to the whole organ an iron defence
equal to the common shoe, it permits, what the common shoe never did or can
do, the perfect liberty of the foot.

We are enabled to present our readers with the last improvement of the
unilateral shoe.

 

The above cut gives a view of the outer side of the off or right unilateral
shoe. The respective situations of the five nails will be observed ; the distance
of the last from the heel, and the proper situations at which they emerge from
the crust. The two clips will likewise be seen—one in the front of the foot,
and the other on the side between the last and second nail.

The second cut gives a view of the inner side of the unilateral shoe. The
THE HUNTING SHOE. 425

two nails near the toe are in the situation in which Mr, Turner directs that they
should be placed, and behind them is no other attachment, between the shoe and
the crust. ‘Fhe portion of the crust which is rasped off from the inner surface
of the shoe is now, we believe, not often removed from the side of the foot ;
it has an unpleasant appearance, and the rasping is somewhat unnecessary. The
heel of this shoe exhibits the method which Mr. Turner has adopted, and with
considerable success, for the cure of corns ; he cuts away a portion of the ground
surface at the heel, and all injurious compression or concussion are rendered in a
manner impossible.

 

There can beno doubt that this one-sided nailing has been exceedingly useful.
It has, in many a case that threatened a serious termination, restored the elas-
ticity of the foot, and enabled it to discharge its natural functions. It has also
restored to the foot, even in bad cases, a great deal of its natural formation, and
enabled the horse to discharge his duty with more ease and pleasure to himself,
and greater security to his rider.

It is difficult to tell what was the character of “the old English shoe.” It
certainly was larger than there was any occasion for it to be, and nearly covered
the lower surface of the foot. The nail-holes were also far more numerous
than they are at present. The ground side was usually somewhat convex.
“The effect of this,” says Mr. W. C. Spooner, “‘ was to place the foot ina
kind of hollow dish, which effectually prevented its proper expansion, the crust
resting on a mere ledge instead of a flat surface; and, on the ground side, from
the inner rim coming to the ground first, the weight was almost supported by
the nails and clinches, which were placed, four or five on each side, at some dis-
tance from the toe, and approaching nearly to the heels*.”

It was an improvement to make the ground surface flat, and to take care
that it did not press on the sole. At length, however, came the concave-seated
shoe of Osmer, which was advocated by Mr. Clark, of Edinburgh, improved by
Mr. Moorcroft, and ultimately became very generally and usefully adopted.

THE HUNTING SHOE.

The hunter’s shoe is different from that commonly used, in form as well as in
weight. It is not so much bevelled off as the common concave seated shoe.
Sufficient space alone is left for the introduction of a picker between the shoe
and the sole, otherwise, in going over heavy ground, the clay would insinuate

 

© A Treatise on the Foot of the Horse, by Mr. W. C. Spooner, p. 113.
426 THR EXPANDING SHOE.

itself, and by its tenacity loosen, and even tear off the shoe. The heels likewise
are somewhat shorter, that they may not be torn off by the toe of the hind-feet
when galloping fast, and the outer heel is frequently but injudiciously turned
up to prevent slipping. If calkins are necessary, both heels should have an
equal bearing.

THE BAR-SHOE.

A bar-shoe is often exceedingly useful. It is the continuation of the common
shoe round the heels, and by means of it the pressure may be taken off from
some tender partof the foot, and thrown on another which is better able to bear
it, or more widely and equally diffused over the whole foot. It is principally
resorted to in cases of corn, the seat of which it perfectly covers—in pumiced
feet, the soles of which may be thus elevated above the ground and secured
from pressure,—in sand-crack, when the pressure may be removed from the
fissure, and thrown on either side of it, and in thrushes, when the frog is tender,
or is become cankered; and requires to be frequently dressed, and the dressing
can by this means alone be retained. In these cases the bar-shoe is an excellent
contrivance, if worn only for one or two shoeings, or as long as the disease re-
quires it to be worn, but it must be left off as soon as it can be dispensed with.
If it is used for the protection of a diseased foot, however it may be chambered
and laid off the frog, it will soon become flattened upon it ; or if the pressure
of it is thrown on the frog, in order to relieve the sand-crack or the corn, that
frog must be very strong and healthy which can long bear the great and con-
tinued pressure. More mischief is often produced in the frog than previously
existed in the part that was relieved. It will be plain that in the use of the bar-
shoe for corn or sand-crack, the crust and the frog should be precisely on a level:
the bar also should be the widest part of the shoe, in order to afford as extended
bearing as possible on the frog, and therefore less likely to be injurious. Bar-
shoes are evidently not safe in frosty weather. They are never safe when much
speed is required from the horse, and they are apt to be wrenched off in a
heavy, clayey country.

TIPS.

Tips are short shoes, reaching only half round the foot, and worn while the
horse is at grass, in order to prevent the crust being torn by the occasional
hardness of the ground, or the pawing of the animal. The quarters at the
same time being free, the foot disposed to contract has a chance of expanding
and regaining its natural shape.

THE EXPANDING SHOE.

Our subject would not be complete if we did not describe the supposed ex-
panding shoe, although it is now almost entirely out of use. It is either seated
or concave like the common shoe, with a joint at the toe, by which the natural
expansion of the foot is said to be permitted, and the injurious consequences of
shoeing prevented. There is, however, this radical defect in the jointed shoe,
that the nails occupy the same situation as in the common shoe, and prevent, as
they do, the gradual expansion of the sides and quarters, and allow only of a
hinge-like motion at the toe. It is a most imperfect accommodation of the
expansion of the foot to the action of its internal parts, and even this accommo-
dation is afforded in the slightest possible degree, if it is afforded atall. Either
the nails fix the sides and quarters as in the common shoe, and then the joint at
the toe is useless; or, if that joint merely opens like a hinge, the nail-holes near
the toe can no longer correspond with those in the quarters, which are un-
equally expanding at every point. There will be more stress on the crust at
FELT OR LEATHER SOLES. 427

these holes, which will not only enlarge them and destroy the fixed attachment
of the shoe to the hoof, but often tear away portions of the crust. This shoe, in
order to answer the intended purpose, should consist of many joints, running
along the sides and quarters, which would make it too complicated and expen-
sive and frail for general use.

While the shoe is to be attached to the foot by nails, we must be content with
the concave-seated or unilateral one, taking care to place the nail-holes as far
from the heels, and particularly from the inner heel, as the state of the foot and
the nature of the work will admit ; and where the country*is not too heavy nor
the work too severe, omitting all but two on the inner side of the foot.

FELT OR LEATHER SOLES.

When the foot is bruised or inflamed the concussion or shock produced by the
hard contact of the elastic iron with the ground gives the animal much pain, and
aggravates the injury or disease. A strip of felt or leather is, therefore, sometimes
placed between the seating of the shoe and the crust, which, from its want of elas-
ticity, deadens or materially lessens the vibration or shock, and the horse treads
more freely and is evidently relieved. This is a good contrivance while the inflam-~
mation or tenderness of the foot continues, but a very bad practice if constantly
adopted. The nails cannot be driven so surely or securely when this substance
is interposed between the shoe and the foot. The contraction and swelling of the
felt or leather from the effect of moisture or dryness will soon render the attach-
ment of the shoe less firm—there will be too much play upon the nails—the
nail-holes will enlarge, and the crust will be broken away.

After wounds or extensive bruises of the sole, or where the sole is thin and
flat and tender, it is sometimes covered with a piece of leather, fitted to the sole,
and nailed on with the shoe. This may be allowed as a temporary defence of
the foot; but there is the same objection to its permanent use from the insecu-
rity of fastening, and the strain on the crust, and the frequent chipping of it.
There are also these additional inconveniences, that if the hollow between the
sole and the leather is filled with stopping and tow, it is exceedingly difficult to
introduce them so evenly and accurately as not to’produce partial or injurious
pressure. A few days’ work will almost invariably so derange the padding, as
to cause unequal pressure. The long contact of the sole with stopping of almost
every kind will produce, not a healthy, elastic horn, but that of a scaly, spongy
nature—and if the hollow is not thus filled, gravel and dirt will insinuate them-
selves, and eat into and injure the foot.

The general habit of stopping the feet requires some consideration. Itis a very
good or a very bad practice, according to circumstances. When the sole is flat
and thin it should be omitted, except on the evening before shoeing, and then the
application of a little moisture may render the paring of the foot safer and more
easy. If it were oftener used it would soften the foot, and not only increase
the tendency to descent, but the occasional occurrence of lameness from pebbles
or irregularities of the road. ook

Professor Stewart gives a valuable account of the proper application of
stopping. “ Farm horses seldom require any stopping. Their feet receive suffi-
cient moisture in the fields, or, if they do not get much, they do not need much.
Cart-horses used in the town should be stopped every Saturday night, until
Monday morning. Fast going horses should be stopped once a week, or oftener
during winter, and every second night in the hot weeks of summer. Groggy
horses, and all those with high heels, concave shoes, or hot and tender feet, or
an exuberance of horn, réquire stopping almost every night. When neglected,
428 THE SANDAL,

especially in dry weather, the sule becomes hard and rigid, and the horse goes
lame, or becomes lame if he were not so before *.”

One of two substances, or a mixture of both, is generally used for stopping
the feet—clay and cow-dung. The clay used alone is too hard, and dries too
rapidly. Many horses have been lamed by it. If it is used in the stable, it
should always be removed before the horse goes to work. It may, perhaps, be
applied to the feet of heavy draught-horses, for it will work out before much
mischief is done.

Cow-dung is softer than the clay, and it has this good property, that it rarely
or never becomes too hard or dry. For ordinary work, a mixture of equal
parts of clay and cow-dung will be the best application ; either of them, how-
ever, must be applied with a great deal of caution, where there is any disposi-
tion to thrush. Tow used alone, or with a small quantity of tar, will often be
serviceable.

In the better kind of stables a felt pad is frequently used. It was first intro-
duced by Veterinary Surgeon-General Cherry. It keeps the foot cool and moist,
and is very useful, when the sole has a tendency to become flat. For the con-
cave sole, tow would be preferable.

The shoe is sometimes displaced when the horse is going at an ordinary pace,
and more frequently during hunting ; and no person who is a sportsman needs to
be told in what a vexatious predicament every one feels himself who happens to
lose a shoe in the middle of a chase, or just as the hounds are getting clear away
with their fox over the open country.

Mr. Percivall has invented a sandal which occupies a very small space in the
pocket, can be buckled on the foot in less than two minutes, and will serve as a
perfect substitute for the lost one, on the road, or in the field; or may be used
for the race-horse when travelling from one course to another ; or may be truly
serviceable in cases of diseased feet that may require at the same time exercise
and daily dressing. The following is a short sketch of the horse sandal,

 

Middle Bar

    

\crrirseseemanee Side Bar

“mee Heel-Cip

Rings

 

 

* Stewart’s Stable Wconomy, p. 127.
THE SANDAL. 420

From an inspection of this cut it will be seen, that the shoe, or iron part of
the sandal, consists of three principal parts, to which the others are appendages;
which are, the tip, so called from its resemblance to the horse-shoe of that name;
the middle bar, the broad part proceeding backward from the tip; and the side
bars, or branches of the middle bar, extending to the heels of the hoof. The
appendages are, the toe-clasp, the part projecting from the front of the tip, and
which moves by a hinge upon the foe-clip, which toe-clasp is furnished with
two ivon loops. The heel-clips are two clips at the heels of the side bars which
correspond to the toe-clip; the latter embracing the toe of the crust, while the
former embrace its heels. Through the heel-clips run the rings, which move
and act like a hinge, and are double, for the purpose of admitting both the straps.
In the plate, the right ring only is represented; the left being omitted, the
better to show the heel-clip. The straps which are composed of web consist of
a, hoof strap and a heel and coronet strap.

The hoof-strap is furnished with a buckle, whose office it is to bind the shoe
to the hoof; for which purpose it is passed through the lower rings and both
loops of the shoe, and is made to encircle the hoof twice.

The heel and coronet-strap is furnished with two pads and two sliding loops ;
one, a movable pad, reposes on the heel, to defend that part from the pressure
and friction of the strap ; the other, a pad attached to the strap near the buckle,
affords a similar defence to the coronet, in front. The heel-strap runs through
the upper rings, crosses the heel, and encircles the coronet, and its office is to
keep the heels of the shoe closely applied to the hoof, and to prevent them from
sliding forward.

In the application of the sandal the foot is taken up with one hand, and the
shoe slipped upon it with the other. With the same hand the shoe is retained
in its place, while the foot is gradually let down to rest on the ground. As soon
as this is done, the straps are drawn as tight as possible and buckled.

 

The above cut presents an accurate delineation of the sandal, when properly
fastened on the foot.

Horses occasionally fall from bad riding, or bad shoeing, or overreaching, or
an awkward way of setting on the saddle. The head, the neck, the knees, the
back, or the legs, will oftenest suffer. It is often difficult to get the animal on
430 OPERATIONS.

his le; ain, especially if he is old, or exhausted, or injured by the fall. The
peered Ove is, to sapped the head, and to render it a fixed point from
which the muscles may act in supporting the body. : . :

If the horse is in harness, it is seldom that he can rise until he is freed from
the shafts and traces. ‘The first thing is to secure the head, and to keep it
down, that he may not beat himself against the ground. Next, the parts of
the harness connected with the carriage must be unbuckled—the carriage must
then be backed a little way, so that he may have room to rise. If necessary,
the traces must be taken off; and after the horse gets up he must be steadied a
little, until he collects himself.

 

CHAPTER XXII.
OPERATIONS.

—_o—_.

Tuese belong more to the veterinary-surgeon than to the proprietor of the
horse, but a short account of the manner of conducting the principal ones should
not be omitted.

It is frequently necessary to bind the human patient, and in no painful or
dangerous operation should this be omitted. It is more necessary to bind the
horse, who is not under the control of reason, and whose struggles may not
only be injurious to himself but dangerous to the operator.

The trevis is a machine indispensable in every continental forge; even the
quietest horses are there put into it to be shed.

The side-line is a very simple and useful method of confining the horse, and
placing him in sufficient subjection for the operations of docking, nicking, and
slight firing. The long line of the hobbles, or a common cart-rope with a noose
at the end, is fastened on the pastern of the hind-leg that is not to be operated on.
The rope attached to it is then brought over the neck and round the withers,
and there tied to the portion that comes from the leg. The leg may thus be
drawn so far forward that, while the horse evidently cannot kick with that leg,
he is disarmed of the other; for he would not have sufficient support under
him if he attempted to raise it: neither can he easily use his fore-legs, or,
if he attempts it, one of them may be lifted up, and then he becomes nearly
powerless. If necessary, the aid of the twitch or the barnacles may be
resorted to.

For every minor operation, and even for many that are of more importance,
this mode of restraint is sufficient, especially if the operator has active and
determined assistants ; and we confess that we are no friends to the casting of
horses, if it can possibly be prevented. When both legs are included in the
hobble or rope—as in another way of using the side-line—the horse may appeat
tc be more secure; but there is greater danger of his falling in his violent
struggles during the operation.

For castrating and severe firing the animal must be thrown. The safety of
the horse and of the operator will require the use of the improved hobbles, by
which any leg may be released from confinement, and returned to it at pleasure ;
and, when the operation is ended, the whole of the legs may be set at liberty
at once without danger. The method of putting the legs as closely together as
BLEEDING. 431

possible before the pull—the necessity of the assistants all pulling together—
and the power which one man standing at the head and firmly holding the
snaffle-bridle, and another at the haunch pushing the horse when he is begin-
ning to fall, have in bringing him on the proper side, and on the very spot on
which he is intended to lie, need not to be described. It will generally be found
most convenient to throw the patients on the off side, turning them over when
it is required. This, however, is a method of securing the horse to which we
repeat that we are not partial, and to which we should not resort except neces-
sity compelled ; for in the act of falling, and in the struggles after falling, many
accidents have occurred both to the horse and the surgeon *.

Among the minor methods of restraint, but sufficient for many purposes, are
the twitch and the barnacles. The former consists of a noose passed through
a hole at the end of a strong stick, and in which the muzzle is inclosed. The
stick being turned round, the muzzle is securely retained, while the horse suffers
considerable pain from the pressure—sufficiently great, indeed, to render him
comparatively inattentive to that which is produced by the operation; at the
same time he is afraid to struggle, for every motion increases the agony caused
by the twitch, or the assistant has power to increase it by giving an additional
turn to the stick.

The degree of pain produced by the application of the twitch should never
be forgotten or unnecessarily increased. In no case should it be resorted to
when milder measures would have the desired effect. Grooms and horse-
keepers are too much in the habit of having recourse to it when they have a
somewhat troublesome horse to manage. The degree of useless torture which
is thus inflicted in large establishments is dreadful ; and the temper of many a
horse is too frequently completely spoiled.

The barnacles are the handles of the pincers placed over and inclosing the
muzzle, and which, being compressed by the assistant, give pain almost equal
to that of the twitch. These may appear to be barbarous modes of enforcing
submission, but they are absolutely indispensable. In a few instances the
blindfolding of the horse terrifies him into submission; but this is not to be
depended upon. The twitch should be resorted to when the least resistance is
offered ; and when that, as it occasionally does, renders the horse more violent,
recourse must be had to the side-line or the hobbles.

In the painful examination of the fore-leg or foot while on the ground, the
other foot should be held up by an assistant; or, if his aid is required in an
operation, the knee may be fully bent, and the pastern tied up to the arm.
When the hind-leg is to be examined in the same way, the fore-leg on that side
should be held or fastened up.

BLEEDING,

The operation of bleeding has been already described (p. 248), but we would
remind our readers of the necessity, in every case of acute inflammation, of
making a large orifice, and abstracting the blood as rapidly as possible, for the
constitution will thus be the more speedily and beneficially affected ; and also
of the propriety of never determining to take a precise quantity of blood, but of
keeping the finger on the artery until the pulse begins to faulter, or the strong
beating of fever becomes softer, or the animal is faint, or the oppressed pulse of
inflammation of the lungs is rounder and fuller. ;

In cases of inflammation, and in the hands of a skilful practitioner, bleeding

 

* The aafest and best hobbles are those vol. x. p. 108, and vol. xi. p. 163. The
invented by Mr. Gloag and improved by Mr. thumb-screw (fig. 3) should, however, be ine
Dows, as represented in the Veterinarian, verted.
432 BLISTERING.

is the sheet-anchor of the veterinarian ; yet few things are more to be reprobated
than the indiscriminate bleeding of the groom or the farrier.

The change which takes place in the blood after it is drawn from the vein is
diligently noticed by many practitioners, and is certainly deserving of some
attention. The blood coagulates soon after it is taken from the vein. The
coagulable part is composed of two substances: that which gives colour to the
blood, and that in which the red particles float. These, by degrees, separate
from each other, and the red particles sink to the bottom. If the coagulation
takes place slowly, the red particles have more time to sink through the fluid,
and there appears on the top a thick, yellowish, adhesive substance, called the
buffy coat. The slowness of the coagulation and the thickness of buffy coat
are indicative of inflammation, and of the degree of inflammation.

Ina healthy state of the system, the coagulation is more rapid, the red particles
have not time to fall through, and the buffy coat is thin. These appearances are
worth observing; but much more dependence is to be placed on the character and
change of the pulse, and the symptoms generally. When the horse is exhausted
and the system nearly broken up, the blood will sometimes not coagulate but
be of one uniform black colour and loose texture. When the blood runs down
the side of the vessel in which it is received, the coagulation will be very imper-
fect. When it is drawn in a full stream, it coagulates slowly, and when pro-
cured from a smaller orifice, the coagulation is more rapid. Every circumstance
affecting the coagulation and appearance of the blood, the pulse, and the general
symptoms, should be most attentively regarded.

A great deal of mystery is associated with bleeding in the management of the
racer and the hunter. The labour of the turf and the field having ceased,
there is frequently some difficulty in preventing a plethoric state of the con-
stitution—a tendency to inflammatory complaints. If the horse is rapidly
accumulating flesh, it may be prudent to abstract blood, dependent in quantity
on the age and constitution of the animal. Attention to this may prevent
many a horse from going wrong; but the custom that once prevailed of bleeding
every horse a fortnight or more after the racing or hunting season had passed,
is decidedly objectionable.

As preparatory to work, bleeding is far from being so much employed as it
used to be. Asa universal practice, when the horse is first taken from grass, it
now scarcely exists. It would not always be objected to, if the horse was fat
and full of flesh, but, otherwise, it isa custom more honoured in the breach than
the observance. It certainly produces very considerable effect. More rapidly
than any species of diet—more rapidly than any sweating or purging; it reduces
the condition of the horse, but, we have often thought, at the expense of those
essentials to life and health that cannot be easily replaced.

BLISTERING.

We have spoken of the effect of piisrers, when treating of the various
diseases to which they are applicable. The principle on which they act is,
that no two intense inflammations can exist in neighbouring parts, or perhaps
in the system, at the same time. Hence we apply some stimulating acrimo-
nious substance to the skin, in order to excite external inflammation, and thus
lessen or remove that which exists in some deeper seated and, generally, not far
distant part. Hence, also, we blister the sides in inflammation of the lungs—
the abdomen in that of the bowels—the legs in that of the cellular substance
surrounding the sheaths of the tendons, or the sheaths themselves, and the
coronet or the heel in inflammation of the navicular joint.

Blisters have likewise the property of increasing the activity of the neigh-
bouring vessels: thus we blister to bring the tumour of ‘strangles more speedily
BLISTERING. 433

to a head—to rouse the absorbents generally to more energetic action, and cause
the disappearance of tumours, and even callous and bony substances,

The judgment of the practitioner will decide whether the desired effect will be
best produced by a sudden and violent action, or by the continuance of one of a
milder character. Inflammation should be met by active blisters ; old enlarge-
ments and swellings will be most certainly removed by milder stimulants—by
the process which farriers call sweating down.

There are few more active or effectual blisters than the Spanish fly, mixed
with the proportions of lard and resin that will be hereafter stated. The best
liquid or sweating blister is an infusion of the fly in spirit of turpentine, and
that lowered with neat’s foot oil according to the degree of activity required.

In preparing the horse for blistering, the hair should be clipped or shaved as
closely as possible, and the ointment thoroughly rubbed in. Much fault is often
found with the ointment if the blister does not rise, but the failure is generally
to be attributed to the idleness of the operator.

The head of the horse should be tied up during the first two days; except
that, when the sides are blistered, the body-clothes may be so contrived as to
prevent the animal from nibbling and blemishing the part, or blistering his muzzle.
At the expiration of twenty-four hours, a little olive or neat’s foot oil should be
applied over the blister, which will considerably lessen the pain and supple the
part, and prevent cracks in the skin that may be difficult to heal. The oil should
be applied morning and night, until the scabs peel off. When they begin to loosen,
a lather of soap and water applied with a sponge may hasten their removal, but
no violence must be used.

Every particle of litter should be carefully removed from the stall, for the
sharp ends of the straw coming in contact with a part rendered so tender and irri-
table by the blister, will cause a very great annoyance to the animal. After the
second day the horse may be suffered to lie down ; but the possibility of blemish-
ing himself should be prevented by a cradle or wooden necklace, consisting of
round strips of wood, strung together, reaching from the lower jaw to the chest,
and preventing him from sufficiently turning or bending his head, to get at the
blistered part.

A blister thus treated will rarely produce the slightest blemish. When the
scabs are all removed, the blister may be repeated, if the case should appear to
require it, or the horse may be turned out.

Tn inflammations which threaten life, a blister can scarcely be too active or
extensive. In inflammation of the lungs it should reach over the whole of the
sides, and the greater part of the brisket, for, should a portion of the fly be
absorbed, and produce strangury (inflammation, or spasmodic affection of the
neck of the bladder,) even this new irritation may assist in subduing the first
and more dangerous one. In blistering, however, for injuries or diseases of the
legs or feet, some caution is necessary. When speaking of the treatment of
sprain of the back sinews, p. 344, it was stated, that ‘a blister should never be
used while any heat or tenderness remained about the part,’ for we should then
add to the superficial inflammation, instead of abating the deeper seated one,
and enlargements of the limb and extensive ulcerations might follow, which would
render the horse perfectly unserviceable. When there is a tendency to grease, a
blister is a dangerous thing, and has often aggravated the disease. In winter, the
inflammation of the skin produced by blistering is apt to degenerate into grease ;
therefore, if it should be necessary to blister the horse during that season, great
care must be taken that he is not exposed to cold, and, particularly, that a current
of cold air does not come upon the legs.

The inhuman practice of blistering alt round at the same time, and perhaps
high on the legs, cannot be too strongly reprobated. Many a valuable horse

FF
434 FIRING.

has been lost through the excessive general irritation which this has pro-
duced, or its violent effect on the urinary organs, and that has been particu-
larly the case, when corrosive sublimate has entered into the composition of
he blister. : .
; If strangury should appear, the horse should be plentifully supplied with
linseed tea, which is thus best prepared—a gallon of boiling water is thrown on half
a pound of linseed ; the infusion suffered to stand until nearly cold, and the clean
mucilaginous fluid then poured off. Three-quarters of a pound of Epsom salts
should also be given, dissolved in a quart of water, and, after that, a ball every
six hours, containing opium, and camphor, with linseed meal and treacle.

Half a pound or a pound of good mustard powder, made into a paste with boiling
water, and applied hot, will often produce as good a blister as cantharides. It
is a preferable one, when, as in inflammation of the kidneys, the effect of can-
tharides on the urinary organs is feared. Hartshorn is not so effectual.
Tincture of croton makes an active liquid blister, and so do some of the pre-
parations of iodine.

FIRING,

Whatever seeming cruelty may attend this operation, it is in many cases
indispensable. The principle on which we have recourse to it is similar to that
which justifies the use of a blister—by producing superficial inflammation we
may be enabled to get rid of a deeper-seated one, or we may excite the absorbents
to remove an unnatural bony or other tumour. It raises more intense ex-
ternal inflammation than we can produce by any other means. It may be truly
said to be the most powerful agent that we have at our disposal. Humanity,
however, will dictate, that on account of the inflammation which it excites, and
the pain it inflicts, it should only be had recourse to when milder means have
failed, except in those cases in which experience has taught us that milder means
rarely succeed.

The part which is to be submitted to the operation should be shaved, or
the hair cut from it as closely as possible with the trimming scissors. This is
necessary in order to bring the iron into immediate contact with the.skin, and
likewise to prevent the smoke that will arise from the burned hair obscuring
the view of the operator. The horse must then be thrown. This is abso-
lutely necessary for the safety both of the operator and the animal. The side
line may be applied in a shorter time, and so many hands may be not wanted
to cast the horse ; but no person can fire accurately, or with the certainty of
not penetrating the skin, except the animal is effectually secured by the hobbles.
Although accidents have occurred in the act of casting, yet many more have
resulted to the operator, the assistants, or the horse, in a protracted operation,
when the side-line only has been used.

The details of the operation belong to the veterinary surgeon. The grand
points to be attended to are to have the edge of the iron round and smooth—the
iron itself at, or rather below a red heat—to pass it more or less rapidly over the
skin, and with slighter or greater pressure according to the degree of heat—to
burn into the skin until the line produced by the iron is of a brown colour,
rather light than dark, and, by all means, in common cases, to avoid penetrating
the skin. Leaving out of the question the additional cruelty of deep firing,
when not absolutely required, we may depend on it that if the skin is burned
through, inflammation, and ulceration, and sloughing will ensue, that will be
with much difficulty combated—that will unavoidably leave unnecessary blemish,
and that has destroyed many valuable horses. It may happen, nevertheless,
that by a sudden plunge of the animal the skin will be unavoidably cut through.
The act of firing requires much skill and tact, and the practitioner cannot be
FIRING, 435

always on his guard against the struggles of the tortured beast. It will, also,
and not unfrequently, occur that the skin, partially divided, will separate in two
or three days after the operation. This must not be attributed to any neglect
or unskilfulness of the surgeon, and the ulceration thus produced will be slight
and easily treated, compared with that caused by actually burning through
the skin.

A very considerable change has taken place in the breed of many of the
varieties of the horse, and the labour exacted from him. As illustrations of
this we refer to the altered character and pace of the modern hunter and the addi-
tional] increase of speed required from the coach and the post horse ; the exertion
being limited only by the degree to which every muscle and every nerve can be
extended, while the calculation between the utmost exaction of cruelty and the
expenditure of vital power, is reduced to the merest fraction. The consequence
of this is, that the horse is subjected to severer injuries than he used to be,
and severer measures are and must be employed to remedy the evil. Hence
the horrible applications of the actual cautery to the horse that have dis-
graced the present day. Lesions—gashes have been made on either side of the
tendon of the leg, which it took no fewer than seven months to heal. Was there
nothing short of this lengthened torture that could have been done to relieve
the victim? Could he not have been more lightly fired for the road or for the
purposes of breeding? Was there no pasture on which he had earned a right
to graze ?—or could he not have been destroyed? These sad lesions will occa-
sionally come before the practitioner and the owner. It will be for the first,
to advocate that, which, on a careful view of the case, mercy prompts; and the
latter, except there is a reasonable prospect of ultimate enjoyment, as well as
usefulness, should never urge a continuation of suffering.

Supposing, however, that prospect to exist, the surgeon must discharge his
duty. These gashes, after a while, begin to close, and then commences the beau-
tiful process of granulation. Little portions of the integument form on the centre
of the wound, and the sides of the wound creep closer together, and the skin
steals over the surface, until the chasm is perfectly closed. In order to
insure the continuance of this, a ridge of contracted integument as hard as any
cartilage, but without its elasticity, runs from one end of the lesion to the other,
tighter, and harder, and more effectual every week, and month, and year, and
lasting during the life of the animal. Therefore, the veterinary surgeon is not
to be too severely censured, if, after due consideration, he is induced to under-
take one of these fearful operations : but let him do it as seldom as he can, and
only when every circumstance promises a favourable result.

Some practitioners blister immediately after firing. Asa general usage it is
highly to be reprobated. It is wanton and useless cruelty. It may be required
in bony tumours of considerable extent, and long standing, and interfering
materially with the action of the neighbouring joint. Spavin accompanied by
much lameness, and ring-bone spreading round the coronet and involving the
side cartilages or the pastern. joint, may justify it. The inflammation is ren-
dered more intense, and of considerably longer duration. In old affections of
the round bone it may be admitted, but no excuse can be made for it in slighter
cases of sprain or weakness, or staleness.

On the day after the operation, it will be prudent gently to rub some neat’s
foot oil, or lard over the wound, This will soften the skin, and render it lesslikely
to separate or ulcerate. A bandage would add to the irritation of the part. Any
cracks of the skin, or ulcerations that may ensue, must be treated with the cala-
mine ointment.

It will be evident that there is an advantage derived from firing to which a
blister can have no pretension. The skin, partially destroyed by the iron, is

FF2
436 SETONS.

reinstated and healed, not merely by the formation of some new matter filling
up the vacuity, but by the gradual drawing together and closing of the sepa-
rated edges. The skin, therefore, is lessened in surface. It is tightened over
the part, and it acts, as just described, as a salutary and permanent bandage.
Of the effect of pressure in removing enlargements of every kind, as well aa
giving strength to the part to which it is applied, we have repeatedly spoken ,
and it is far from being the least valuable effect of the operation of firing, that,
by contracting the skin, it affords a salutary, equable, and permanent pressure.
It was on this principle, but the practice cannot be defended, that colts which
were not very strong on the legs, used to be fired round the fetlock, and along
the back sinew, or over the hock, in order to brace and strengthen the parts.
It is on the same principle that a racer or hunter, that has become stale and
stiff, is sometimes fired and turned out. For whatever reason the horse is fired,
he should, if practicable, be turned out, or soiled in a loose box, for three or
four months at least. The full effect intended to result from the external irri-
tation is not soon produced, and the benefit derived from pressure proceeds still
more slowly. In the thickened and tender state of the skin, and the substance
beneath, a return to hard work, for some weeks after firing, would be likely to
excite new inflammation, and cause even worse mischief than that which
before existed.

Some weeks pass before the tumified parts begin to contract, and they only,
who have had experience in these cases, can imagine how long, with gentle
voluntary exercise, the process of absorption is carried on. He who would
expect that much good should accrue from the operation of firing, must be con-
tent to give up his horse for three or four months ; but if he will use him sooner,
and a worse lameness should follow, let him blame his own impatience, and not
the inefficiency of the means, or the want of skill in the surgeon.

The firing in every case should be either in longitudinal or parallel lines.
On the back sinews, the fetlock, and the coronet, this is peculiarly requisite,
for thus only will the skin contract so as to form the greatest and most
equable pressure.

Some practitioners may pride themselves on the accuracy of their diamonds,
lozenges and feathers, but plain straight lines, about half an inch from each
other, will constitute the most advantageous mode of firing. The destroying
of deeply seated inflammation, by the exciting of violent inflammation on the
skin, is as well obtained ; and common sense will determine, that in no way
can the pressure which results from the contraction of the skin be so advan-
tageously employed—to which may be added, that it often leaves not the
slightest blemish.

SETONS

Are pieces of tape or cord, passed, by means of an instrument resembling a
large needle, either through abscesses, or the base of ulcers with deep sinuses, or
between the skin and the muscular or other substances beneath. They are
retained there by the ends being tied together, or by a knot at each end. The
tape is moved in the wound twice or thrice in the day, and occasionally
wetted with spirit of turpentine, or some acrid fluid, in order to increase the
inflammation which it produces, or the discharge which is intended to be
established.

In abscesses, sach as occur in the withers or the poll, and when passed from
the summit to the very bottom of the swelling, setons are highly useful, by dis-
charging the purulent fluid and suffering any fresh quantity of it that may be
secreted tc flow out ; and, by the degree of inflammation which they excite on
the interior of the tumour, stimulating it to throw out healthy granulations which
DOCKING. 437

gradually occupy and fill the hollow. In deep fistulous wounds they are indis-
pensable, for except some channel is made through which the matter may flow
from the bottom of the wound, it will continue to penetrate deeper into the part,
and the healing process will never be accomplished. On these accounts, a
seton passed through the base of the ulcer in poll-evil and fistulous withers is
of*so much benefit.

Setons are sometimes useful by promoting a discharge in the neighbourhood
of an inflamed part, and thus diverting and carrying away a portion of the fluids
which distend or overload the vessels of that part: thus a seton is placed with
considerable advantage in the cheek, when the eyes are much inflamed. We
confess, however, that we prefer a rowel under the jaw.

With this view, and to excite a new and different inflammation in the neigh-
bourhood of a part already inflamed, and especially so deeply seated and so
difficult to be reached as the navicular joint, a seton has occasionally been used
with manifest benefit, but we must peremptorily object to the indiscriminate use
of the frog-seton for almost every disease of the frog or the foot,

In inflammations of extensive organs setons afford only feeble aid. Their
action is too circumscribed. In inflammation of the chest or the intestines, a
rowel is preferable to a seton; and a blister is far better than either of them.

On the principle of exciting the absorbents to action for the removal of tu-
mours, as spavin or splent, a blister is quicker in its action, and far more effectual
than any seton. Firing is still more useful.

DOCKING,

The shortening of the tail of the horse is an operation which fashion and the
convenience of the rider require to be performed on most of these animals. The
length of the dock, or stump, is a matter of mere caprice. To the close-cropped
tail of the waggon-horse, however, we decidedly object, from its perfect ugliness,
and because the animal is deprived of every defence against a thousand torturers.
The supposition that the blood which would have gone to the nourishment of the
tail, causes greater development and strength in the quarters, is too absurd to
deserve serious refutation. It is the rump of the animal being wholly uncovered,
and not partly hidden by the intervention of the tail, that gives a false appear-
ance of increased bulk.

The operation is simple. That joint is searched for which is the nearest to
the desired length of tail. The hair is then turncd up, and tied round with tape
for an inch or two above this joint; and that which lies immediately upon the
joint is cut off. The horse is fettered with the side-line, and then the veterinary
surgeon with his docking-machine, or the farmer with his carving-knife and
mallet, cuts through the tail at one stroke. Considerable bleeding ensues,
and frightens the timid.and the ignorant ; but if the blood were suffered to flow
on until it ceased of its own accord, the colt, and especially if he were very
young, would rarely be seriously injured. As, however, the bleeding would
occasionally continue for some hours, and a great quantity of blood might be
lost, and the animal might be somewhat weakened, it is usual to stop the he-
morrhage by the application of a red-hot iron to the stump. A large hole is
made in the centre of the iron, that the bone may not be seared, which would
exfoliate if it were burned with any severity, or drop off at the joint above, and
thus shorten the dock. The iron rests on the muscular parts round the bone,
and is brought into contact with the bleeding vessels, and very speedily stops the
hemorrhage. Care should be taken that the iron is not too hot,—and that it is
not held too long or too forcibly on the part, for many more horses would be
destroyed by severe application of the cautery, than by the bleeding being left
to its own course,
438 NICKING.

Powdered resin sprinkled on the stump, or indeed any other application, is
worse than useless. It causes unnecessary irritation, and sometimes extensive
ulceration ; but if the simple iron is moderately applied, the horse may go to
work immediately after the operation, and no dressing will be afterwards
required. Ifa slight bleeding should occur after the cautery, it is much better
to let it alone than to run the risk of inflammation or locked-jaw, by re-apply-
ing the iron with greater severity.

Some farmers dock their colts a few days after they are dropped. This
is a commendable custom on the score of humanity. No colt was ever lost
by it; and neither the growth of the hair, nor the beauty of the tail, is in the
least impaired.

NICKING.

This barbarous operation was once sanctioned by fashion, and the breeder and
the dealer even now are sometimes tempted to inflict the torture of it in order
to obtain a ready sale for their colts. It is not, however, practised to the extent
that it used to be, nor attended by so many circumstances of cruelty.

We must here introduce a small portion of the anatomy of the horse, which
we had reserved for this place. The eighteen dorsal vertebrae or bones of the
back (see d, p. 221), and the five lumbar vertebrae or bones of the loins (f,
p- 221), have already been described. The continuation of the spine consists
of the sacrum, composed of five bones (h, p. 221), which, although separate in
the colt, are in the full-grown horse united into one mass, The bones of the
ilium, the upper and side portion of the haunch, articulate strongly with the
sacrum, forming a bony union rather than a joint. The spinal marrow and the
blood-vessels here generally begin to diminish, and numerous branches of nerves
are given out, which, joined by some from the vertebra of the loins, form the
nervous apparatus of the hind-legs.

The bones of the tail (é, p. 221) are a continuation of those of the sacrum.
They are fifteen in number, gradually diminishing in size, and losing altogether
the character of the spinal vertebrx. Prolongations of the spinal marrow run
through the whole of them, and likewise some arterial vessels, which are a
continuation of those which supply the sacrum. Much attention is paid by
persons who are acquainted with the true form of the horse to this continuation
of the sacral and tail-bones. From the loins to the setting on of the tail the
line should be nearly straight, or inclining only a slight degree downward.
There is not a surer test of the breed of the horse than this straight line from
the loins to the tail; nor, as was shown when the muscles of the quarters were
described, is there any circumstance so much connected with the mechanical
advantage with which these muscles act.

The tail seems to be designed to perfect the beauty of the horse’s form.
There are three sets of muscles belonging to the tail—the erector coceygis,
situated on the superior and lateral part of it, and by the action of which (4, p-
356) the tail may be both elevated and drawn on one side—the depressor coccygis,
on the inferior and lateral part of it, by the action of which the tail may be
both lowered and drawn on one side—and the eurvator coceygis, by the action
of which the tail may be curved or flexed on either side. The depressor and
lateral muscles are more powerful than the erector ones, and when the horse
is undisturbed, the tail is bent down close on the buttocks; but when he is ex-
cited, and particularly when he is at speed, the erector muscles are called into
action, the tail is elevated, and there is an appearance of energy and spirit which
adds materially to his beauty. To perpetuate this, the operation of nicking was
contrived. The depressor muscles and part of the lateral ones are cut through,
and the erector muscles, left without any antagonists, keep the tail ina position
NICKING. 439;

more or less erect, according to the whim of the operator or the depth to which
the incisions have been carried.

The operation is thus performed. The sidc-line is put on the horse, or some
persons deem it more prudent to cast him, and that precaution we should be disposed
torecommend. The hair at the end of the tail is securely tied together, for the
purpose of afterwards attaching a weight to it. The operator then grasps the
tail in his hand, and, lifting it up, feels for the centve of one of the bones—the
prominences at the extremities will guide him—from two to four inches from the
root of the tail, according to the size of the horse. He then, with a sharp knife,
divides the muscles deeply from the edge of the tail on one side to the centre,
and, continuing the incision across the bone of the tail, he makes it as deep on
the other side. One continued incision, steadily yet rapidly made, will accom-
plish all this. If it is a blood-horse that is operated on, this will be sufficient.
For a hunter, two incisions are usually made, the second being about two inches
below the first, and likewise as nearly as possible in the centre of one of the bones.

On a hackney, or cocktail, a third incision is made; for fashion has decided
that his tail shall be still more elevated and curved. ‘Two incisions only are
made in the tail of a mare, and the second not very deep.

When the second incision is made, some fibres of the muscles between the
first and second will project into the wound, and must be removed by a pair of
curved scissors. The same must be done with the projecting portions from be-
tween the second and third incisions. The wounds should then be carefully
examined, in order to ascertain that the muscles have been equally divided on each
side, otherwise the tail will be carried awry. This being done, pledgets of tow
must be introduced deeply into each incision, and confined, but not too tightly,
by a bandage. <A very profuse bleeding will alone justify any tightness of
bandage, and the ill consequences that have resulted from nicking are mainly
attributable to the unnecessary force that is used in confining these pledgets,
Even if the bleeding, immediately after the operation, should have been very
great, the roller must be loosened in two or three hours, otherwise swelling and
inflammation, and even death, may possibly ensue. Twenty-four hours after the
operation, the bandage must be quite removed ; and then, all that is necessary,
so far as the healing of the incisions is concerned, is to keep them clean.

If, however, the tail were suffered to hang down, the divided edges of the
muscles would again come in contact with each other, and close; the natural
depression of the tail would remain ; and the animal would have been punished
for no purpose. The wounds must remain open, and that can only be accom-
plished by forcibly keeping the tail curved back during two or three weeks,
For this purpose a cord, one or two feet in length, is affixed to the end of the
hair, which terminates in another divided cord, each division going over a pulley
on either side of the back of the stall. A weight is hung at either extremity
sufficient to keep the incisions properly open, and regulated by the degree in
which this is wished to be accomplished. The animal will thus he retained in
an uneasy position, although, after the first two or three days, probably not one
of acute pain. It is barbarous to increase this uneasiness or pain by affixing
too great a weight to the cords; for it should be remembered that the proper
elevated curve is given to the tail, not by the weight keepiag it in a certain
position for a considerable time, but by the depth of the first incisions, and the
degree in which the wounds are kept open. By every ounce of weight beyond
that which is necessary to keep the incisions apart, unnecessary suffering is
inflicted. Some practitioners usc only one pulley; others do not use any, but
‘put on a light girth, and tie a cord from the end of the tail to the girth,
bending it over the back. The double pulley, however, is the least painful to
es and more perfectly -secures the proper elevation and straight direction
of the tail,
440 RESTIVENESS.

The dock should not—for the first three or four days—be brought higher than
the back. Dangerous irritation and inflammation would probably be produced.
It may, after that, be gradually raised to an elevation of forty-five degrees.
The horse should be taken out of the pulleys, and gently exercised once or
twice every day; but the pulleys cannot finally be dispensed with until a
fortnight after the wounds have healed, because the process of contraction, or
the approach of the divided parts, goes on for some time after the skin is perfect
over the incisions, and the tail would thus sink below the desired elevation.

If the tail has not been unnecessarily extended by enormous weights, no bad
consequences will usually follow ; but if considerable inflammation should
ensue, the tail must be taken from the pulley and diligently fomented with
simple warm water, and a dose of physic given. Locked-jaw has in some rare
instances followed, under which the horse generally perishes. The best means
of cure in the early state of this disease is to amputate the tail at the joint above
the highest incision. In order to prevent the hair from coming off, it shoula
be unplaited and combed out every fourth or fifth day.

 

CHAPTER XXIII.

THE VICES AND DISAGREEABLE OR DANGEROUS HABITS
OF THE HORSE,

——.

Tue horse has many excellent qualities, but he has likewise defects, and
these occasionally amounting to vices. Some of them may be,attributed to
natural temper, for the human being scarcely discovers more peculiarities of
habit and disposition than does the horse. The majority of them, however, as
perhaps in the human being, are consequences of a faulty education. Their
early instructor has been ignorant and brutal, and they have become obstinate
and vicious,

RESTIVENESS,

At the head of the vices of the horse is Rusrivensss, the most annoying and
the most dangerous of all. It is the produce of bad temper and worse educa-
tion ; and, like all other habits founded on nature and stamped by education, it
is inveterate. Whether it appears in the form of kicking, or rearing, or plung-
ing, or bolting, or in any way that threatens danger to the rider or the horse,
it rarely admits of cure. A determined rider may to a certain extent subju-
gate the animal; or the horse may have his favourites, or form his attach-
ments, and with some particular person he may be comparatively or perfectly
manageable ; but others cannot long depend upon him, and even his master is
not always sure of him. It is a rule, that admits of very few exceptions, that
he neither displays his wisdom nor consults his safety, who attempts to conquer
a restive horse.

An excellent veterinary surgeon, and a man of great experience in horses,
Mr. Castley, truly said, in ‘ The Veterinarian,’ —‘ From whatever cause the
vicious habits of horses may originate, whether from some mismanagement or from
natural badness of temper, or from what is called in Yorkshire a mistetch, when-
ever these animals acquire one of them, and it becomes in some degree confirmed,
they very seldom, if ever, altogether forget it. In reference to driving it is so
RESTIVENESS. 441

true, that it may be taken as a kind of aphorism, that if a horse kicks once in
harness, no matter from what cause, he will he liable to kick ever afterwards
A good coachman may drive him, it is true, and may make him go, but he
cannot make him forget his vice ; and so it is in riding. You may conquer a
restive horse—you may make him go quiet for months, nay, almost for years
together ; but I affirm that, under other circumstances, and at some future
opportunity, he will be sure to return to his old tricks.”

Mr. Castley gives two singular and conclusive instances of the truth of this
doctrine. “ When a very young man,” says he, “ I remember purchasing a horse
at a fair in the north of England, that was offered very cheap on account of his
being unmanageable. It was said that nobody could ride him. We found that
the animal objected to have anything placed upon his back, and that, when made
to move forward with nothing more than a saddle on, he instantly threw him-
self down on his side with great violence, and would then endeavour to roll upon
his back.

“There was at that tirne in Yorkshire, a famous colt-breaker, known by the
name of Jumper, who was almost as celebrated in that country for taming
vicious horses into submission, as the famed Wuisperer was in Ireland. We
put this animal into Jumper’s hands, who took him away, and in about ten days
brought him home again, certainly not looking worse in condition, but perfectly
subdued and almost as obedient as a dog; for he would lie down at this man’s
bidding, and only rise again at his command, and carry double or anything. I
took to riding him myself, and may say, that I was never better carried for six
or eight months, during which time he did not show the least vice whatever.
I then sold him to a Lincolnshire farmer, who said that he would give him a
summer's run at grass, and show him asa very fine horse at the great Horncastle
fair.

“ Happening to meet this gentleman on the following year, I naturally enough
inquired after my old friend. ‘Oh,’ said he, ‘that was a bad business—the
horse turned out a sad rebel. The first time we attempted to mount him, after
getting him up from grass, he in an instant threw the man down with the great-
est violence, pitching him several yards over his head; and after that he threw
every one that attempted to get on his back. If he could not throw his rider,
he would throw himself down. We could do nothing with him, and I was obliged
at last to sell him to go in a stage-coach.’ ”

Tn the next story, Jumper’s counterpart and superior, the Irish Whisperer, is
brought on the stage, and, although he performed wonders, he could not radically
cure a restive horse. ‘ At the Spring Meeting of 1804, Mr. Whalley’s Kine
Pipptn was brought on the Curragh of Kildare to run. He was a horse of the most
extraordinary savage and vicious disposition. His particular propensity was that
of flying at and worrying any person who came within his reach, and if he had
an opportunity, he would get his head round, seize his rider by the leg with his
teeth, and drag him down from his back. For this reason he was always ridden
with what is called a sword ; which is a strong flat stick, having one end aitached
to the cheek of the bridle, and the other to the girth of the saddle, a contrivance
to prevent a horse of this kind from getting at his rider.

“ King Pippin had long been difficult to manage and dangerous to go near to,
but on the occasion in question he could not be got out to run at all. Nobody
could put the bridle upon his head. It being Easter Monday, and consequently
a great holiday, there was a large concourse of people assembled at the Curragh,
consisting principally of the neighbouring peasantry ; and one countryman,
more fearless than the rest of the lookers-on, forgetting, or perhaps never dream-
ing that the better part of courage is discretion, volunteered his services to bridle
the horse. No sooner had he committed himself in this operation, than King
442 RESTIVENESS.

Pippin seiaed him somewhere about the shoulders or chest, and, says Mr. Watts
(Mr. Castley’s informant) ‘1 know of nothing I can compare it to, 50 much as
a dog shaking a rat.’ Fortunately for the poor fellow, his body was very thickly
covered with clothes, for on such occasions an Irishman of this class is fond
of displaying his wardrobe, and if he has three coats at allin the world, he is sure
to put them all on. ;

“This circumstance in all probability saved the individual who had so gallantly
volunteered the forlorn hope. His person was so deeply enveloped in extra-
teguments, that the horse never got fairly hold of his skin, and I understand that
he escaped with but little injury, beside the sadly rent and totally ruined state
of his holyday toggery.

“The Whisperer was sent for, who, having arrived, was shut up with the
horse all night, and in the morning he exhibited this hitherto ferocious animal,
following him about the course like a dog—lying down at his command—suffer-
ing his mouth to be opened, and any person’s hand to be introduced into it—in
short, as quiet almost as a sheep.

“ He came out the same meeting, and won his race, and his docility continued
satisfactory for a considerable time; but at the end of about three years his
vice returned, and then he is said to have killed u man, for which he was
destroyed.”

It may not be uninteresting, in this connexion, to give some account of this
tamer of quadruped vice. However strange and magical his power may seem
to be, there is no doubt of the truth of the account that is given of him. The
Rev, Mr. Townsend, in lis Statistical Survey of Cork, first introduced him to
the notice of the public generally, although his fame had long spread over that
part of Ireland. We, however, give the following extract from Croker’s Fairy
Legends and Traditions of Ireland, Part II. p. 200, for his performances seem the
work of some elfin sprite, rather than of a rude and ignorant horse-breaker.

“ He was an awkward, ignorant rustic of the lowest class, of the name of
Sullivan, but better known by the appellation of the Whisperer. His occupation
was horse-breaking. The nickname he acquired from the vulgar notion of his
being able to communicate to the animal what he wished by means of a whisper;
and the singularity of his method seemed in some degree to justify the supposi-
tion. In his own neighbourhood the notoriety of the fact made it seem less
remarkable, but I doubt if any instance of similar subjugating talent is to be
found on record. As far as the sphere of his control extended, the boast of
veni, vidi, vici, was more justly claimed by Sullivan than even by Cesar himself.

“ How his art was acquired, and in what it consisted, is likely to be for ever
unknown, as he has lately (about 1810) left the world without divulging it. His
son, who follows the same trade, possesses but a small portion of the art, having
either never learned the true secret, or being incapable of putting it into prac-
tice. ‘The wonder of his skill consisted in the celerity of the operation, which
was performed in privacy, without any apparent means of coercion. Every
description of horse, or even mule, whether previously broken or unhandled,
whatever their peculiar habits or vices might have been, submitted without
show of resistance to the magical influence of his art, and in the short space of
half an hour became gentle and tractable. This effect, though instantaneously
produced, was generally durable. Though more submissive to him than to
others, the animals seemed to have acquired a docility unknown before.

“ When sent for to tame a vicious beast, for which he was either paid according
to the distance, or generally two or three guineas, he directed the stable, in which
he and the object of the experiment were, to be shut, with orders not to open the
door until a signal was given. After a téte-d-téte of about half an hour, during
which little or no bustle was heard, the signal was made, and, upon opening
RESTIVENESS. 443

the door, the horse appeared lying down, and the man by his side, playing with
him like a child with a puppy dog. From that time he was found perfectly
willing to submit to any discipline—however repugnant to his nature before.”
“T once,” continues Mr. Croker, “saw his skill tried on a horse, which could
never before be brought to stand for a smith to shoe him. ‘The day after Sul-
livan’s half hour's lecture, I went, not without some incredulity, to the smith’s
shop, with many other curious spectators, where we were eye-witnesses of the
complete success of his art. This, too, had been a troop horse, and it was sup-
posed, not without reason, that after regimental discipline had failed, no other
would be found availing. I observed that the animal appeared terrified when-
ever Sullivan either spoke to or looked at him ; how that extraordinary ascend-
ancy could have been obtained, is difficult to conjecture.

“ In common cases this mysterious preparation was unnecessary. He seemed
to possess an instinctive power of inspiring awe, the result, perhaps, of natural
intrepidity, in which, I believe, a great part of his art consisted ; though the
circumstance of the ¢éte-d-tete shows that, on particular occasions, something
more must have been added to it. A faculty like this would, in some hands,
have made a fortune, and I understand that great offers were made to him, for
the exercise of his art abroad. But hunting was his passion. He lived at
home in the style most agreeable to his disposition, and nothing could induce
him to quit Duhallow and the fox-hounds.”

Mr. Castley witnessed the total failure of the younger Sullivan. He says,
“we have in the regiment a remarkably nice horse, called Lancer, that has
always been very difficult to shoe, but seven or eight years ago, when we first
got him, he was downright vicious in that respect. When the regiment was
stationed at Cork, the farrier-major sought out the present Sullivan, the son of
the celebrated Whisperer, and brought him up to the barracks in order to try
his hand upon Lancer, and make him more peaceable to shoe; but I must say
this person did not appear to possess any particular controlling power over the
animal more than any other man. Lancer seemed to pay no attention whatever
to his charm, and at last fairly beat him out of the forge. ‘Time, however,
and a long perseverance in kind and genile treatment, have effected what force
could not, The horse is now pretty reasonable to shoe*.”

 

* An account, bearing considerable resem-
blance to tbe feats of the English horse-tamer,
has been lately laid before the public.

Mr. Catlin has published an account,
the veracity of which is unimpeached, of his
travels among the North American Indians.
He thus describes the manner in which the
Indian tames the wild horse. He coils his
lasso on his arm, and gallops fearlessly into
the herd of wild horses. He soon gets it over
the neck of one of the number, when he in-
stantly dismounts, leaving his own horse, and
runs as fast as he can, letting the lasso pass
out gradually and carefully through his hands,
until the horse falls for want of breath, and
lies helpless on the ground. The Indian ad-
vances slowly towards the horse’s head, keeping
the lasso tight upon his neck, until he fastens
a pair of hobbles on the animal’s two fore feet,
and also loosens the Jasso, giving the horse a
chance to breathe, and passing a noose round
the under jaw, by which he gets great power
over the affrighted animal, that is rearing and
plunging when it gets breath, and by which,
as he advances, hand over hand, towards the

horse’s nose, he is able to hold it down, and
prevent it from throwing itself over on its back.
By this means he gradually advances, until he
is able to place his hand on the animal’s nose
and over its eyes, and, at length, to breathe
into its nostrils, when it soon becomes docile
and conquered; so that he has little else to do
than to remove the hobbles from its feet, and
lead or ride it to the camp. The animal is so
completely conquered, that it submits quietly
ever after, and is led or rode away with very
little difficulty.”

Mr, Ellis, B.A., of Trinity College, Cam-
bridge, happened to read this account, and he
felt a natural desire to ascertain how far this
mode of HorsE-TraMING might be employed
among British horses. He soon had the op-
portunity of putting the veracity of the story
to the test. His brother-in-law had a filly,
not yet a year old, that had been removed
from her dam three months before, and since
that time had not been taken out of the stable.
A great amateur in everything relating to
horses was present, and at his request it was
determined that the experiment of the cffi-
444

BACKING OR GIBBING,

One of the first kinds of restiveness, taking them in alphabetical order, is | | |
backing or gibbing. These are so closely allied that we hardly know how to.
separate them. Some horses have the habit of backing at first starting, and that : : :
more from playfulness than desire of mischief. A moderate application of the
whip will usually be effectual. Others, even after starting, exhibit considerable
obstinacy and viciousness. This is frequently the effect of bad breaking. Either the
shoulder of the horse had been wrung when he was first put to the collar, or he
had been foolishly accustomed to be started in the break up-hill, and, therefore, all
his work coming upon him at once, he gradually acquired this dangerous habit.

A hasty and passionate breaker will often make a really good tempered young
horse an inveterate gibber. Every young horse is at first shy of the collar. If
he is too quickly forced to throw his weight into it, he will possibly take a
dislike to it, that will occasionally show itself in the form of gibbing as long
as he lives. The judicious horse-preaker will resort to no severity, even if the
colt should go out several times without even touching collar. The example of
his companion will ultimately induce him to take to it voluntarily and
effectually.

A large and heavy stone should be put behind the wheel before starting,
when the horse finding it more difficult to back than to go forward, will gradu-
ally forget this unpleasant trick. It will likewise be of advantage, as often as
it can be managed, so to start that the horse shall have to back up-hill. The
difficulty of accomplishing this will soon make him readily go forward. A
little coaxing, or leading, or moderate flagellation, will assist in accomplishing
the cure.

When, however, a horse, thinking that he has had enough of work, or has been
improperly checked or corrected, or beginning to feel the painful pressure of
the collar, swerves, and gibs, and backs, it is a more serious matter. Persua-
sion should first be tried ; and, afterwards, reasonable coercion, but no cruelty:

 

cacy of breathing into the nostrils should be
immediately put to the test. The filly was
brought from the stable, the amateur leading
her by the halter. She was quite wild, and
bolted, and dragged the amateur a considerable
distance. He had been using a short halter ;
he changed it for a longer one, and was then
able to lead the little scared thing to the front
of the house. The experiment was tried under
manifest disadvantage, for the filly was in the
open air, several strangers were about her, and
both the owner and the amateur were rather
seeking amusement from the failure than know-
ledge from the success of their experiment.

The filly was restive and frightened, and
with great difficulty the amateur managed to
cover her eyes. At length he succeeded, and
blew into the nostrils. No particular effect
seemed to follow. He then breathed into
her nostrils, and the moment he did so, thefilly,
who had very much resisted having her eyes
blindfolded, and had been very restive, stood
perfectly still and trembled, From that time
she became very tractable. Another gentle-
man also breathed into her nostrils, and she
evidently enjoyed it, and kept putting up her
nose to receive the breath,

On the following morning she was led out
again, She was perfectly tractable, and it

seemed to be almost impossible to frighten
her.

A circumstance which, in a great measure,
corroborated the possibility of easily taming
the most ferocious horses, occurred on the
next day. A man, on a neighbouring farm,
was attempting to break-in a very restive colt,
who foiled him in every possible way. After
several manmuvres the amateur succeeded
in breathing into one of the nostrils, and from
that moment all became easy. The horse was
completely subdued. He suffered himself to
be led quietly away with a loose halter, and was
perfectly at command. He was led through
a field in which were four horses that had been
his companions. They all surrounded him ;
he took no notice of them, but quietly followed
his new master. A surcingle was buckled on
him, and then a saddle, and he was finally
fitted with a bridle. The whole experiment
occupied about an hour, and not in a single
instance did he rebel.

On the next day, however, the breaker, a
severe and obstinate fellow, took him in hand,
and, according to his usual custom, began to
beat him most cruelly. The horse broke from
him, and became as unmanageable as ever.
The spirit of the animal had been subdued but
not broken.
BITING. 445

for the brutality which is often exercised in attempting to compel a gibbing
horse to throw himself habitually into the collar, never yet accomplished the
purpose. The horse may, perhaps, be whipped into motion; but if he has
once begun to gib, he will have recourse to it again whenever any circumstance
displeases or annoys him, and the habit will be so rapidly and completely
formed, that he will become insensible to all severity.

It is useless and dangerous to contend with a horse determined to back,
unless there is plenty of room, and, by tight reining, the driver can make him
back in the precise direction he wishes, and especially up-hill. Such a horse
should be immediately sold, or turned over to some other work. Ina stage~
coach as a wheeler, and particularly as the near-wheeler ; or, in the middle of
ateam at agricultural work, he may be serviceable. It will be useless for
him to attempt to gib there, for he will be dragged along by his companions
whether he will or not ; and, finding the inutility of resistance, he will soon be
induced to work as well as any horse in the team. The reformation will last
while he is thus employed, but, like restiveness generally, it will be delusive
when the horse returns to his former occupation. The disposition to annoy will
very soon follow the power to do it. Some instances of complete reformation
may have occurred, but they are rare.

When a horse, not often accustomed to gib, betrays a reluctance to work, or
a determination not to work, common sense and humanity will demand that
some consideration should be taken before measures of severity are resorted to.
The horse may be taxed beyond his power. He soon discovers whether this
is the case, and by refusing to proceed, tells his driver that it isso. The utmost
cruelty will not induce many horses to make the slightest effort, when they are
conscious that their strength is inadequate to the task. Sometimes the withers
are wrung, and the shoulders sadly galled, and the pain, which is intense on
level ground and with fair draught, becomes insupportable when he tugs up a
steep acclivity. These things should be examined into, and, if possible, rectified ;
for, under such circumstances, cruelty may produce obstinacy and vice, but
not willing obedience.

They who are accustomed to horses know what seemingly trivial circum-
stances occasionally produce this vice. A horse, whose shoulders are raw, or
have frequently been so, will not start with a cold collar. When the collar has
acquired the warmth of the parts on which it presses, the animal will go without
reluctance. Some determined gibbers have been reformed by constantly wearing
a false collar, or strip of cloth round the shoulders, so that the coldness of the
usual collar should never be felt; and others have been cured of gibbing
by keeping the collar on night and day, for the animal is not able to
lie down completely at full length, which the tired horse is always glad
todo. When a horse gibs, not at starting, but while doing his work, it has
sometimes been useful to line the collar with cloth instead of leather; the per-
spiration is readily absorbed, the substance which presses on the shoulders is
softer, and it may be far more accurately eased off at a tender place.

BITING.

This is either the consequence of natural ferocity, or a habit acquired from
the foolish and teasing play of grooms and stable boys. When a horse is tickled
and pinched by thoughtless and mischievous youths, he will first pretend to bite
his tormentors ; by degrees he wil] proceed farther, and actually bite them,
and, very soon after that, he will be the first to challenge to the combat, and,
without provocation, seize some opportunity to gripe the incautious tormentor.
At length, as the love of mischief is a propensity too easily acquired, this war,
446 KICKING.

half playful and half in earnest, becomes habitual to him, and degenerates into
absolute viciousness. ;

It is not possible to enter the stall of some horses without danger. The
animal gives no warning of his intention ; he is seemingly quiet and hartoless ;
but if the incautious by-stander comes fairly within his reach, he darts upon
him, and seldom fails to do some mischief. A stallion addicted to biting is a
most formidable creature. He lifts the intruder—he shakes him—he attacks
him with his feet—he tramples upon him, and there are many instances in
which he effects irreparable mischief. A resolute groom may escape. When
he has once got firm hold of the head of the horse, he may back him, or muzzle
him, or harness him; but he must be always on his guard, or in a moment
of carelessness he may be seriously injured.

_It is seldom that any thing can be done in the way of cure Kindness will
aggravate the evil, and no degree of severity will correct it, ‘ I have seen,”
says Professor Stewart, ‘“biters punished until they trembled in every joint,
and were ready to drop, but have never in any case known them cured by this
treatment, or by any other. The lash is forgotten in an hour, and the horse is
as ready and determined to repeat the offence as before. He appears unable to
resist the temptation, and in its worst form biting is a species of insanity.”*

Prevention, however, is in the power of every proprietor of horses. While
he insists on gentle and humane treatment of his cattle, he should systema-
tically forbid this horse-play. It is that which can never be considered as
operating as a reward, and thereby rendering the horse tractable ; nor does it
increase the affection of the animal for his groom, because he is annoyed and
irritated by being thus incessantly teased.

GETTING THE CHEEK OF THE BIT INTO THE MOUTH.

Some horses that are disposed to be mischievous try to do this, and are very
expert at it. They soon find what advantage it gives them over their driver,
who by this manceuvre loses almost all command. Harsh treatment is here

- completely out of the question. All that can be done is, by some mechanical
contrivance, to render the thing difficult or impossible, and this may be managed
by fastening a round piece of leather on the inside of the cheek of the bit.

KICKING.

This, as a vice, is another consequence of the culpable habit of grooms and
stable-boys of teasing the horse. That which is at first an indication of annoy-
ance at the pinching and tickling of the groom, and without any design to injure,
gradually becomes the expression of anger, and the effort to do mischief. The
horse likewise too soon recognizes the least appearance of timidity, and takes
advantage of the discovery. There is no cure for this vice ; and he cannot be
justified who keeps a kicking horse in his stable.

Some horses acquire, from mere irritability and fidgettiness, a habit of kicking
at the stall or the bail, and particularly at night. The neighbouring horses
are disturbed, and the kicker gets swelled hocks, or some more serious injury.
This is also a habit very difficult to correct if suffered to become established.
Mares are far more subject to it than horses,

Before the habit is inveterately established, a thorn bush or a piece of furze
fastened against the partition or post will sometimes effect a cure. When the
horse finds that he is pretty severely pricked he will not long continue to punish
himself. In confirmed eases it may be necessary to have recourse to the log, but the
legs are often nota little bruised by it. A rather long and heavy piece of wood
attached to a chain has been buckled above the hock, so as to reach about half way

 

* Stowart’s Stablo CEconomy, page 160.
REARING. 447

down the leg. When the horse attempts to kick violently, his leg will receive
asevere blow: this, and the repetition of it may, after a time, teach him to
be quiet.

A much more serious vice is kicking in harness. From the least annoyance
about the rump or quarters, some horses will kick at a most violent rate, and
destroy the bottom of the chaise, and endanger the limbs of the driver. Those
that are fidgetty in the stable are most apt to do this. If the reins should per-
chance get under the tail, the violence of the kicker will often be most outra-
geous ; 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 behind him.

This is a vice standing foremost in point of danger, and which no treatment
will always conquer. It will be altogether in vain to try coercion. If the shafts
are very strong and without flaw, or if they are plated with iron underneath, and
a stout kicking-strap resorted to which will barely allow the horse the proper use
of his hind limbs in progression, but not permit him to raise them sufficiently for
the purpose of kicking, he may be prevented from doing mischief; or if he is
harnessed to a heavy cart, and thus confined, his efforts to lash out will be
restrained: but it is frequently a very unpleasant thing to witness these
attempts, though ineffectual, to demolish the vehicle, for the shafts or the kick-
ing-strap may possibly break, and extreme danger may ensue. A horse that
has once begun to kick, whatever may have been the original cause of it, can
never be depended upon again, and he will be very unwise who ventures behind
him. The man, however, who must come within reach of a kicker should
come as close to him as possible. The blow may thus become a push, and
seldom is injurious.

UNSTEADINESS WHILE BEING MOUNTED.

When this merely amounts to eagerness to start—very unpleasant, indeed,
at times, for many a rider has been thrown from his seat before he was fairly
fixed in it—it may be remedied by an active and good horseman. We have
known many instances in which, while the elderly, and inactive, and fearful
man has been making more than one ineffectual attempt to vault into the saddle,
the horse has been dancing about to his annoyance and danger ; but the animal
had no sooner been transferred to the management of a younger and more agile
rider than he became perfectly subdued. Severity will here, more decidedly
than in any other case, do harm. The rider should be fearless—he should care-
lessly and confidently approach the horse, mount at the first effort, and then
restrain him for a while; patting him, and not suffering him to proceed until he
becomes perfectly quiet. Horses of this kind should not be too highly fed, and
should have sufficient daily exercise.

When the difficulty of mounting arises, not from eagerness to start, but unwil-
lingness to be ridden, the sooner that horse is disposed of the better. He may be
conquered by a skilful and determined horseman ; but even he will not succeed
without frequent and dangerous contests that will mar all the pleasure of the ride.

REARING.

This sometimes results from playfulness, carried, indeed, to an unpleasant
and dangerous extent; but it is oftener a desperate and occasionally successful
effort to unhorse the rider, and consequently a vice. The horse that has twice
decidedly and dangerously reared, should never be trusted again, unless, indeed,
it was the fault of the rider, who had been using a deep curb and a sharp bit.
Some of the best horses will contend against these, and then rearing may be
immediately and permanently cured by using a snaffle-bridle alone.
448 VICES, VARIOUS.

The horse-breaker’s remedy, that of pulling the horse backward on a soft
piece of ground, should be practised by reckless and brutal fellows alone,
Many horses have been injured in the spine, and others have broken their
necks, by being thus suddenly pulled over ; while even the fellow, who fears
no danger, is not always able to extricate himself from the falling horse,
If rearing proceeds from vice, and is unprovoked by the bruising and laceration
of the mouth, it fully partakes of the inveteracy which attends the other divisions

of restiveness.

RUNNING AWAY.

Some headstrong horses will occasionally endeavour to bolt with the best
rider. Others with their wonted sagacity endeavour thus to dislodge the timid or
unskilful one. Some are hard to hold, or bolt only during the excitement of the
chase ; others will runaway, prompted by a vicious propensity alone. There is
no certain cure here. The method which affords any probability of success is, to
ride such a horse with a strong curb and sharp bit ; to have him always firmly
in hand ; and, if he will run away, and the place will admit of it, to give him
(sparing neither curb, whip, nor spur) a great deal more running than he likes.

VICIOUS TO CLEAN.

It would scarcely be credited to what an extent this exists in some horses
that are otherwise perfectly quiet. It is only at great hazard that they can be
cleaned at all. The origin of this is probably some maltreatment. There is,
however, a great difference in the sensibility of the skin in different horses. Some
seem as if they could scarcely be made to feel the whip, while others cannot beara
fly to alight on them without an expression of annoyance. In young horses
the skin is peculiarly delicate. If they have been curried with a broken comb,
or hardly rubbed with an uneven brush, the recollection of the torture they
have felt makes them impatient, and even vicious, during every succeeding
operation of the kind. Many grooms, likewise, seem to delight in producing
these exhibitions of uneasiness and vice; although, when they are carried a
little too far, and at the hazard of the limbs of the groom, the animals that have
been almost tutored into these expressions of irritation are brutally kicked and
punished.

This, however, is a vice that may be conquered. If the horse is dressed
with a lighter hand, and wisped rather than brushed, and the places where the
skin is most sensitive are avoided as much as thorough cleanliness will allow,
he will gradually lose the recollection of former ill-treatment, and become tract-
able and quiet.

VICIOUS TO SHOE,

The correction of this is more peculiarly the business of the smith; yet the
master should diligently concern himself with it, for it is oftener the consequence
of injudicious or bad usage than of natural vice. It may be expected that there
will be some difficulty in shoeing a horse for the first few times. It is an opera-
tion that gives him a little uneasiness.—The man to whom he is most accus-
tomed should go with him to the forge; and if another and steady horse is
shod before him, he may be induced more readily to submit. It cannot be
denied that, after the habit of resisting this necessary operation is formed, force
may sometimes be necessary to reduce our rebellious servant to obedience ;
but we unhesitatingly affirm that the majority of horses vicious to shoe are
rendered so by harsh usage, and by the pain of correction being added to the
uneasiness of shoeing. It should be a rule in every forge that no smith should
be permitted to strike a horse, much less to twitch or to gag him, without the
CRIB BITING. 44¢

master-farrier’s order ; and that a young horse should never be twitched or
struck. There are few horses that may not be gradually rendered manageable
for this purpose by mildness and firmness in the operator. They will soon
understand that no harm is meant, and they will not forget their usual habit ot
obedience; but if the remembrance of corporal punishment is connected with
shoeing, they will always be fidgety, and occasionally dangerous.

This is a very serious vice, for it not only exposes the animal to occasional
severe injury from his own struggles, but also from the correction of the irri-
tated smith, whose limbs and whose life being in: jeopardy, may be forgiven if
he is sometimes a little too hard-handed. Such a horse is very liable, and
without any fault of the smith, to be pricked and Jamed in shoeing ; and if the
habit should be confirmed, and should increase, and it at length becomes
necessary to cast him, or to put him in the trevis, the owner may be assured
that many years will not pass ere some formidable or fatal accident will take
place. If, therefore, mild treatment will not correct this vice, the horse cannot
be too soon got rid of.

Horses have many unpleasant habits in the stable and on the road, which
cannot be said to amount to vice, but which materially lessen their value.

SWALLOWING WITHOUT GRINDING.

Some greedy horses habitually swallow their corn without properly grinding
it, and the power of digestion not being adequate to the dissolving of the husk,
no nutriment is extracted, and the oats are voided whole. This is particularly
the case when horses of unequal appetite feed from the same manger. The
greedy one, in his eagerness to get more than his share, bolts a portion of his
corn whole. If the farmer, without considerable inconvenience, could contrive
that every horse shall have his separate division of the manger, the one of
smaller appetite and slower feed would have the opportunity of grinding at his
leisure, without the fear of the greater share being stolen by his neighbour.

Some horses, however, are naturally greedy feeders, and will not, even
when alone, allow themselves time to chew or grind their corn, In consequence
of this they carry but little flesh, and are not equal to severe work. If the rack
was supplied with hay when the corn was put into the manger, they will con-
tinue to eat on, and their stomachs will become distended with half-chewed and
indigestible food. In consequence of this they will be incapable of considerable
exertion for a long time after feeding, and, occasionally, dangerous symptoms
of staggers will occur.

The remedy is, not to let such horses fast too long. The nose-bag should
be the companion of every considerable journey. The food should likewise be
of such a nature that it cannot be rapidly bolted. Chaff should be plentifully
mixed with the corn, and, in some cases, and especially in horses of slow work,
itshould, with the corn, constitute the whole of the food. This will be treated
on more at large under the article ‘ Feeding.’

In every case of this kind the teeth should be carefully examined. Some of
them may be unduly lengthened, particularly the first of the grinders: or they
may be ragged at the edges, and may abrade and wound the cheek. In the
first case the horse cannot properly masticate his food ; in the latter he will not;
for these animals, as too often happens in sore throat, would rather starve than
put themselves to much pain.

CRIB-BITING.
This is a very unpleasant habit, and a considerable defect, although not so
serious a one as some have represented The horse lays hold of the manger
aG
450 CRIB BITING.

with his teeth, violently extends his neek, and then, after some convulsive
action of the throat, a slight grunting is heard, accompanied by a sucking or
drawing in of air. It is not an effort at simple eructation, arising from indiges-
tion. It is the inhalation of air. It is that which takes place with all kinds of
diet, and when the stomach is empty as well as when it is full. :

The effects of crib-biting are plainenough. The teeth are injured and worm
away, and that, in an old horse, to a very serious degree. A considerable
quantity of corn is often lost, for the horse will frequently crib with his mouth
full of it, and the greater part will fall over the edge of the manger. Much
saliva escapes while the manger is thus forcibly held, the loss of which must be
of serious detriment in impairing the digestion. The crib-biting horse is noto-
riously more subject to colic than other horses, and to a species difficult of treat-
ment and frequently dangerous. Although many a crib-biter is stout and
strong, and capable of all ordinary work, these horses do not generally carry
so much flesh as others, and have not their endurance. On these accounts crib-
biting has very properly been decided to be unsoundness. We must not look to
the state of the disease at the time of purchase. The question is, does it exist
at all? A case was tried before Lord Tenterden, and thus decided: “a horse
with crib-biting is unsound.”

It is one of those tricks which are exceedingly contagious. Every companion
of a crib-biter in the same stables is likely to acquire the habit, and it is the
most inveterate of all habits. The edge of the manger will in vain be lined
with ivon, or with sheep-skin, or with sheep-skin covered with tar or aloes, or
any other unpleasant substance. In defiance of the annoyance which these
may occasion, the horse will persist in the attack on his manger. A strap
buckled tightly round the neck, by compressing the windpipe, is the best means
of preventing the possibility of this trick ; but the strap must be constantly
worn, and its pressure is too apt to produce a worse affection, viz. an irritation
in the windpipe, which terminates in roaring.

Some have recommended turning out for five or six months; but this has
never succeeded except with a young horse, and then rarely. The old crib-
biter will employ the gate for the same purpose as the edge of his manger, and
we have often seen him galloping across a field for the mere object of
having a gripe at a rail. Medicine will be altogether thrown away in this
case.

The only remedy is a muzzle, with bars across the bottom ; sufficiently wide
to enable the animal to pick up his corn and to pull his hay, but not to grasp
the edge of the manger. If this is worn for a considerable period, the horse may
be tired of attempting that which he cannot accomplish, and for a while forget
the habit, but, in a majority of cases, the desire of crib-biting will return with
the power of gratifying it.

The causes of crib-biting are various, and some of them beyond the control of
the proprietor of the horse. It is often the result of imitation ; but it is more
frequently the consequence of idleness. The high-fed and spirited horse must
be in mischief if he is not usefully employed. Sometimes, but we believe not
often, it is produced by partial starvation, whether in a bad straw-yard, or from
unpalatable food. An occasional cause of crib-biting is the frequent custom of
grooms, even when the weather is not severe, of dressing them in the stable.
The horse either catches at the edge of the manger, or at that of the partition
on each side, if he has been turned, and thus he forms the habit of laying
hold of these substances on every occasion.
451

WIND-SUCKING.

This bears a close analogy to crib-biting. It arises from the same causes;
the same purpose is accomplished ; and the same results follow. The horse
stands with his neck bent; his head drawn inward; his lips alternately a little
opened and then closed, and a noise is heard as if he were sucking. If we may
judge from the same comparative want of condition and the flatulence which
we have described under the last head, either some portion of wind enters the
stomach, or there is an injurious loss of saliva, ‘This diminishes the value of the
horse almost as much as crib-biting ; it is as contagious, and it is as inveterate.
whe only remedies, and they will seldom avail, are tying the head up, except
Then the horse is feeding, or putting on a muzzle with sharp spikes towards the
neck, and which will prick him whenever he attemps to rein his head in for the
purpose of wind-sucking.

CUTTING.

Of this habit mention has been made at page 349; and we would advise the
owner of a cutting horse, without trying any previous experiments of raising or
lowering the heels, to put on the cutting foot a shoe of even thickness from heel
to toe, not projecting in the slightest degree beyond the crust, and the crust
itself being rasped a little at the quarters. The shoe should be fastened as
usual on the outside, but with only one nail on the inside, and that almost close
to the toe. The principle on which this shoe acts has been explained at page 424.

NOT LYING DOWN.

It not uncommonly happens that a horse will seldom or never lie dows in the
stable. He sometimes continues in apparent good health, and feeds and works
well; but generally his legs swell, or he becomes fatigued sooner than another
horse. If it is impossible to let him loose in the stable, or to put him into a
spare box, we know not what is to be done. No means, gentle or cruel, will
force him to lie down. The secret is that he is tied up, and either has never
dared to lie down through fear of the confinement of the halter, or he has been
cast in the night, and severely injured. If he can be suffered to range the stable,
or have a comfortable box, in which he may be loose, he will usually lie down
the first night. Some few horses, however, will lie down in the stable, and not
in a loose box. A fresh, well-made bed will generally tempt the tired horse to
refresh himself with sleep.

OVERREACH.

This unpleasant noise, known also by the term ‘ clicking,’ arises from the toe
of the hind foot knocking against the shoe of the fore foot. In the trot, one fore
leg and the opposite hind leg are first lifted from the ground and moved forward,
the other fore leg and the opposite hind leg remaining fixed; but, to keep the
centre of gravity within the base, and as the stride, or space passed over by these
legs, is often greater than the distance between the fore and hind feet, it is neces-
sary that the fore feet should be alternately moved out of the way for the. hind
ones to descend. Then, as occasionally happens with horses not perfectly
broken, and that have not been taught their paces, and especially if they have
high hinder quarters and low fore ones, if the fore feet are not raised in time
the hind feet will strike them. The fore foot will generally be caught when it
has just begun to be raised, and the toe of the hind foot will meet the middle of
the bottom of the fore foot. It is an unpleasant noise, and not altogether free
from danger ; for it may so happen that a horse, the action of whose feet gene-
rally so much interferes with each other, may advance the hind foot a little more
rapidly, or raise the fore one a little more slowly, so that the blow may fall on

a@a2
452 ROLLING.

the heel of the shoe, and loosen or displace it; or the two shoes may be locked
together, and the animal may be thrown; or the contusion may be received even
higher, and on the tendons of the leg, and considerable swelling and lameness
may follow. . ;

If the animal is young, the action of the horse may be materially improved ;
otherwise nothing can be done, except to keep the toe of the hind foot as short
and as round as it can safely be, and to bevil off and round the toe of the shoe,
like that which has been worn by a stumbler for a fortnight, and, perhaps, a
little to lower the heel of the fore foot.

A blow received on the heel of the fore foot in this manner has not unfre-
quently, and especially if neglected, been followed by quittor *.

The heel most frequently suffers in overreaching, although the pastern is
sometimes injured. It usually or almost always occurs in fast paces on deep
ground, The injury is inflicted by the edge of the inner part of the shoe. The
remedy is the cutting away the edge of the shoe. An account of the most suc-
cessful treatment of overreach has been given in page 892.

PAWING.

Some hot and irritable horses are resiless even in the stable, and paw frequently
and violently. Their litter is destroyed, the floor of the stable broken up, the
shoes worn out, the feet bruised, and the legs sometimes sprained. _If this habit
does not exist, to any great extent, yet the stable never looks well. . Shackles
are the only remedy, with a chain sufficiently long to enable the horse to shift
his posture, or move in his stall ; but these must be taken off at night, other-
wise the animal will seldom lie down. Except, however, the horse possesses
peculiar value, it will be better to dispose of him at once, than to submit to
the danger and inconvenience that he may occasion.

QUIDDING.

A horse will sometimes partly chew his hay, and suffer it to drop from his
mouth. If this does not proceed from irregular teeth, which it will be the busi-
ness of the veterinary surgeon to rasp down, it will be found to be connected
_with sore-throat, and then the horse will exhibit some other symptom of indis-
position, and particularly, the swallowing of water will be accompanied by a
peculiar gulping effort. In this case the disease (catarrh, with sore throat)
must be attacked, and the quidding will cease.

ROLLING.

This is a very pleasant and perfectly safe amusement for a horse at grass, but
cannot. be indulged in the stable without the chance of his being dangerously

 

* Mr. Simpson relates an interesting though
unfortunate case of this interference after
the operation of neurotomy :—‘ An old but

from the corresponding foot behind. In order
to remedy this, the toe of the hind foot was
ordered to be shortened as much as possible.

splendid horse had been sadly lame in the off
fore-foot during some months. Many plans
of treatment were adopted, without the desired
effect; and at length it was determined to
have recourse to neurotomy. A portion of the
metacarpal nerve was excised on both sides, just
above the fetlock. Three weeks afterwards,
the horse being quite free from lameness, he
‘was put into harness, and driven about. twelve
miles. He appeared to go very well, but, on
arriving at bis jourmey’s end, it was found that
the off -+hind-foot was covered with blocd, and
the heels of the neurotomised foot were dread-
fully bruised and cut, from repeated blows

* Four days afterwards he was driven again
with the same contusions, but did not appear
to feel the slightest pain, either when the
blows were inflicted or when he was examined
again some days afterwards.

“ There was not the same activity in this foot
that there had been before the operation, and
it could not get out of the way of the hind
foot, a circumstance that would hardly have
been expected, for it is the general belief that,
although sensation is destroyed in the foot, tha
locomotive powers of the leg are unimpaired.
This deserves future inquiry.” The Veteri-
narian, vol, viii. p. 242,
SHYING. 4153

enfangled with the collar rein, and being cast. Yet, although the horse is cast,
and bruised, and half-strangled, he will roll again on the following night, and
continue to do so as long as he lives, The only remedy is not a very pleasant
one to the horse, nor always quite safe; yet it must be had recourse to if the
habit of rolling is inveterate. “The horse,” says Mr. Castley, “should be
tied with length enough of collar to lie down, but not to allow of his head
resting on the ground ; because, in order to roll over, a horse is obliged to
place his head quite down upon the ground.”

SHYING,

We have briefly treated of the cause of this vice at page 188, and observed
that while it is often the result of cowardice, or playfulness, or want of work,
it is at other times the consequence of a defect of sight. It has been remarked,
and we believe very truly, that shying is oftener a vice of half or quarter-
bred horses, than of those who have in them more of the genuine racing
blood.

In the treatment of shying, it is of great importance to distinguish between
that which is the consequence of defective sight, and what results from
fear, or newness of objects, or mere affectation or skittishness. For the first,
the nature of which we have explained at page 183, every allowance must
be made, and care must be taken that the fear of correction is not associated
with the imagined existence of some terrifying object. The severe use of the
whip and the spur cannot do good here, and are likely to aggravate the vice
tenfold. A word half encouraging and half scolding, with a gentle pressure of
the heel, or a slight touch of the spur, will tell the horse that there was nothing
to fear, and will give him confidence in his rider on a future occasion. It should
beremembered, however, that although a horse that shies from defective sight
may be taught considerable reliance on his rider, he can never have the cause of
the habit removed. We may artificially strengthen the human sight, but that
of the horse must be left to itself.

The shying from skittishness or affectation is quite a different affair, and must
be conquered: but how? Severity is altogether out of place. If he is forced into
contact with the object by dint of correction, the dread of punishment will after-
wards be associated with that object, and, on the next occasion, his startings will
be more frequent and more dangerous, The way to cure him is to go on, turning
as little as possible out of the road, giving a harsh word or two, and a gentle
touch with the spur, and then taking no more notice of the matter. After a
few times, whatever may have been the object which he chose to select as the
pretended cause of affright, he will pass it almost without notice.

In page 822, under the head “ breaking in,” we described how the colt may
be cured of the habit of shying from fear or newness of objects ; and, if he then
is accustomed as much as possible to the objects among which his services will
be required, he will not possess this annoying vice when he grows to mature1

ge.

Mr. John Lawrence, in his last work on the Horse, says, “These animals
generally fix on some particular shying butt ; for example, I recollect having,
at different periods, three hacks, all very powerful; the one made choice of a
‘wind-mill for the object or butt, the other a tilted waggon, and the last a pig led
in a string. It so happened, however, that I rode the two former when
amiss from a violent cold, and they then paid no more attention to either wind-
mills or tilted waggons than to any other objects, convincing me that their
shying when in health and spirits was pure affectation ; an affectation, however,
which may be speedily united with obstinacy and vice. Let it be treated with
454 SHYING.

marked displeasure, mingled with gentle, but decided firmness, and the habit
will be of short endurance*.”

It is now generally admitted by all riding-masters and colt-breakers,
that a great deal more is to be effected by lenient than by harsh treatment.
Rewards are found to operate more beneficially than punishments; and therefore
the most scientific and practised riding-masters adopt methods based upon the
former. The writer of the present work remembers a very remarkable instance of
the efficacy of this plan, or rather of its vast and decided superiority over violence
of the worst description. A vicious thorough-bred horse had baffled the efforts of
every one into whose hands he had been put in order to be rendered tractable:
at length a foreigner of considerable repute among the equestrians of the “school,”
took him to make trial of; and in the course of a twelvemonth had rendered
him so quiet that not only could any person ride him with the utmost safety ;
but, at the same time, he was so docile and tractable that he could be induced, by
certain signs, to lie down and permit his rider tv mount before he arose again.

The same forbearance and humanity have been practised with the same bene-
ficial results upon shy horses. With all such persons as are best able to give
counsel in cases of shyness, the language is now-a-days, “let the horse alone”
—‘take no notice of his shyness ”—‘* work him well and accustom him to the
objects he dislikes, and in time he will of himself leave off his trick of
shying.”

This is good advice; but, let it not be misinterpreted. Let it not he under-
stood to mean that the animal is to receive any encouragement to shy ; for by
no other expression can be characterised that erroneous and foolish practice of
patting the horse, or “ making much of him,” either just before or during the
time he evinces shyness. The former is bad, because it draws the attention of
the animal to the object he dreads; the latter is worse, because it fills him with
the impression either that the object itself is really terrific, or that he has acted
right in shying at it, and ought to do so again.

Whether we are approaching the frightful object, or the horse is actually
shying, “ we should let him alone”—“ we should take no notice whatever of
him”—neither letting him perceive that we are aware that we are advancing
towards anything he dislikes ; nor do more with him, while in the act of shying,
than is necessary for due restraint with a steady hand upon the rein. We may
depend upon it, that battling on our part will only serve to augment affright and
arouse resistance on his, and that the most judicious course we can pursue is to
persevere in mild forbearant usage.

Shying on coming out of the stable isa habit that can rarely or never be cured.
It proceeds from the remembrance of some ill-usage or hurt which the animal

 

* “ We will suppose a case—a very common
one, an every-day one. A man is riding a
young horse upon the high-road in the coun-
try, and meets a stage-coach. What with the
noise, the bustle, the imposing appearance
altogether, and the slashing of the coachman’s
whip, the animal at ita approach erects his head
and crest, pricks his ears, looks affrighted, and
no sooner comes alongside of the machine than
he euddenly starts out of the road. His rider,
sunoyed by this, instantly commences a round
of castigation with whip, spur, and curb, in
which he persists uctil the horse, as well as
himself, has lost big temper; and then ose
whips, spurs, and pulls, and the other jumps,
plunges, frets, and throws up his head, until
both, pretcy well exhausted by the conflict,

grow tranquil again and proceed on their jour-
uey, though not for some time afterwards in
their former mutual confidence and satisfac-
tion, Should they in their road, or even ona
distant day, meet with another coach} what
is the consequence? The horse is not only
more alarmed than before, but now, the mo-
ment he has started, being conscious of his
fault and expecting chastisement, he jumps
about in fearful agitation, making plunges to
strike into a gallop, and attempting to run
away. So that by this correction, instead of
rendering his horse tranquil during the passage
of a coach, the ridcr adds to the evil of shying
that of subsequently plunging, and perhaps
nines away."— The Veterinarian, vol. i.
p. 96,
TRIPPING. 455.

has received in the act of proceeding from the stable, such as striking his head
against a low doorway, or entangling the harness. Coercion will but associate
greater fearand more determined resistance with the old recollection. Mr. Castley
gives an interesting anecdote, which tends to prove that while severity will be
worse than useless, even kind treatment will not always break a confirmed habit.
“JT remember a very fine grey mare that had got into this habit, and never
could be persuaded to go through a doorway without taking an immense jump.
To avoid this, the servants used to back her in and out of the stable; but the
mare happening to meet with a severe injury of the spine, was no longer able
to back ; and then I have seen the poor creature, when brought to the door,
endeavouring to balance herself, with a staggering motion, upon her half-paralysed
hind extremities, as if making preparation and summoning up resolution for
some great effort; and then, when urged, she would plunge headlong forward
with such violence of exertion, as often to lose her feet, and tumble down,
‘altogether most pitiable to be seen. This I merely mention,” he continues,
“as one proof how inveterate the habits of horses are. They are evils, let it
always be remembered, more easy to prevent than to cure.”

When the cure, however, is early attempted, it may be so far overcome that
it will be unattended with danger or difficulty. The horse should be bridled
when led out or in. He should be held short and tight by the head that he
may feel he has not liberty to make a leap, and this of itself is often sufficient
to restrain him. Punishment or a threat of punishment will be highly impro-
per. It is only timid or high-spirited horses that acquire this habit, and rough
usage invariably increases their agitation and terror. Some may be led out
quite at leisure when blindfolded ; others when they have the harness bridle
on; some will best take their own way, and a few may be ridden through the
doorway that cannot be led. By quietness and kindness, however, the horse
will be most easily and quickly subdued.

SLIPPING THE COLLAR. *

This is a trick at which many horses are so clever that scarcely a night
passes without their getting loose. It is a very serious habit, for it enables the
horse sometimes to gorge himself with food, to the imminent danger of staggers ;
or it exposes him, as he wanders about, to be kicked and injured by the other
horses, while his restlessness will often keep the whole team awake. If the
web of the halter, being first accurately fitted to his neck, is suffered to slip
only one way, or a strap is attached to the halter and buckled round the neck
but not sufficiently tight to be of serious inconvenience, the power of slipping
the collar will be taken away.

TRIPPING,

He must be a skilful practitioner or a mere pretender who promises to remedy
this habit. If it arises from a heavy forehand, and the fore legs being too much
under the horse, no one can alter the natural frame of the animal: if it pro-
ceeds from tenderness of the foot, grogginess, or old lameness, these ailments
are seldom cured, Also, if it is to be traced to habitual carelessness and idle-
ness, no whipping will rouse the drone. A known stumbler should never be
ridden, or driven by any one who values his safety or his life. A tight
hand or a strong-bearing rein are precautions that should not be neglected,
although they are generally of little avail; for the inveterate stumbler will
rarely be able to save himsclf, and this tight rein may sooner and farther pre-
cipitate the rider. If, after a trip, the horse suddenly starts forward, and
456 GENERAL MANAGEMENT

endeavours to break into a sharp trot or canter, the rider or driver may be
assured that others before him have fruitlessly endeavoured to remedy the
nuisance.

If the stumbler has the foot kept as short and the toe pared as close as safety
will permit, and the shoe is rounded at the toe, or has that shape given to it
which it naturally acquires in a fortnight from the peculiar action of such a horse,
the animal may not stumble quite so much ; or if the disease which produced the
habit can be alleviated, some trifling good may be done, but in almost every
case a stumbler should be got rid of, or put to slow and heavy work. If the
latter alternatiye is adopted, he may trip as much as he pleases, for the weight
of the load and the motion of the other horses will keep him upon his legs.

WEAVING.

This consists in a motion of the head, neck, and body, from side to side, like
the shuttle of a weaver passing through the web, and hence the name which is
given to this peculiar and incessant and unpleasant action. It indicates an im-
patient, irritable temper, and a dislike to the confinement of the stable. A
horse that is thus incessantly on the fret will seldom carry flesh, or be safe to
ride or drive. ‘There is no cure for it, but the close tying up of the animal, or
at least allowing him but one loose rein, except at feeding-time.

 

CHAPTER XXIV.
THE GENERAL MANAGEMENT OF THE HORSE.

eo

Tuis is a most important part of our subject, even as it regards the farmer,
although there are comparatively few glaring errors in the treatment of the
agricultural horse: but it comes more especially home to the gentleman, who
is too often and too implicitly under the guidance of an idle, and ignorant, and
designing groom.

* We will arrange the most important points of general management under
the following heads:
AIR.

The breathing of pure air is necessary to the existence and the health of
man and beast. It is comparatively lately that this has been admitted even in
the management of our best stables. They have been close and hot and foul,
instead of airy and cool and wholesome. The effect of several horses being shut
up in the same stable is completely to empoison the air; and yet, even in the
present day, there are too many who carefully close every aperture by which
a breath of fresh air can by possibility gain admission. In effecting this, even
the key-hole and the threshold are not forgotten. What, of necessity, must be
the consequence of this? Why! if one thought is bestowed on the new and
dangerous character that the air is assuming, it will be too evident that sore
throat, and swelled legs, and bad eyes, and inflamed lungs, and mange, and
grease, and glanders, will scarcely ever be long out of that stable.

Let this be considered in another point of view. The horse stands twenty or
two-and-twenty hours in this unnatural vapour bath, and then he is suddenly
stripped of all his clothing, he is led into the open air, and there he is kept a.
OF THE HORSE, 457

couple of hours or more in a temperature fifteen or twenty degrees below that of
the stable. Putting the inhumanity of this out of the question, must not the
animal thus unnaturally and absurdly treated be subjected to rheumatism,
eatarrh, and various other complaints? Does he not often stand, hour after
hour, in the road or the street, while his owner is warming himself within, and
this perhaps after every pore has been opened by a brushing gallop, and his
susceptibility to the painful and the injurious influence of cold has been excited
to the utmost ?

It is not so generally known, as it ought to be, that the return to a hot stable
is quite as dangerous as the change from a heated atmosphere to a cold and
biting air. Many a horse that has travelled without harm over a bleak country
has been suddenly seized with inflammation and fever when he has, immediately
at the end of his journey, been surrounded with heated and foul air. It is the
sudden change of temperature, whether from heat to cold, or from cold to heat,
that does the mischief, and yearly destroys thousands of horses.

Mr. Clarke of Edinburgh was the first who advocated the use of well venti-
lated stables. After him Professor Coleman established them in the quarters
of the cayalry troops, and there cannot be a doubt that he saved the Govern-
ment many thousand pounds every year. His system of ventilation, however,
like many other salutary innovations, was at first strongly resisted. Much evil
was predicted; but after a time, diseases that used to dismount whole troops
almost entirely disappeared from the army.

The stable should be as large, compared with the number of horses that
it is destined to contain, as circumstances will allow. A stable for six horses
should not be less than forty feet in length, and thirteen or fourteen feet wide.
If there is no loft above, the inside of the roof should always be plastered, in
order to prevent direct currents of air and occasional droppings from broken tiles.
Theheated and foul air should escape, and cool and pure air be admitted, by eleva-
tion of the central tiles; or by large tubes carried through the roof, with caps a
little above them, to prevent the beating in of the rain; or by gratings placed high
up in the walls. These latter apertures should be as far above the horses as
they can conveniently be placed, by which means all injurious draught will be
prevented.

If there is a loft above the stable, the ceiling should be plastered, in order to
prevent the foul air from penetrating to the hay above, and injuring both its
taste and its wholesomeness ; and no openings should be allowed above the racks,
through which the hay may be thrown into them; for they will permit the
foul air to ascend to the provender, and also in the act of filling the rack, and
while the horse is eagerly gazing upward for his food, a grass seed may fall into
the eye, and produce considerable inflammation, At other times, when the
careless groom has left open the trap-door, a stream of cold air beats down on
the head of the horse.

The stable with a loft over it should never be less than twelve feet high,
and proper ventilation should be secured either by tubes carried through the
loft to the roof, or by gratings close to the ceiling. These gratings or openings
should be enlarged or contracted by means of a covering or shutter, so that
during spring, summer, and autumn, the stable may possess nearly the same
temperature with the open air, and in winter a temperature of not more than
ten degrees above that of the external atmosphere.

A hot stable has, in the mind of the groom, been long connected with a glossy
cooat. The latter, it is thought, cannot be obtained without the former.

To this we should reply that, in winter, a thin, glossy coat is not desirable.
Nature gives to every animal a warmer clothing when the cold weather
458 VENTILATION.

approaches, The horse—the agricultural horse especially—acquires a thicker
and a lengthened coat, in order to defend him from the surrounding cold. Man
puts on an additional and a warmer covering, and his comfort is increased and
his health preserved by it. He who knows anything of the farmer's horse, or cares
about his enjoyment, will not object to a coat a little longer and a little
roughened when the wintry wind blows bleak. The coat, however, needs not to
be so long as to be unsightly ; and warm clothing, even in a cool stable, will,
with plenty of honest grooming, keep the hair sufficiently smooth and glossy
to satisfy the most fastidious. The over-heated air of a close stable saves much
of this grooming, and therefore the idle attendant unscrupulously sacrifices the
health and safety of the horse. When we have presently to treat of the hair
and skin of the horse, this will be placed in a somewhat different point of view.

If the stable is close, the air will not only be hot, but foul. The breathing
of every animal contaminates it ; and when, in the course of the night, with
every aperture stopped, it passes again and again through the lungs, the blood
cannot undergo its proper and healthy change ; digestion will not be so perfectly
performed, and all the functions of life are injured. Let the owner of a
valuable horse think of his passing twenty or twenty-two out of the
twenty-four hours in this debilitating atmosphere! Nature does wonders in
enabling every animal to accommodate itself to the situation in which it is
placed, and the horse that lives in the stable-oven suffers less from it than
would scarcely be conceived possible; but he does not, and cannot, possess
the power and the hardihood which he would acquire under other cir-
cumstances,

The air of the improperly close and heated stable is still farther contaminated
by the urine and dung, which rapidly ferment there, and give out stimulating
and unwholesome vapours. When a person first enters an ill-managed stable,
and especially early in the morning, he is annoyed, not only by the heat of the
confined air, but by a pungent smell, resembling hartshorn ; and can he be sur-
prised at the inflammation of the eyes, and the chronic cough, and the disease of
the lungs, by which the animal, who has been all night shut up in this vitiated
atmosphere, is often attacked; or if glanders and farcy should occasionally
break out in such stables? It has been ascertained by chemical experiment
that the urine of the horse contains in it an exceedingly large quantity of
hartshorn ; and not only so, but that, influenced by the heat of a crowded stable,
and possibly by other decompositions that are going forward at the same time,
this ammoniacal vapour begins to be rapidly given out almost immediately
after the urine is voided.

When disease begins to appear among the inhabitants of these ill-ventilated
places, is it wonderful that it should rapidly spread among them, and that the
plague-spot should be, as it were, placed on the door of sucha stable? When
distemper appears in spring or in autumn, it is in very many cases to be traccd
to such a pest-house. It is peculiarly fatal there. The horses belonging toa
smal] establishment, and rationally treated, have it comparatively seldom,
or have it lightly ; but among the inmates of a crowded stable it is sure to dis-
play itself, and there it is most fatal. The experience of every veterinary
surgeon, and of every large proprietor of horses, will corroborate this state-
ment. Agriculturists should bring to their stables the common sense which
directs them in the usual concerns of life, and should begin, when their pleasuves
and their property are so much at stake, to assume that authority and to enforce
that obedience, to the lack of which is to be attributed the greater part of bad
stable-management and horse-disease. Of nothing are we more certain than that
the majority of the maladies of the horse, and those of the worst and most fatal
LITTER. 459

character, are directly or indirectly to be attributed to a deficient supply of air.
cruel exaction of work, and insufficient or bad fare. 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 stable are often swept away.

Every stable should possess within itself a certain degree of ventilation. The
cost of this would be trifling, and its saving in the preservation of valuable animals
may be immense. The apertures necd not be large, and the-~whole may be so
contrived that no direct current of air shall fall on the horse.

A gentleman's stable should never be without a thermometer. . The tempe.-
rature should seldom exceed 70° in the summer, or sink below 40° or 50° in
the winter.

LITTER.

Having spoken of the vapour of hartshorn, which is so rapidly and so plenti-
fully given out from the urine of a horse in a heated stable, we next take into
consideration the subject of litter. The first caution is frequently to remove it.
The early extrication of gas shows the rapid putrefaction of the urine; and the
consequence of which will be the rapid putrefaction of the litter that has been
moistened by it. Everything hastening to decomposition should be carefully
yemoved where life and health are to be preserved. The litter that has been
much wetted or at all softened by the urine, and is beginning to decay, should
be swept away every morning; the greater part of the remainder may then be
piled under the manger; a little being left to prevent the painful and injurious
pressure of the feet on the hard pavement during the day. The soiled and
macerated portion of that which was left should be removed at-night. In the
better kind of stables, however, the stalls should be completely emptied every
morning.

No heap of fermenting dung should be suffered to remain during the day in
the corner or in any part of the stable. With regard to this the directions of
the master should be peremptory.

The stable should be so contrived that the urine shall quickly run off, and
the offensive and injurious vapour from the decomposing fluid and the litter
will thus be materially lessened: if, however, the urine is carried away by
means of a gutter running along the stable, the floor of the stails must slant
towards that gutter, and the declivity must not be so great as to strain the back
sinews, and become an occasional, although unsuspected, cause of lameness
Mr. R. Lawrence well observes, that, “if the reader will stand fora few minutes
with his toes higher than his heels, the pain he will feel in the calves of his legs
will soon convince him of the truth of this remark. Hence, when a horse is not
eating, he always endeavours to find his level, either by standing across the stall
or else as far back as his halter will permit, so that his hind-legs may meet the
ascent of the other side of the channel.”

This inclination of the stall is also a frequent cause of contraction of the heels
of the foot, by throwing too great a proportion of the weight upon the toe and
removing that pressure on the heels which tends most to keep them open.
Care, therefore, must be taken that the slanting of the floor of the stalls shall
be no more than is sufficient to drain off the urine with tolerable rapidity.
Stalls of this kind certainly do best for mares; but for horses we much prefer
those with a grating in the centre, and a slight inclination of the floor on every
side towards the middie. A short branch may communicate with a larger
drain, by means of which the urine may be carried off to a reservoir outside the
stable. 'T'raps arenow contrived, and may be procured at little expense, by means
of which neither any offensive smell nor current of air can pass through the grating,
460 LIGHT.

The farmer should not lose any of the urine. It is from the dung of the
horse that he derives a principal and the most valuable part of his manure.
It is that which earliest takes on the process of putrefaction, and forms one of
the strongest and most durable dressings. That which is most of all con-
cerned with the rapidity and the perfection of the decomposition is the urine.

Humanity and interest, as well as the appearance of the stable, should
induce the proprietor of the horse to place a moderate quantity of litter
under him during the day. The farmer who wants to convert every otherwise
useless substance into manure, wili have additional reason for adopting this
practice: especially as he does not confine himself to that to which in towns
and in gentlemen’s stables custom seems to have limited the bed of the horse.
Pea and bean-haum, and potato-tops, and heath, occupy in the stable of the
farmer, during a part of the year, the place of wheaten and oaten straw. It
should, however, be remembered, that these substances are disposed more easily
to ferment and putrify than straw, and therefore should be more carefully
examined and oftener removed. It is the faulty custom of some farmers to let
the bed accumulate until it reaches almost to the horse’s belly, and the bottom
of it isa mass of dung. If there were not often many a hole and cranny through
which the wind can enter and disperse the foul air, the health of the animal
would materially suffer.

LIGHT.

This neglected branch of stable-management is of far more consequence than
is generally imagined ; and it is particularly neglected by those for whom these
treatises are principally designed. The farmer’s stable isfrequently destitute of any
glazed window, and has only a shutter, which is raised in warm weather, and
closed when the weather becomes cold. When the horse is in the stable only
during a few hours in the day, this is not of so much consequence, nor of so
much, probably, with regard to horses of slow work ; but to carriage-horses and
hackneys, so far, at least, as the eyes are concerned, a dark stable is little less
injurious than a foul and heated one. In order to illustrate this, reference
may be made to the unpleasant feeling, and the utter impossibility of seeing
distinctly, when a man suddenly emerges from a dark place into the full blaze
of day. The sensation of mingled pain and giddiness is not soon forgotten ;
and some minutes pass before the eye can accommodate itself to the increased
light. If this were to happen every day, or several times in the day, the sight
would be ivreparably injured, or possibly blindness would ensue. Can we
wonder, then, that the horse, taken from a dark stable into a glare of light,
feeling, probably, as we shuuld do under similar circumstances, and unable for
a considerable time to see anything around him distinctly, should become a
starter, or that the frequently repeated violent effect of sudden light should
induce inflammation of the eye so intense as to terminate in blindness? There
is, indeed, no doubt that horses kept in dark stables are frequently no-
torious starters, and that abominable habit has been properly traced to this
cause. :

Farmers know, and should profit by the knowledge, that the darkness of the
stable is not unfrequently a cover for great uncleanliness. A glazed window,
with leaden divisions between the small panes, would not cost much, and would
admit a degree of light somewhat more approaching to that of day, and at the
same time would render the concealment of gross inattention and want of clean-
liness impossible.

If plenty of light is admitted, the walls of the stable, and especially that
portion of them which is before the horse’s head, must not be of too glaring a
GROOMING, 461

colour. The constant reflection from a white wall, and especially if the sun
shines into the stable, will be as injurious to the eye as the sudden changes
from darkness to light. The perpetual slight excess of stimulus will do as
much mischief as the occasional but more violent one when the animal is taken
from a kind of twilight to the blaze of day. The colour of the stable, there-
fore, should depend on the quantity of light. Where much can be admitted,
the walls should be of a grey hue. Where darkness would otherwise prevail,
frequent whitewashing may in some degree dissipate the gloom.

For another reason it will be evident that the stable should not possess too
glaring a light: it is the resting-place of the horse. The work of the
farmer's horse, indeed, is confined principally to the day. The hour of exer-
tion having passed, the animal returns to his stable to feed and to repose, and
the latter is as necessary as the former, in order to prepare him for renewed
work. Something approaching to the dimness of twilight is requisite to
induce the animal to compose himself to sleep. This half-light more particu-
larly suits horses of heavy work, and who draw almost as much by the weight
of carcass which they can throw into the collar, as by the degree of muscular
energy of which they are capable. In the quietness of a dimly-lighted stable
they obtain repose, and accumulate flesh and fat. Dealers are perfectly aware
of this. They have their darkened stables, in which the young horse, with
little or no exercise, and fed upon mashes and ground corn, is made up for
sale. The round and plump appearance, however, which may delude the un-
wary, soon vanishes with altered treatment, and the animal is found to be unfit
for hard work, and predisposed to many an inflammatory disease. The circum-
stances, then, under which a stable somewhat darkened may he allowed; will
he easily determined by the owner of the horse; but, as a general rule, dark
stables are unfriendly to cleanliness, and the frequent cause of the vice of
starting, and of the most serious diseases of the eyes.

GROOMING.

Of this much need not be said to the agriculturist, since custom, and, appa-
rently 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 altera-
tion of temperature, and the inclemency of the weather, would be preju-
Gicial. The horse that is altogether turned out needs no grooming. The
dandriff or scurf which accumulates at the roots of the hair, is a provision of
nature to defend him from the wind and the cold.

It is to the stabled horse, highly fed, and little or irregularly worked, that
grooming is of so much consequence. Good rubbing with the brush or the
currycomb opens the pores of the skin, circulates the blood to the extremities of
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 effect the same purpose ; they both increase the insensible
perspiration ; but the first does it at the expense of health and strength, while
the second, at the same time that it produces a glow on the skin, and a deter-
mination 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 neces-
‘sary after work.
462. EXERCISE.

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 clean~
liness, when the scurf and dust that are brushed from the horse lodge in his
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 cannot be
attained in the stable, from being dressed in the open air. There is no necessity,
however, for half the punishment which 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 even the brush needs not to be so hard,
nor the points of the bristles 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 sufficient 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 considerable patience, as
well as dexterity. It will be readily ascertained whether a horse has been well
dressed by rubbing him with one of the fingers, A greasy stain will detect the
idleness 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 effects 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.

EXERCISE.

Our observations on this important branch of stable-management must have
only a 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 him
in health, and not enough to distress or injure him: on the contrary, the regu-
larity of his work prolongs life to an extent rarely witnessed in the stable of the
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 who contrive to keep a horse for business or pleasure, but cannot afford 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 inac-
tivity, he is ridden far and fast, he is almost sure to have inflammation of the
lungs or of the feet.

A gentleman 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, Nothing of extraordinary or even
of ordinary labour can be effected on the road or in the field without 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
FOOD. 463

irregular and injurious. It is dependent upon the caprice of him who is per-
forming a task, and who will render that task subservient to his own pleasure
or purpose.

In training the hunter and the race-horse, regular exercise is the most im-
portant of all considerations, however it may be forgotten in the usual manage-
ment of the stable. The exercised horse will discharge his task, and sometimes
a severe one, with ease and pleasure ; while the idle and neglected one will be
fatigued er@ half his labour is accomplished, and, if he is pushed a little too
far, dangerous inflammation will ensue. How often, nevertheless, does it
happen, that the horse which has stood inactive in the stable three or four days,
is ridden or driven thirty or forty miles in the course of a single day! This
rest is often purposely given to prepare for extra-exertion ;—to lay in a stock of
strength for the performance of the task required of him: and then the owner
is surprised and dissatisfied if the animal is fairly knocked up, or possibly be-
comes seriously ill, Nothing is so common and so preposterous, as for a person
to buy a horse 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, and think that he has been imposed upon, if the
animal is exhausted 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 disposition 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 in cool. If the
owner would seldom intrust his horse to boys, and would insist on the exercise
being taken within sight, or in the neighbourhood 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 concerns, aud he may depend on it that he
suffers when he neglects, or is in a manner excluded from, his stables.

FOOD.

The system of manger-feeding is becoming general among farmers. There
are few horses that do not habitually waste a portion of their hay ; and by some
the greater part is pulled down and trampled under foot, in order first to cull
the sweetest and best locks, and which could not be done while the hay was
inclosed in the rack. A good feeder will afterwards pick up much of that
which was thrown down ; but some of it must be soiled and rendered disgusting,
and, in many cases, one-third of this division of their food is wasted. Some of
the oats and beans are imperfectly chewed by all horses, and scarcely at all by
hungry and greedy ones. The appearance of the dung will sufficiently evince this.

The observation of this induced the adoption of manger-feeding, or of mixing
a portion of chaff with the corn and beans. By this means the animal is
compelled to chew his food ; he cannot, to any great degree, waste the straw or
hay; the chaff is too hard and too sharp to be swallowed without considerable
mastication, and, while he is forced to grind that down, the oats and beans are
ground with it, and yield more nourishment ; the stomach is more slowly filled,
and therefore acts better on its contents, and is not so likely to be overloaded ;
and the increased quantity of saliva thrown out in the lengthened maceration
of the food, softens it, and makes it more fit for digestion.
464 FOOD.

Professor Stewart very properly remarks that “ many horses swallow their |

corn in great haste, and when much is eaten, that habit is exceedingly dan-
gerous. The stomach is filled—it is overloaded before it has time to make
preparation for acting on its contents—the food ferments, and painful or dan-
gerous colic ensues. By adding chaff to his corn, the horse must take more
time to eat it, and time is given for the commencement of digestion, before
fermentation can occur. In this way chaff is very useful, especially after
long fasts*.” is

If, when considerable provender was wasted, the horse maintained his condi~
tion, and was able to do his work, it was evident that much might be saved to
the farmer, when he adopted a system by which the horse ate all that was set
before him; and by degrees it was found out that, even food somewhat less
nutritious, but a great deal cheaper, and which the horse either would not eat,
or would not properly grind down in its natural state, might be added, while the
animal would be in quite as good plight, and always ready for work.

Chaff may be composed of equal quantities of clover or meadow hay, and
wheaten, oaten, or barley straw, cut into pieces of a quarter or half an inch in
length, and mingled well together ; the allowance of oats or beans is afterwards
added, and mixed with the chaff. Many farmers very properly bruise the oats
or beans. The whole oat is apt to slip out of the chaff and be lost ; but when
it is bruised, and especially if the chaff is a little wetted, it will not readily
separate ; or, should a portion of it escape the grinders, it will be partly prepared
for digestion by the act of bruising. The prejudice against bruising the oats is,
so far as the farmer’s horse, and the waggon horse, and every horse of slow
draught, are concerned, altogether unfounded. The quantity of straw in the chaff
will always counteract any supposed purgative quality in the bruised oats. Horses
of quicker draught, except they are naturally disposed to scour, will thrive better
with bruised than with whole oats ; for a greater quantity of nutriment will be
extracted from the food, and it will always be easy to apportion .the quantity of
straw or beans to the effect of the mixture on the bowels of the horse. The
principal alteration that should be made in the horse of harder and more rapid
work, such as the post-horse, and the stage-coach horse, is to increase the
quantity of hay, and diminish that of straw. Two trusses of hay may be cut
with one of straw.

Some gentlemen, in defiance of the prejudice and opposition of the coachman
or the groom, have introduced this mode of feeding into the stables of their
earriage horses and hackneys, and with manifest advantage. There has been no
loss of condition or power, and considerable saving of provender, This system
is not, however, calculated for the hunter or the race-horse. Their food must
lie in smaller bulk, in order that the action of the lungs may not be impeded by
the distension of the stomach; yet many hunters have gone well over the field
who have been manger-fed, the proportion of corn, however, being materially
increased.

For the agricultural and cart horse, cight pounds of oats and two of beans
should be added to every twenty pounds of chaff. Thirty-four or thirty-six
pounds of the mixture will be sufficient for any moderate-sized horse, with fair,
or even hard work. The dray and waggon horse may require forty pounds.
Hay in the rack at night is, in this case, supposed to omitted altogether. The
rack, however, may remain, as occasionally useful for the sick horse, or to
contain tares or other green meat.

Horses are very fond of this provender. The majority of them, after having
been accustomed to it, will leave the best oats given to them alone, for the sake

 

* Stewart’s Stable Economy, p. 225,
FOOD, 465

of the mingled chaff and com. We would, however, caution the farmer not
to set apart too much damaged hay for the manufacture of the chaff. The
horse may be thus induced to eat that which he would otherwise refuse ; but if
the nourishing property of the hay has been impaired, or it has acquired an
injurious principle, the animal will either lose condition, or become diseased,
Much more injury is done by eating damaged hay or musty oats than is generally
imagined. There will be sufficient saving in the diminished cost of the pro-
vender by the introduction of the straw, and the improved condition of the
horse, without poisoning him with the refuse of the farm. For old horses, aud
for those with defective teeth, chaff is peculiarly useful, and for them the grain
should be broken down as well as the fodder.

While the mixture of chaff with the corn prevents it from being too
rapidly devoured and a portion of it swallowed whole, and therefore the stomach
is not too loaded with that on which, as containing the most nutriment, its chief
digestive power should be exerted, yet, on the whole, a great deal of time is
gained by this mode of feeding, and more is left for rest. When a horse comes
in wearied at the close of the day, it occupies, after he has eaten his corn, two
or three hours to clear his rack. On the system of manger-feeding, the chaff
being already cut into small pieces, and the beans and oats bruised, he is able
fully to satisfy his appetite in an hour and a half. Two additional hours are
therefore devoted to rest. This is a circumstance deserving of much considera-
tion even in the farmer's stable, and of immense consequence to the postmaster,
the stage-coach proprietor, and the owner of every hard-worked horse.

Manger food will be the usual support of the farmer's horse during the winter,
and while at constant or occasional hard work; but from the middle of
April to the end of July, he may be fed with this mixture in the day and turned
out at night, or he may remain out during every rest-day. A team in con-
stant employ should not, however, be suffered to be out at at night after the end
of July.

The farmer should take care that the pasture is thick and good ; and that the
distance from the yard is not too great, or the fields too large, otherwise a very
considerable portion of time will be occupied in catching the horses in the
morning. He will likewise have to take into consideration the sale he would
have for his hay, and the necessity for sweet and untrodden pasture for his cattle.
On the whole, however, turning out in this way, when circumstances will admit
of it, will be found to be more beneficial for the horse, and cheaper than soiling
in the yard*.

The horse of the inferior farmer is sometimes fed on hay or grass alone, and

 

* Professor Stewart thus sums up the ‘““Chaff is more easily eaten thanhay. This

comparative advantages of chaff and racked
feeding :—

“Where the stablemen are careful, waste
of fodder is diminished, but not prevented, by
feeding from the manger.

“ Where the racks are good, careful stable-
men may prevent nearly all waste of fodder
without cutting it.

“An accurate distribution of the fodder is
not a very important object.

“No horse seems to like his corn the better
for being mingled with chaff.

“Among half-starved horses chaff-cutting
promotes the consumption of damaged fodder.

‘‘ Full-fed horses, rather than eat the mix-
ture of sound with unsound, will reject the
whole, or eat less than their work demands.

is an advantage to old horses and others work-
ing all day—a disadvantage when the horses
stand long in the stable.

“ Chaff insures complete mastication and de-
liberate digestion of the corn. It is of con-
siderable, and of most importance in this
respect. All the fodder needs not to be
mingled with the corn, one pound of chatt
being sufficient to secure the mastication and
slow ingestion of four pounds of corn.

“The cost of cutting all the fodder, especially
for heavy horses, is repaid only when hay is
dear, and wasted in large quantities.

** Among hard-working horses bad food
should never be eut."—Stewart’s Stablo
Economy, p. 225.
466 FOOD.

the animal, although he rarely gets a feed of corn, maintains himself in toler-
able condition, and does the work that is required of him: but hay and grassy 5 +
alone, however good in quality, or in whatever quantity allowed, will not
support a horse under hard work. Other substances containing a larger pro~
portion of nutriment in a smaller compass, have been added. They shall be
briefly enumerated, and an estimate formed of their comparative value.

in almost every part of Great Britain, Oars have been selected as that por-
tion of the food which is to afford the principal nourishment. They contain seven
hundred and forty-three parts out of a thousand of nutritive matter. They
should be about or somewhat less than a year old, heavy, dry, and sweet,
New oats will weigh ten or fifteen per cent. more than old ones; but the
difference consists principally in watery matter, which is gradually evaporated.
New oats are not so readily ground down by the teeth as old ones. They
form a more glutinous mass, difficult to digest, and, when eaten in considerable
quantities, are apt to occasion colic and even staggers. If they are to be used
before they are from three to five months old, they would be materially im-
proved by a little kiln-drying. There is no fear for the horses from simple
drying, if the corn was good when it was put in the kiln. The old oat forms,
when chewed, a smooth and uniform mass, which readily dissolves in the
stomach, and yields the nourishment which it contains. Perhaps some che-
mical change may have been slowly effected in the old oat, disposing it to be
more readily assimilated. Oats should be plump, bright in colour, and free
from unpleasant smell or taste. The musty smell of wetted or damaged corn
is produced by a fungus which grows upon the seed, and which has an injurious
effect on the urinary organs, and often on the intestines, producing profuse
staling, inflammation of the kidneys, colic, and inflammation of the bowels.

This musty smell is removed by kiln-drying the oat ; but care is here requi-
site that too great a degree of heat is not employed. It should be sufficient to
destroy the fungus without injuring the life of the seed. Many persons, but
without just cause, have considerable fear of the kiln-burnt oat. It is said to
produce inflammation of the bladder, and of the eyes, and mangy affec-
tions of the skin. The fact is, that many of the kiln-dried oats that are
given to horses were damaged before they were dried, and thus became
unhealthy. A considerable improvement would be effected, by cutting the
unthreshed oat-straw into chaff, and the expense of threshing would be saved.
Oat-straw is better than that of barley, but does not contain so much nutriment
as that of wheat.

When the horse is fed on hay and oats, the quantity of the oats must vary
with his size and the work to be performed. In winter, four feeds, or from
ten to fourteen pounds of oats in the day, will be a fair allowance for a horse of
fifteen hands one or two inches high, and that has moderate work. In sum-
mer, half the quantity, with green food, will be sufficient. Those who work
on the farm have from ten to fourteen pounds, and the hunter from twelve to
sixteen. There are no efficient and safe substitutes for good oats; but, on the
contrary, we are much inclined to believe that they possess an invigorating pro-
perty which is not found in other food.

Oatmeal will form a poultice more stimulating than one composed of linseed
meal alone—or they may be mingled in different proportions: as circum-
stances require. In the form of gruel it constitutes one of the most important
articles of diet for the sick horse—not, indeed, forced upon him, but a pail
containing it being slung in his box, and of which he will soon begin to drink
when water is denied. Few grooms make good gruel; it is cither not
boiled long enough, or a sufficient quantity of oatmeal has not been
used. The proportions should be, a pound of meal thrown into a
FOOD. 467

gallon of water, and kept constantly stirred until it boils, and five minutes
afterwards.

White-water, made by stirring a pint of oatmeal in a pail of water, the
chill being taken from it, is an excellent beverage for the thirsty and tired horse.

Bantey is a common food of the horse on various parts of the Continent, and
until the introduction of the oat, seems to have constituted almost his only food.
It is more nutritious than oats, containing nine hundred and twenty parts of
nutritive matter in every thousand. There seems, however, to be something
necessary besides a great proportion of nutritive matter, in order to render any
substance wholesome, strengthening, or fattening ; therefore it is that, in many
horses that are hardly worked, and, indeed, in horses generally, barley does not
agree with them so well as oats. They are occasionally subject to inflammatory
complaints, and particularly to surfeit and mange.

When barley is given, the quantity should not exceed a peck daily. It
should always be bruised, and the chaff should consist of equal quantities of hay
and barley-straw, and not cut too short. If the farmer has a quantity of
spotted or unsaleable barley that he wishes thus to get rid of, he must very
gradually accustom his horses to it, or he will probably produce serious illness
among them. For horses that are recovering from illness, barley, in the form
of malt, is often serviceable, as tempting the appetite and recruiting the
strength. It is best given in mashes—water, considerably below the boiling
heat, being poured upon it, and the vessel or pail kept covered for half an hour.

Grains fresh from the mash-tub, either alone, or mixed with oats or chaff, or
both, may be occasionally given to horses of slow draught; they would,
however, afford very insufficient nourishment for horses of quicker or harder
work.

Wuaeat is, in Great Britain, more rarely given than barley. It contains nine
hundred and fifty-five parts of nutritive matter. When farmers have a da-
maged or unmarketable sample of wheat, they sometimes give it to their horses,
and, being at first used in small quantities, they become accustomed to it, and
thrive and work well: it must, however, always be bruised and given in
chaff, Wheat contains a greater portion of gluten, or sticky adhesive matter,
than any other kind of grain. It is difficult of digestion, and apt to cake and
form obstructions in the bowels. This will oftener be the case if the horse is
suffered to drink much water soon after feeding upon wheat.

Fermentation, colic, and death, are occasionally the consequence of eating any
great quantity of wheat. A horse that is fed on wheat should have very little
hay. The proportion should not be more than one truss of hay to two of
straw. Wheaten flour, boiled in water to the thickness of starch, is given with
good effect in over-purging, and especially if combined with chalk and opium.

Bran, or the ground husk of the wheat, used to be frequently given to sick
horses on account of the supposed advantage derived from its relaxing the
bowels. There is no doubt that it does operate gently on the intestinal canal,
and assists in quickening the passage of its contents, when it is occasionally
given; but it must not be a constant, or even frequent food. Mr. Ernes
attended three mills at which many horses were kept, and there were always
two or three cases of indigestion from the accumulation of bran or pollard in
the large intestines. Bran may, however, be useful as an occasional aperient in
the form of a mash, but never should become a regular article of food.

Brane.—These form a striking illustration of the principle, that the
hourishing or strengthening effects of the different articles of food depend
more on some peculiar property which they possess, or some combination which
they form, than on the actual quantity of nutritive matter. Beans contain but
five hundred and seventy parts of nutritive matter, yet they add materially to

HR 2
°

468 FOOD

There are many horses that will not stand hard
work without beans being mingled with their food, and these not horses whose
tendency to purge it may be necessary to restrain by the astringency of the
bean. There is no traveller who is not aware of the difference in the spirit and
continuance of his horse whether he allows or denies him beans on his journey.
They afford not merely a temporary stimulus, but they may be daily used
without losing their power, or producing exhaustion. They are indispensable
to the hard-worked coach horse. Washy horses could never get through
their work without them; and old horses would often sink under the
task imposed upon them. They should not be given to the horses whole or
split, but crushed. This will make a material difference in the quantity of
nutriment that will be extracted. They are sometimes given to turf horses,
but only as an occasional stimulant. Two pounds of beans may, with advantage,
be mixed with the chaff of the agricultural horse, during the winter. In summer
the quantity of beans should be lessened, orthey should bealtogether discontinued.
Beans are generally given whole. This is very absurd ; for the young horse,
whose teeth are strong, seldom requires them; while the old horse, to whom
they are in a manner necessary, is scarcely able to masticate them, swallows
many of them whole which he is unable to break, and drops much corn from
his mouth in the ineffectual attempt to crush them. Beans should not be
merely split, but crushed ; they will even then give sufficient employment to
the grinders of che animal. Some postmasters use chaff with beans instead of
oats. With hardly-worked horses they may possibly be allowed; but, in
general cases, beans, without oats, would be too binding and stimulating, and
would produce costiveness, and probably megrims or staggers.

Beans should be at least a twelvemonth old before they are given to the
horse, and they should be carefully preserved from damp and mouldi-
ness, which at least disgust the horse if they do no other harm, and harbour
an insect that destroys the inner part of the bean.

The straw of the bean is nutritive and wholesome, and is usually given to
the horses, Its nutritive properties are supposed to be little inferior to those of
oats. The small and plump bean is generally the best.

Pas are occasionally given. ‘They appear to be in a slight degree more
nourishing than beans, and not so heating. They contain five hundred and
seventy-four parts of nutritive matter. For horses of slow work they may be
used ; but the quantity of chaff should be increased, and a few oats added.
They have not been found to answer with horses of quick draught. It is
essential that they should be crushed ; otherwise, on account of their globular
form, they are apt to escape from the teeth, and many are swallowed whole.
Exposed to warmth and moisture in the stomach, they swell considerably, and
may painfully and injuriously distend it. The peas that are given to horses
should be sound, and at least a twelvemonth old.

In some northern counties pea-meal is frequently used, not only as an
excellent food for the horse, but as a remedy for diabetes.

Linsgep is sometimes given to sick horses—raw, ground, and boiled.
supposed to be useful in cases of catarrh *-

the vigour of the horse.

It is

 

* «(My, Black, veterinary surgeon of the
14th Dragoons, says that sugar was tried as
an article of food during the Peninsular War.
Ten horses were selected, each of which
got 8 lbs. a day at four rations. They
took it very readily, and their couts be-
came fine, smooth, and glossy. They got
no corn, and only 71bs. of hay, instead of
the ordinary allowance, which is 12lb. Tho

sugar seemed to supply the place of the corn 60
well, that it would have been probably given
abroad ; but peace came, and the circumstances
that rendered the uce of sugar for corn de-

sirable ceased, and the horses returned to their * °

usual diet. That the sugar might not be ap-
propriated to other purposes it was slightly
scented with assafwtida, which did not pro-
duce any apparent effect upon them,”
Foop. 469

Herbage, green and dry, constitutes a principal part of the food of the horse,
There are few things with regard to which the farmer is so careless as the mix-
ture of grasses on both his upland and meadow pasture. Hence we find, in the
same field, the ray-grass, coming to perfection only in a loamy soil, not fit to cut
until the middle or latter part of July, and yielding little aftermath; the
meadow fox-tail, best cultivated in a clayey soil, fit for the scythe in the begin-
ning of June, and yielding a plentiful aftermath ; the glaucous fescue-grass,
ready at the middle of June, and rapidly deteriorating i in value as its seeds ripen ;
and the fertile meadow-grass, increasing in value until the end of July. These
are circumstances the importance of which will, at no distant period, be recog-
nised. In the mean time, Sinclair’s account of ‘the different grasses, or the con-
densation of the most important part of his work in Sir Humphry Davy’s Agri-
cultural Chemistry, or Low's Elements of Practical Agriculture, are well
deserving of the diligent perusal of the farmer.

Hay is most in perfection when it is about atwelvemonth old. The horse
perhaps would prefer it earlier, but it is neither so wholesome, nor so nutritive,
and often has a purgative quality. When it is about a year old, it retains or
should retain somewhat of its green colour, its agreeable smell and its pleasant
taste. It has undergone the slow process of fermentation, by which the sugar
which it contains is developed, and its nutritive quality is fully exercised. Old
hay becomes dry and tasteless, and innutritive and unwholesome. After the
grass is cut, and the hay stacked, a slight degree of fermentation takes place in
it. This is necessary for the development of the saccharine principle ; but occa-
sionally it proceeds too far and the hay becomes mowburnt, in which state
it is injurious, or even poisonous. The horse soon shows the effect which
it has upon him. He has diabetes to a considerable degree—he becomes
hidebound—his strength is wasted—his thirst is excessive, and he is almost
worthless.

Where the system of manger-feeding is not adopted, or where hay is still
allowed at night, and chaff and corn in the day, there is no error into which
the farmer is so apt to fall as to give an undue quantity of hay, and that
generally of the worst kind. If the manger system is good, there can be no
necessity for hay, or only for a small quantity of it; but if the rack is over-
loaded, the greedy horse will be eating all night, instead of taking his rest—
when the time for the morning feed arrives, his stomach will be already filled,
and he will be less capable of work from’the want of sleep, and from the long-
continued distension of the stomach rendering it impossible for the food to be
properly digested.

It is a good practice to sprinkle the hay with water in which salt has been
dissolved. It is evidently more palateable to the animal, who will leave the
best unsalted hay for that of an inferior quality that has been moistened with
brine ; and there can be no doubt that the salt very materially assists the pro-
cess of digestion. The preferable way of salting the hay is to sprinkle it over
the different layers as the rick is formed, From its attraction for water, it
would combine with that excess of moisture which, in wet seasons, is the
cause of too rapid and violent fermentation, and of the hay becoming mow-
bumt, or the rick catching fire, and it would become more incorporated with
the hay. The only objection to its being thus used is, that the colour of
the hay is not so bright; but this will be of little consequence for home
consumption.

Of the value of Tarzs, as forming a portion of the late spring and summer
food of the stabled and agricultural horse, there can be no doubt. They are
cut after the pods are formed, but a considerable time before the seeds are ripe.
They supply a larger quantity of food for a limited time than almost any other
470 FOCD.

torage-crop. The vicia sativa is the most profitable variety of the tare. It
is very nutritive, and acts as a gentle aperient. When surfeit-lumps
appear on the skin, and the horse begins to rub himself against the divisions of
the stall, and the legs swell, and the heels threaten to crack, a few tares, cut up
with the chaff, or given instead of a portion of the hay, will afford considerable
relief Ten or twelve pounds may be allowed daily, and half that weight of hay
subtracted. It is an erroneous notion, that, given in moderate quantities, they
either roughen the coat or lessen the capability for hard work.

Rys Grass affords a valuable article of food, but is inferior to the tare. It
is not so nutritive. It is apt to scour and, occasionally, and late in the spring, it
has appeared to be injurious to the horse.

Cuover, for soiling the horse, is inferior to the tare and the rye grass, but
nevertheless, is useful when they cannot be obtained. Clover hay is, perhaps,
preferable to meadow hay for chaff. It will sometimes tempt the sick horse, and
may be given with advantage to those of slow and heavy work ; but custom seems
properly to have forbidden it to the hunter and the hackney.

Lucern, where it can be obtained, is preferable even to tares, and saIn-¥FoIN
is superior to lucern. Although they contain but a small quantity of nutritive
matter, it is easily digested, and perfectly assimilated. They speedily put both
muscle and fat on the horse that is worn down by labour, and they are almost a
specific for hide-bound. Some farmers have thought so highly of lucern as to sub-
stitute it for oats. This may be allowable for the agricultural horse of slow
and not severe work, but he from whom speedier action is sometimes required,
and the horse of all work, must have a proportion of hard meat within him.

Tue Swevise Turnip is an article of food the value of which has not been
sufficiently appreciated, and particularly for agricultural horses, Although it is
far from containing the quantity of nutritive matter which has been supposed,
that which it has seems to be capable of easy and complete digestion. It
should be sliced with chopped straw, and without hay. It quickly fattens the
horse, and produces a smooth glossy coat and a loose skin. It will be good prac-
tice to give it once in the day, and that at night when the work is done.

Carrots.—The virtues of this root are not sufficiently known, whether as
contributing to the strength and endurance of the sound horse, or the rapid
recovery of the sick one. To the healthy horse they should be given sliced in
his chaff. Half bushel will be a fair daily allowance. There is little pro-
vender of which the horse is fonder. The following account of the value of
the carrot is not exaggerated. “This root is held in much esteem. There is none
better, nor perhaps so good. When first given it is slightly diuretic and laxative;
but as the horse becomes accustomed to it these effects cease to be produced.
They also improve the state of the skin. They form a good substitute for
grass, and an excellent alterative for horses out of condition. To sick and idle
horses they render corn unnecessary. They are beneficial in all chronic diseases
connected with breathing, and have a marked influence upon chronic cough and
broken wind. They are serviceable in diseases of the skin, and in combination
with oats they restore a worn horse much sooner than oats alone*.”

Poraross have been given, and with advantage, in their raw state, sliced with
the chaff ; but, where it has been convenient to boil or steam them, the benefit
has been far more evident. Purging has then rarely ensued. Some have given
boiled potatoes alone, and horses, instead of rejecting them, have soon preferred
them even to the oat; but it is better to mix them with the usual manger feed,
in the proportion of one pound of potatoes to two and a half pounds of the other
ingredients. The use of the potato must depend on its cheapness, and the facility

* Stewart’s Stable Economy, p. 183.
FOOD. 471

for boiling it. Half a dozen horses would soon repay the expense of a steaming
boiler in the saving of provender, without taking into the account their improved
condition and capability for work*. A horse fed on potatoes should have his.
quantity of water materially curtailed.

Furze has sometimes been given during the winter months. There is con-
siderable trouble attending the preparation of it, although its plentifulness and
little value for other purposes would, on a large farm, well repay that trouble.
The furze is cut down at about three or four years’ growth ; the green branches
of that and the preceding year are bruised in a mill, and then given to the horses
in the state in which they come from the mill, or cut up with the chaff. Horses
are very fond of it. If twenty pounds of the furze are given, five pounds of
straw, the beans, and three pounds of the oats, may be withdrawn.

It may not be uninteresting to conclude this catalogue of the different articles
of horse-food with a list of the quantities of nutritive matter contained in each
of them; for although these quantities cannot be considered as expressing the
actual value of each, because other circumstances besides the simple quantity of
nutriment seem to influence their effect in supporting the strength and con-
dition of the horse, yet many a useful hint may be derived when the farmer
looks over the produce of his soil, and inquires what other grasses or vegetables
might suit his land. The list is partly taken from Sir Humphry Davy’s Agri-
cultural Chemistry :—1000 parts of wheat contain 955 parts of nutritive matter;
barley, 920; oats, 743; peas, 574; beans, 570; potatoes, 280; red beet, 148;
parsnips, 99; carrots, 98. Of the grasses, 1000 parts of the meadow cat’s-tail
contain, at the time of seeding, 98 parts of nutritive matter; narrow-leaved
meadow grass in seed, and sweet-scented soft grass in flower;95 ; narrow-leaved
and flat-stalked meadow grass in flower, fertile meadow grass in seed, and tall
fescue, in flower, 93; fertile meadow grass, meadow fescue, reed-like fescue,
and creeping soft grass in flower, 78; sweet-scented soft grass in flower, and the
aftermath, 77; fiorin, cut in the winter, 76; tall fescue, in the aftermath, and
meadow soft grass in flower, 74; cabbage, 73 ; crested dog’s-tail and brome when
flowering, 71; yellow oat, in flower, 66; Swedish turnips, 64; narrow-leaved
meadow grass, creeping beet, round-headed cocksfoot, and spiked fescue, 59;
roughish and fertile meadow grass, flowering, 56; fiorin, in summer, 54; com-
mon turnips, 42 ; sain-foin, and broad-leaved and long-rooted clover, 39 ; white
clover, 32; and lucern, 23.

The times of feeding should be as equally divided as convenience will permit ;
and when it is likely that the horse will be kept longer than usual from home,
the nose-bag should invariably be taken. The small stomach of the horse is
emptied in a few hours; and if he is suffered to remain hungry much beyond
his accustomed time, he will afterwards devour his food so voraciously as to
distend the stomach and endanger an attack of staggers. When this disease
appears in the farmer’s stable, he may attribute it to various causes ; the true
one, in the majority of instances, is irregularity in feeding. If the reader will
turn back to page 140, he will be convinced that this deserves more serious
attention than is generally given to it.

When extra work is required from the animal, the system of management is
often injudicious, for a double feed is put before him, and as soon as he has
swallowed it he is started. It would be far better to give him a double feed on
the previous evening, which would be digested before he is wanted, and then he
might set out in the morning after a very small portion of corn has been given to

 

* Professor Low says that 15lbs. of po- of hay; and Curwen, who tried potatoes ex-
tatoes yield as much nourishment as four tensively in the feeding of horses, says that an
Pounds and a-half of oats. Von Thayer acre goes as far as four acres of hay.
asserts that three bushels are equal to 112lbs,
472 FOOD.

him, or perhaps only a little hay. One of the most successful methods of
enabling a horse to get well through a long journey is to give him only a little
at a time while on the road, and at night to indulge him with a double feed of
corn and a full allowance of beans.

Waren. —This is a part of stable management little regarded by the farmer.
He lets his horses loose morning and night, and they go to the nearest pond or
brook and drink their fill, and no harm results, for they obtain that kind of
water which nature designed them to have, iu a manner prepared for them by
some unknown influence of the atmosphere, as well as by the deposition of
many saline admixtures. The difference between hard and soft water is known
to every one. In hard water soap will curdle, vegetables will not boil soft, and
the saccharine matter of the malt cannot be fully obtained in the process of
brewing. There is nothing in which the different effect of hard and soft water
is so evident as in the stomach and digestive organs of the horse. Hard water,
drawn fresh from the well, will assuredly make the coat of a horse unaccus-
tomed to it stare, and it will not unfrequently gripe and otherwise injure him,
Instinct or experience has made even the horse himself conscious of this, for he
will never drink hard water if he has access to soft, and he will leave the most
transparent and pure water of the well for a river, although the stream may be
turbid, and even for the muddiest pool *. He is injured, however, not so much
by the hardness of the well-water as by its coldness—particularly by its cold-
ness in summer, and when it is many degrees below the temperature of the
atmosphere. The water in the brook and the pond being warmed by long
exposure to the air, as well as having become soft, the horse drinks freely of it
without danger.

If the horse were watered three times a day, and especially in summer, he
would often be saved from the sad torture of thirst, and from many a disease.
Whoever has observed the eagerness with which the over-worked horse, hot
and tired, plunges his muzzle into the pail, and the difficulty of stopping him
until he has drained the last drop, may form some idea of what he had previ-
ously suffered, and will not wonder at the violent spasms, and inflammation, and
sudden death, that often result.

There is a prejudice in the minds of many persons against the horse being
fairly supplied with water. They think that it injures his wind, and disables
him for quick and hard work. If he is galloped, as he too often is, immediately
after drinking, his wind may be irreparably injured; but if he were oftener
suffered to satiate his thirst at the intervals of rest, he would be happier and
better. It is a fact unsuspected by those who have not carefully observed the
horse, that if he has frequent access to water he will not drink so much in the
course of the day, as another will do, who, to cool his parched mouth, swallows
as fast as he can, and knows not when to stop.

On a journey, a horse should be liberally supplied with water. When he is
a little cooled, two or three quarts may be given to him, and after that, his feed.
Before he has finished his corn two or three quarts more may be offered. He will
take no harm if this is repeated three or four times during a long and hot day.

It is a judicious rule with travellers, that when a horse begins to refuse his
food, he should be pushed no farther that day. It may, however, be worth
while to try whether this does not proceed from thirst, as much as from ex-
haustion, for in many instances his appetite and his spirits will return soon after
he has partaken of the refreshing draught.

 

* Some trainers have so much fear of hard has been accustomed to drink, and that which
or strange water, that they carry with them to they know agrees with it.
the different courses the water that the animal
THE SKIN AND ITS DISEASES. 473

MaNaGEMENT OF THE Feetr.—This is the only division of stable manage-
ment that remains to be considered, and one sadly neglected by the carter and
groom. The feet should be carefully examined every morning, for the shoes
may be loose and the horse would have been stopped in the middle of his work ;
or the clenches may be raised, and endanger the wounding of his legs; or the
shoe may begin to press upon the sole or the heel, and bruises of the sole, or corn,
may be the result ; and, the horse having stood so long in the stable, every little
increase of heat in the foot, or lameness, will be more readily detected, and
serious disease may often be prevented.

When the horse comes in at night, and after the harness has been taken off
and stowed away, the heels should be well brushed out. Hand-rubbing will be
preferable to washing, especially in the agricultural horse, whose heels, covered
with long hair, can scarcely be dried again. If the dirt is suffered to accumu-
late in that long hair, the heels will become sore, and grease will follow ; and if
the heels are washed, and particularly during the winter, grease will result from
the coldness occasioned by the slow evaporation of the moisture. The feet
should be stopped—even the feet of the farmer’s horse, if he remains in the
stable. Very little clay should be used in the stopping, for it will get hard and
press upon the sole. Cowdung is the best stopping to preserve the feet cool and
elastic ; but, before the stopping is applied, the picker should be run round the
whole of the foot, between the shoe and the sole, in order to detect any stone
that may have insinuated itself there, or a wound on any other part of the
sole. For the hackney and hunter, stopping is indispensable. After several
days’ hard work it will afford very great relief to take the shoes off, having put
plenty of litter under the horse, or to turn him, if possible, into a loose-box ;
and the shoes of every horse, whether hardly worked or not, should be removed
or changed once in every three weeks.

CHAPTER XXV.
THE SKIN AND ITS DISEASES.

————_

Tur skin of the horse resembles in construction that of other animals.
It consists of three layers, materially differing in their structure and office.
Externally is rae cuTicte,—the epidermis or scarf-skin—composed of innu-
merable thin transparent scales, and extending over the whole animal. If the
searf-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 beneath in the form of pellucid bladders, and, in some diseases, as in mange,
they are thrown off in hard, dry, white scales, numerous layers of which are
placed one above another. In every part of the body the scarf-skin is permeated
by innumerable pores, some of which permit the passage of the hair—through
others the perspirable matter finds a passage—others are perforated by tubes
through which various unctuous secretions make their escape, while, through a
fourth variety, numerous fluids and gases are inhaled. It is destitute of nerves
and blood-vessels, and its principal use seems to be to protect the cutis from
injury, and to restrain and moderate its occasional morbid sensibility. ;

There is at all times a singular change taking place in this outer covering of
the animal. There is a constant alteration and renewal of every part of it, but it
adheres to the true skin through the medium of the pores, and also numerous
474 THE SKIN AND ITS DISEASES.

little eminences, or projections, which seem to be prolongations of the nerves of
the skin, The cuticle is in itself insensible ; but one of its most important func-
tions is to protect and defend the parts beneath, which are so often exposed to
the effects of 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 con-
nected with the colour of the skin. In horses with white hair the rete muco-
sum is white ; it is brown in those of a brown colour—black in the black, and
in patches of different colours 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 when
remaved from the body, and binds together the different parts of the frame. In
some places it does this literally and 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 deficient, as the lips, the muzzle, and the inside
of the flanks. ;

Whatever is the colour of the rete mucosum, the true skin is of a pale
white, in fact, the cutis has no connection with the colour of the hair. Of its
general character, Mr. Percivall gives a very accurate description :—“ It ap-
pears to consist of a dense substratum of cellular tissue, with which are inter-
woven fibres of a ligamentous nature, in such a manner that innumerable areole,
like the meshes of a net, are formed in it. These areolew open, through corre-
spondent pores in the cuticle, upon the external surface, and are for the purpose
of transmitting thither blood-vessels and absorbents, giving passage to the hair,
and lodging the various secretory organs of the skin.”*

Over a great part of the frame lies a singular muscle peculiar to quadrupeds,
and more extensive and powerful in the thin-skinned and thin-haired animals,
than in those with thicker hides. It reaches from the poll over the whole of
the carcase, and down to the arm before, and the stifle behind. By its contrac-
tion the skin is puckered in every direction ; and if it acts strongly and rapidly,
the horse is not only enabled to shake of any insect or fly that may annoy him,
but sometimes to displace a great part of his harness, and to render it difficult
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 panniculus carnosus, or fleshy
panicle or covering.

The skin answers the double purpose of protection and 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
pasterns and the tendons of the legs, on which so much stress is frequently thrown,
are securely tied down and kept in their places. It is in order to take addi-
tional advantage of this binding and strengthening power that we fire the legs of
overworked horses, in whom the sinews have begun to start, and the ligaments
of the joints to swell, or be displaced. The skin is tight along the muscles of

 

* Percivall’s Anatomy of the Horse, p. 400.
THE SKIN AND ITS DISEASES, 475

the back and loins, and down the yet more powerful muscles of the quarters;
put in other places it is looscly attached, that it may not interfere with the mo-
tions of the animal. About the brisket, and within the arms and at the flanks,
it hangs even in folds.

Of its strength we have abundant proof, both in the living and dead animal.
Its fibres 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 powerful 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
quantity of this unctuous matter is spread over the surface of the skin, and is
contained inall the pores that penetrate its substance, and the skin becomes pliable,
easily raised from the texture beneath, and presenting that peculiar yielding
softness 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 oiliness and softness 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 oily secretion 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. This,
however, requires attentive consideration.

We observe a horse in the summer. We find him with a thin smooth glossy coat,
and his extremities clean and free almost from a single rough or misplaced hair.
We meet with him again towards the winter, when the thermometer has fallen
almost or quite to the freezing point, and we scarcely recognize him in his thick,
rough, coarse, colourless coat, and his legs enveloped in long shaggy hair. The
health of the horse is, to a certain degree, deranged. He is dull, languid, easily .
fatigued. He will break into a sweat with the slightest exertion, and it is almost
impossible thoroughly to dry him. He may perhaps feed as well as usual,
although that will not generally be the case, but he is not equal to the demands
which we are compelled to make upon him.

This process goes on for an uncertain time, depending on the constitution of
the animal, until nature has effected a change, and then he once more rallies:
but a great alteration has taken place in him—the hair has lost its soft and
glossy character, and is become dry and staring. The skin ceases to secrete that
peculiar unctuous matter which kept it soft and flexible, and becomes dry and
scaly ; and the exhalents on the surface, having become relaxed, are frequently
pouring out a profuse perspiration, without any apparent adequate cause for it.

So passes the approach to winter, and the owner complains sadly of the
appearance of his steed, and, according to the old custom, gives him plenty of
cordial balls,—perhaps too many of them,—on the whole not being unser-
viceable at this critical period, yet not productive of a great deal of good. At
length the animal rallies of himself, and although not so strong and full of
spirits as he ought to be, is hardier and more lively than he was, and able to
struggle with the cold of the coming winter.*

 

* Mr. E. Gabriel, V. S., on the Treatment of the Horse in Autumn.— Veterinarian,
vol, xiii, 627.
476 HIDE-BOUND.

What a desideratum in the management of the horse would be a course of
treatment that woull render all this unnecessary? This desideratum has been
found—a free escape of perspiration, a moist and softened state of the skin, an
evident increase of health and capability of enduring fatigue, and working on
shorter supply of food than he could before. This is said to be performed by
the clipping and singeing systems.

Mr. Thomas Turner, who was almost one of the earliest advocates of these
systems, states that during the months of October and November an inordinate
growth of hair is observed over the whole surface of the body, and in many
horses as early as the beginning of September, and almost invariably prevails,
more or less, in every horse that is not thorough-bred. The debilitating
effects thereby induced are profuse perspiration on the least possible exertion—
depression of the animal spirits, and temporary loss of appetite. The imme-
diate removal of all the superfluous hair by close clipping, instantly proves so
powerful a tonic to the animal, that he unhesitatingly affirms it to be inferior to
none at present known in our pharmacopeeia. Mr. Turner adds,—*‘ Now, signal
as the success of clipping has been, I do entertain a hope, and am of opinion
that, in the majority of instances, it may be superseded by singeing under cer-
tain modifications.*”

We may not, perhaps, be able satisfactorily to explain the apparently magical
effects of clipping and singeing on the general constitution, and particularly the
wind of the horse, or the respiratory functions generally, but there is no doubt
of their existence. An increased tone is given to the system generally ; and
probably, in some way not yet sufficiently developed, the increased current of
the electric fluid may have much to do with it.

Mr. Snewing gives an interesting account of the effect of clipping on two horses
in his establishment. He had a cob, with a fixed catarrh of several months’ stand-
ing. It did not interfere with the animal’s general ‘health, but was a source of
considerable annoyance. At length the owner determined to sell him ; but first he
had him clipped. After a few days his attention was drawn to the circumstance,
that either the horse’s cough must have left him, or, from repeatedly hearing it,
he had ceased to regard it. He watched the animal, and, truly enough, he
found that the cough had entirely disappeared. He rode him through the
wixter and the following summer, and there was no return of it.

The other instance was in a mare which he had after this one was sold. In
the months of August, September, and October, 1841, she was continually the
subject of intermittent cough. He had her clipped, and in a few days she
ceased to cough, and has not been heard to cough from that time.

HIDE-BOUND. ,

This isnot so much a diminution of the cellular or fatty substance between the
skin and the muscles beneath, as it is an alteration in the skin itself. It is a

 

* Veterinarian, vol. xiv., 18.

In justice, however to an excellent sports-
wan, Nimrod, we must quote another opinion,
and with that the subject shall be left to the
consideration of our readers, On the sub-
ject of clipping, I cannot agree with Mr.
Gabriel as to the call for it, much less admit
its almost universal adoption. I would clip
voad-coach horses, and a hunter that had
been summered entirely at grass, despairing of
condition ou any other terms. It is a mere
substitute for good grooming. As for its
aliaost universal adoption, such is far from

being the case. I did not see three clipped
horses last year (1840); at Melton, in the
Quorn stables not one, nor in Mr. Foljambe’s.
Singed ones I did see to a certain extent; but
a hardy-riding Meltonian told me that he
would have no more spirits of wine charged in
his groom’s book. ‘A mere substitute,’
said he, ‘in my stable for the old-fashioned
elbow-grease.’ In my opinion the horse is
not yet foaled which cannot be got into per-
fect condition without this outrage on nature.”
—The Veterinarian, vo) xiv. p. 35.
HIDE-BOUND. 477

hardness and unyieldingness of the skin from the want of the oily matter on its
surface and in its substance. It is the difference that is presented to the
feeling by well curried and supple leather, and that which has become dry and
unyielding.

The surface of the skin becoming dry and hard, the scales of the cuticle are
no longer penetrated by the hair, but, separating themselves in every direction,
give that peculiar roughness to the coat which accompanies want of condi-
tion, It betokens impaired function of the vessels everywhere, and particularly
those of the stomach and bowels. Hide-bound is not so much a disease as a
symptom of disease, and particularly of the digestive organs; and our remedies
must be applied not so much to the skin—although we have, in friction and in
warmth, most valuable agents in producing a healthy condition of the integu-
ments—as to the cause of the hide-bound, and the state of the constitution
generally. Every disease that can affect the general system may produce this
derangement of the functions of the skin. Glanders, when become constitu-
tional, is strongly indicated by the unthrifty appearance of the coat. Chronic
cough, grease, farcy, and founder, are accompanied by hide-bound ; and diet too
sparing, and not adequate to the work exacted, is an unfailing source of it. If
the cause is removed, the effect will cease.

Should the cause be obscure, as it frequently is—should the horse wear an
unthrifty coat, and his hide cling to his ribs, without any apparent disease, we
shall generally be warranted in tracing it to sympathy with the actual, although
not demonstrable, suspension of some important secretion or function, either of
the alimentary canal, or the respiratory functions. A few mashes, anda mild
dose of physic, are first indicated, and, simple as they appear to be, they often
have a very beneficial effect. The regular action of the bowels being re-es-
tablished, that of all the organs of the frame will speedily follow. If the horse
cannot be spared for physic, alteratives may be administered. There is no bet-
ter alterative for hide~-bound and an unthrifty coat, than that which is in com-
mon use, levigated antimony, nitre, and sulphur. The peculiar effect of the
antimony and sulphur, and electric influence on the skin, with that of the
sulphur on the bowels, and of the nitre on the urinary organs, will be here
advantageously combined.

Should the horse not feed well, and there is no indication of fever, a slight
tonic may be added, as gentian, or ginger; but in the majority of cases at-
tended by loss of condition, and an unthrifty coat, and hide-bound, tonics and
aromatics should be carefully avoided.

The cause of the impaired action of the vessels being removed, the powers of
nature will generally be sufficient, and had better be left to themselves. There are
not any more dangerous medicines in common use in the stable, and especially in
cases like these, than tonics and cordials. They often arouse to fatal action a
tendency to fever that would otherwise have slept, or they produce a state of
excitement near akin to fever and apt to degenerate into it. By the stimulus
of a cordial the secretions may be suddenly roused, and among them, this
unctuous secretion from the pores of the skin, so necessary to apparent condi-
tion ; but the effect soon passes over, and a repetition of the stimulus is neces-
sary—the habit is soon formed—the dose must be gradually increased, and in
the mean time the animal is kept in a state of dangerous excitement, by which
the powers of nature must be eventually impaired.

Friction may be employed with advantage in the removal of hide-bound. It
has repeatedly been shown that this is one of the most efficacious instruments we
can use to call into exercise the suspended energies either of the absorbent or
secreting vessels. Warmth may likewise be had recourse to—not warnuth of stable,
which has been shown to be so iniurious, but warmth arising from exercise, and
478 MOULTING.

the salutary, although inexplicable, influence of clipping and singeing. Before
this can be fully considered, the hair by which the skin is covered must be
described.

The base of the bulb whence the hair proceeds being beneath the true skin,
it is easy to perceive that the hair will grow again, although the cuticle may
have been destroyed. A good blister, although it may remove the cuticle, and
seemingly for a while the hair with it, leaves no lasting trace. Even firing,
lightly and skilfully performed, and not penetrating through the skin, leaves
not much blemish ; but when, in broken knees, the true skin is cut through, or
destroyed, there will always remain a spot devoid of hair. The method of
hastening and perfecting the re-production of the hair has been described
in p. 339.

PORES OF THE SKIN.

Besides the openings already mentioned through which proceeds the unctuous
fluid that supplies 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 exer-
cise, or labours 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 clo-
thing seems occasionally to effect it, but this is more in appearance than reality.
The insensible perspiration cannot escape through the mass of clothing, and
assumes a visible form. This, perhaps, is the case when sheep-skins are
applied over the back and loins in “locked jaw.” They produce a good
effect, acting as a warm poultice over the part, and so contributing to relax the
muscular spasms. There are, however, a few medicines, as antimony and
sulphur, that have an evident and very considerable effect on the skin in open-
ing its pores and exciting its vessels to action.

Of the existence of absorbent vessels on the skin, or those which take up
some fluid or substance, and convey it into the circulation, we have satisfactory
proof. A horse is even more easily salivated than the human being. Salivation
has been produced by rubbing a splint with mercurial ointment, previous to
blistering ; and a very few drachms rubbed on the inside of the thighs will-
probably produce a greater effect than the practitioner desires.

From some parts of the skin there are peculiar secretions, as that of grease in
the heel, and mallenders in the knee.

MOULTING.

Twice in the year the hair of the body of the horse is changed. The short,
fine coat of summer would afford little protection against the winter, and that of
the winter would be oppressive to the animal, if it appeared during the summer.
The hair of the mane and tail remains, The bulbous root of the hair does not
die, but the pulpy matter seems to be removed from the root of the hair, which,
thus deprived of its nourishment, perishes and drops off, and a new hair springs
at its side from the same bulb. The hair which is produced in the autumn,
is evidently different from that which grows in the spring; it is coarser, thicker,
and not so glossy as the other. As moulting is a process extending over the
whole of the skin, and requiring a very considerable expenditure of vital
power, the health of the animal is generally affected at these times. That
energy and nervous and vital influence, which should support the whole of
COLOUR. 479

the frame, is to a great degree determined tothe skin, andthe animal is languid,
and unequal to much hard work. He perspires greatly with the least unusual
exertion, and if he is pressed beyond his strength becomes seriously ill.

The treatment which the groom in this case adopts is most absurd and
dangerous. The horse, from the deranged distribution of vital power, is
disposed to fever, or he labours under a slight degree of fever, sufficiently in-
dicated by the increased quickness of pulse, redness of nose, and heat of mouth.
The lassitude and want of appetite which are the accompaniments of this
febrile state, are mistaken for debility ; and cordials of various kinds, some of
them exceedingly stimulating, are unsparingly administered. At length,
with regard to the hunter, the racer, and even in the hackney and the carriage
horse, the scissors or the lamp are introduced, and a new method is estab-
lished of guarding against this periodical debility, setting at defiance the
occasional exposure to cold, and establishing a degree of health and strength
previously unknown, Friction may be allowed, to assist the falling off of the
old hair, and to loosen the cuticle for the appearance of the new hair, but it is
somewhat more gently applied than it used to be. The currycomb is in a
great measure banished, and even the brush is not applied too hard or too long.
The old hair is not forced off before the young hair is ready to take its place.

Nature adapts the coat to the climate and to the season. The Sheltie has
one as long and thick as that of a bear; and, as the summer is short and cold
in those northern islands, the coat is rough and shaggy during the whole of the
year. In the southern parts of our country the short and light and glossy coat of
summer gradually yields to the close and heavy, and warm clothing of winter.
In the deserts of Arabia, where the winter is rarely cold, the coat remains
short and glossy throughout the year. These are wise and kind provisions of
nature, and excite our admiration.

COLOUR.

The colour of the hair admits of every variety, and each colour becomes in
turn fashionable. Like that of the skin, it is influenced by, or depends on,
the mucous mesh-work under the cuticle. There are comparatively few per-
fectly white horses now remaining. The snow-white palfrey, with its round
carcass, and barb head, originally from Spain, or perhaps from Barbary, and
rarely exceeding the size of a galloway, is nearly extinct. Some however yet
remain in the possession of the Duke of Montrose. They are of good consti-
tution and pleasant in their paces. The majority of white horses are those
that have become so. Light-grey colts begin to grow white before they
are five years old, especially if they have not much dark mixture about
the joints. .

Grey horses are of different shades, from the lightest silver to a dark iron-
grey. The silver-grey reminds the observer of the palfrey, improved by an
admixture of Arab blood. He does not often exceed fourteen hands and a half
in height, and is round carcassed—thin-legged—with oblique pasterns, calcu-
lated for a light carriage, or for a lady’s riding—seldom subject to disease—but
not very fleet, or capable of hard work.

The iron-grey is usually a larger horse; higher in the withers, deeper and
‘thinner in the carcass, more angular in all his proportions, and in many cases a
little too long in the legs. Some of these greys make good hackneys and
‘hunters, and especially the Irish horses ; but they are principally used for the
carriage. They have more endurance than the flatness of their chest would
promise; but their principal defect is their feet, which are liable to contrac-
tion, and yet that contraction not so often accompanied by lameness as in many
‘other horses,
480 COLOUR.
The dappled grey is generally a handsomer and a better horse. All the angu-

Jar voints of the iron grey are filled up, and with that which not only adds to.

symmetry, but to use. Whether as a hackney, or, the larger variety, a carriage
horse, there are few better, especially since his form has been so materially.

improved, and so much of his heaviness got rid of, by the free use of foreign. |

blood. There are not, however, so many dappled greys as there used to be,
since the bays have been bred with so much care. The dappled grey, if dark
at first, generally retains his colour to old age.

Some of the greys approach to a nutmeg, or even bay colour. Many of these
are handsome, and most of them are hardy.

The roans, of every variety of colour and form, are composed of white mixed
with bay, or red, or black. In some it seems to be a natural mixture of the
colours; in others it appears as if one colour was powdered or sprinkled over
another. They are pretty horses for ladies or light carriages, and many of them
easy in their paces, but they do not usually display much blood, nor are they
celebrated for endurance. If they should have white fore legs, with white
hoofs, they are too often tender-footed, or become so with even a little hard
work.

The strawberry horse is a mixture of sorrel with white; usually handsome
and pleasant, but more celebrated for these qualities than for strength and
endurance.

The pied horse is one that has distinct spots or patches of different colours,
but generally of white with some other colour. They are not liked as hackneys,
on account of their peculiarity of colour, nor in teams of horses; but they look
well when tolerably matched in a phaeton or light carriage. Their value must
depend on their breed. Of themselves they have no peculiar character, except
that a white leg and foot is as suspicious in them as it is in the roan.

The dun, of the Galloway size, and with considerable blood, is often attached
to the curricle or the phaeton. The larger variety is a true farmer's or miller’s
horse, with no great speed or extraordinary strength, yet a good-tempered,
good-feeding, good-constitutioned, useful horse enough. Varieties of the dun,
shaded with a darker colour, or dappled, and with some breeding, and not
standing too high, are beautiful animals, and much sought after for light
carriages.

The cream-colour, of Hanoverian extraction, with his white iris and red
pupil, is appropriated to royal use. Attached to the state-carriage of the mon-
arch, he is a superb animal. His bulky, yet perfectly-formed body, his swell-
ing crest, and his proud and lofty action, as if conscious of his office, qualify
him for the service that is exacted from him, but we have little experience how
far he would suit other purposes.

Of the chestnuts there are three varieties—the pale red or the sorrel,
usually with some white, either on the face or the legs—generally lightly made,
yet some of them bulky enough for the heaviest loads. Their colour is gene-
rally objectionable, and they are supposed to be somewhat deficient in endurance.

The light chestnut, with less red and a little more bay or brown, is considered
a preferable animal, especially if he has little or no white about him; yet even
he, although pleasant to ride, is sometimes irritable, and generally weak. We
must except one variety, the Suffolk punch; a heavy horse, and adapted for
slow work, but perfect of his kind—whom no labour can daunt, no fatigue
overcome. This is a breed now, unfortunately, nearly extinct. The present
variety, however crossed, is not equal to the old Suffolk.

The dark chestnut is as different a horse from the hackney-like chestnut as
can be well imagined; round in the carcass; powerful in the quarters, but
rather fine in the legs possessed of great endurance, and with a constitution
COLOUR. 481

that rarely knows an ailment, except that the feet are small and disposed to.
contraction, and the horse is occasionally of a hot and unmanageable temper,

_ Of the bays, there are many varieties, and they include the very best of our
-horses of every description. The bright yellow bay, although very beautiful.
_and especially if his mane and tail are black, is the least valuable—the
"lightness of his colour seems to give him some tenderness of constitution. The

pure bay, with no white about him, and black from the knees and hocks to the
feet, is the most desirable of all, He has generally a good constitution, and
good feet ; and, if his conformation is not faulty, will turn out a valuable horse
for almost every purpose.

The bay-brown has not always so much show and action, but, generally,

more strength and endurance, and usefulness. He has greater substance than the
lighter bay, and more depth of leg ; and, if he had the same degree of breeding;
he would be as handsome, and more valuable.
: When, however, we arrive at the browns, it is necessary to examine the
degree of breeding. This colour is not so fashionable, and therefore these horses
have been considerably neglected. There are many good ones, and those that
are good are valuable ; others, probably, are only a half or a quarter bred, and
therefore comparatively coarse, yet useful for the saddle and for harness—for
slow work, and, occasionally, for: that which is more rapid.

The black brown is generally more neglected so far as its breed is concerned,
and should be more carefully examined. It is valuable if it retains the
goodness of constitution of the brown and bay-brown.

Of the black, greater care has been taken. The heavy black of Lincolnshire
and the midland counties is a noble animal, and would be almost beyond price
if he could be rendered more active. The next in size constitute the majority of
our waggon-horses, and perhaps our best; and, on a smaller breed, and to
the improvement of which much attention has been devoted, many of our
cavalry are mounted. A few black thorough-bred horses and black hunters
are occasionally seen, but the improvement of horses of this colour has not been
studied, except for the purposes that have been mentioned. Their peculiar
high action, while not objectionable for draught, and desirable for the parade,
would be unbearable in the roadster. Black horses have been said to be more
subject to vice, discase, and blindness, than those of any other colour. This
charge is not true to its full extent ; but there certainly are a great many worth-
less black horses in every part of the country.

After all, there is an old saying, that a good horse caunot be of a bad colour;
and that it is far more necessary to attend to the conformation and points of the
animal than to hiscolour. The foregoing observations, however, although they
admit of many exceptions, may be useful in guiding to the judicious purchase
of the horse,

SURFEIT.

Large pimples or eruptions often appear suddenly on the skin of the horse, and
especially in the spring of the year. Occasionally they disappear as quickly as they
came. Sometimes they seem to be attended with great itching, but, at other
times, the annoyance is comparatively little. When these eruptions have re-
mained a few days, the cuticle frequently peels off, and a small scaly spot—
rarely a sore—is left. This is called a surfeit, from its resemblance to some
eruptions on the skin of the human being when indigestible or unwholesome
food has been taken. The surfeit is, in some cases, confined to the neck but
it oftener spreads over the sides, back, Joins, and quarters. The cause is enve-
loped in some obscurity. The discase most frequently appears when the skin
is irritable during or after the process of moulting, or when it sympathises

11
482 MANGE.

with any disorder of the stomach. It has been known to follow the eating of
‘poisonous herbs or mow-burnt hay, but, much oftener, it is to be traced to
exposure to cold when the skin was previously irritable and the horse heated by
exercise. It has also been attributed to the immoderate drinking of cold water
when the animal was hot. It is obstruction of some of the pores of the skin
and swelling of the surrounding substance, either from primary affection of the
skin, or a plethoric state of the system, or sympathy with the digestive organs.

The state of the patient will sufficiently guide the surgeon as to the course he
should pursue. If there is simple eruption, without any marked inflammatory
action, alteratives should be resorted to, and particularly those recommended
for hide-bound in page 476, They should be given on several successive nights.
The night is better than the morning, because the warmth of the stable will
cause the antimony and sulphur to act more powerfully on the skin. The
horse should be warmly clothed—half an hour's walking exercise should be
given, an additional rug being thrown over him—such green meat as can be pro-
cured should be used in moderate quantities, and the chill should be taken from
the water.

Should the eruption continue or assume a more virulent character, bleeding
and aloetic physie must be had recourse to, but neither should be carried to any
extreme. The physic having set, the alteratives should again be had recourse
to, and attention should be paid to the comfort and diet of the horse.

If the eruption, after several of these alternate appearances and disappear-
ances, should remain, and the cuticle and the hair begin extensively to peel off,
a worse affection is to be feared, for surfeit is too apt to precede, or degenerate
into, mange. ‘This disorder, therefore, must next be considered.

MANGE

Is a pimpled or vesicular eruption. After a while the vesicles break, or the
cuticle and the hair fall off, and there is, as in obstinate surfeit, a bare spot
covered with scurf—some fluid oozing from the skin beneath, and this changing
to ascab, which likewise soon peels off, and leaves a wider spot. This process
is attended by considerable itching and tenderness, and thickening of the skin,
which soon becomes more or less folded, or puckered. ‘The mange generally
first appears on the neck at the root of the mane, and its existence may be sus-
pected even before the blotches appear, and when there is only considerable itchi-
ness of the part, by the ease with which the short hair at the root of the mane
is plucked out. From the neck it spreads upward to the head, or downward
to the withers and back, and occasionally extends over the whole carcass of
the horse.

One cause of it, although an unfrequent one, has been stated to be neglected
or inveterate surfeit. Several instances are on record in which poverty of con-
dition, aud general neglect of cleanliness, preceded or produced the most violent
mange. A remark of Mr. Blaine is very important :—‘ Among the truly
healthy, so far as my experience goes, it never arises spontaneously, but it does
readily from a spontaneous origin among the unhealthy.” The most common
cause is contagion. Amidst the whole list of diseases to which the horse is
exposed, there is not one more highly contagious than mange. If it once gets
into a stable, it spreads through it, for the slightest contact seems to be suffi-
cient for the communication of this noisome complaint.

If the same brush or currycomb is used on all the horses, the propagation of |

mange is assured ; and horses feeding in the same pasture with a mangy one
rarely escape, from the propensity they have to nibble one another. Mange in
cattle has been propagated to the horse, and from the horse to cattle. There
MANGE. 483

are also some well-authenticated instances of the same disease being communicated
from the dog to the horse, but not from the horse to the dog.

Mange has been said to originate in want of cleanliness in the management
of the stable. The comfort and the health of the horse demand the strictest
cleanliness. Ihe eyes and the lungs frequently suffer from the noxious fumes
of the putrefying dung and urine ; but, in defiance of common prejudice, there
is no authentic instance of mange being the result. It may, however, proceed
from poverty. When the animal is half starved, and the functions of digestion
and the power of the constitution are weakened, the skin soon sympathises, and
mange is occasionally produced instead of surfeit and hide-bound. Every farmer
has proof enough of this being the case. If a horse is turned on a common
where there is scarcely sufficient herbage to satisfy his appetite, or if he is
placed in one of those straw-yards that are under the management of mercenary
and unfeeling men, and are the very abodes of misery, the animal comes up a
skeleton, and he comes up mangy too. Poverty and starvation are fruitful
sources of mange, but it does not appear that filth has much to do with it,
although poverty and filth generally go hand in hand.

The propriety of bleeding in cases of mange depends on the condition of
the patient. If mange is the result of poverty, and the animal is much debi-
litated, bleeding will increase the evil, and will probably deprive the constitution
of the power of rallying. Physic, however, is indispensable in every case. It
is the first step in the progress towards cure. A mercurial ball will be preferable
to a-common aloetic one, as more certain and effectual in its operation, and the
mercury probably having some influence in mitigating the disease. In this,
however, mange in the horse resembles itch in the human being —medicine alone
will never effect a cure. There must be some local application. There is this
additional similarity—that which is most effectual in curing the itch in the
human being must form the basis of every local application for the cure of
mange in the horse. Sulphur is indispensable in every unguent for mange. It
is the sheet-anchor of the veterinary surgeon. In an early and not very acute
state of mange, equal portions of sulphur, turpentine, and train-oil, gently but
well rubbed on the part, will be applied with advantage. Farriers are fond of
the black sulphur, but that which consists of earthy matter, with the mere dregs
of various substances, cannot be so effectual as the pure sublimed sulphur. A
tolerably stout brush, or even a currycomb, lightly applied, should be used,
in order to remove the dandriff or scurf, wherever there is any appearance
of mange. After that, the horse should be washed with strong soap and water
as far as the disease has extended ; and, when he has been thoroughly dried, the
ointment should be well rubbed in with the naked hand, or with a piece of
flannel. More good will be done by a little of the ointment being well rubbed
in, than by a great deal being merely smeared over the part. The rubbing
should be daily repeated. ;

The sulphur seems to have a direct influence on the disease—the turpentine
has an indirect one, by exciting some irritation on the skin of a different nature
from that produced by the mange, and under the influence of which the irritation
of mange will be diminished, and the disease more easily combated. During
the application of the ointment, and as soon as the physic has set, an alterative
ball or powder, similar to those recommended for the other affections of the
skin, should be daily given. If, after some days have passed, no progress should
appear to have been made, halfa pound of sulphur should be well mixed with a
pint of oil of tar, or, if that is not to be obtained, a pint of Barbadoes tar, and
the affected parts rubbed, as before. On every fifth or sixth day the ointment
should be washed off with warm soap and water. The progress towards cure

112
484. WARTS.

will thus be ascertained, and the skin will be cleansed, and its pores opened for the
more effectual application of the ointment. .

The horse should be well supplied with nourishing, but not stimulating food.
As much green meat as he wil] eat should be given to him, or, what is far better,
he should be turned out, if the weather is not too cold. It may be useful to
add, that, after the horse has been once well dressed with either of these lini-
ments, the danger of contagion ceases. It is necessary, however, to be assured
that every mangy place has been anointed. It will be prudent to give two or
three dressings after the horse has been apparently cured, and to continue the
alteratives for ten days or a fortnight.

The cure being completed, the clething of the horse should be well soaked
in water, to which a fortieth part of the saturated solution of the chloride of
lime has been added ; after which it should be washed with soap and water,
and again washed and soaked in a solution of the chloride of lime. Every
part of the harness should undergo a similar purification. The currycomb
may be scoured, but the brush should be burned. The rack, and manger,
and partitions, and every part of the stable which the horse could possibly have
touched, should be well washed with a hair-broom—a pint of the chloride of
lime being added to three gallons of water. All the wood-work should then
be scoured with soap and water, after which a second washing with the chloride
of lime will render all secure. Some farmers have pulled down their
stables, when they have been thoroughly infected with mange. This is being
unnecessarily cautious. The efficacy of the chloride of lime was not then known ;
but if that is carefully and sufficiently applied to every part of the stable and its
furniture, there cannot afterwards be danger.

Every case of itchiness of the skin should be regarded with suspicion. When
a horse is seen to rub the root of his tail, or his head, or neck, against the
manger, the parts should be carefully examined. Some of the hair may have
been rubbed er torn off, but if the roots remain firmly adherent, and there is
only redness and not scurfiness of the skin, it probably is not mange, but only
inflammation of the skin, from too great fulness of blood. A little blood should
be abstracted—a purgative administered—and the alteratives given. The
mange ointment cannot do harm, and may possibly prevent this heat of the
skin from degenerating into mange, or arrest the progress of mange if it has
commenced. If a scurfiness of skin should appear on any of the points that
are pressed upon by the collar or harness, the veterinary surgeon will do right
to guard against danger by elterative medicine and the use of the ointment.

WARTS,

These are tumours of variable size, arising from the cuticle, and afterwards
connected with the true skin by means of the vessels which supply the growth of
the tumours. hey are found on the eyelids, the muzzle, the ears, the belly,
the neck, the penis, and the prepuce. There are some caustics available,
but frequently they must be removed by an operation. If the root is

very small, it may be snipped asunder, close to the skin, with a pair of ''

scissors, and touched with the lunar caustic. If the pedicle or stem is
somewhat larger, a ligature of waxed silk should be passed firmly round
it, and tightened every day. The source of nutriment being thus removed, the
tumour wiil, in a short time, die and drop off. If the warts are large, ov in
considerable clusters, it will be necessary to cast the horse, in order to cut them
off close to the skin: the root should then be seared with a red-hot iron.
Unless these precautions are used, the warts will speedily sprout again.
SOUNDNESS AND UNSOUNDNESS, 485

VERMIN.

Both the biped and the quadruped are subject to the visitation of insects,
that fasten on the skin, and are a constant nuisance from the itchiness which
they occasion. If the horse, after being turned out for the winter, is taken up
in the spring, long and rough in his coat, and poor in condition, and with evi-
dent hide-bound, he will almost invariably be afflicted with vermin.

In our present imperfect acquaintance with natural history, it is difficult to
account for the appearance of certain insects, and of those alone on the integu-
ment of one animal, while others of an altogether different character are found
on its neighbour. Each one has a tormentor peculiar to itself.

The vermin of the horse is destroyed by an infusion of tobacco, or a solu-
tion of corrosive sublimate, the latter requiring the greatest. caution. The
skin being once cleansed of them, an attention to cleanliness will prevent their,
reappearance.

 

CHAPTER XXVIE.

ON SOUNDNESS, AND THE PURCHASE AND SALE
OF HORSES,

—+—

Tuere are few sources of greater annoyance both to the purchaser and the
seller of the horse than disputes with regard to the soundness of the animal.
Although, in describing the various parts of the horse, we have glanced at the
connexion of certain natural conformations, and some alterations of structure,
and accidents, and diseases, with the question of soundness or unsoundness, it
may not be uninteresting to those for whom our work is designed, if we now
bring into one point of view the substance of that which has been scattered over
many pages.

That horse is sound in whom there is no disease, and no alteration of struc-
ture that impairs, or is likely to impair, his natural usefulness. The horse
is unsound that labours under disease, or has some alteration of structure which
does interfere, or is likely to interfere, with his natural usefulness*. The
term “natural usefulness” must he borne in mind. One horse may possess
great speed, but is soon knocked up; another will work all day, but cannot be
got beyond a snail’s pace: a third with a heavy forehand is liable to stumble, and
is continually putting to hazard the neck of his rider; another, with an irritable
constitution and a loose washy form, loses his appetite and begins to scour if a little
extra work is exacted from him. The term unsoundness must not be applied to
either of these; it would be opening far too widely a door to disputation and
endless wrangling. The buyer can discern, or ought to know, whether the
form of the horse is that which will render him likely to suit his purpose, and

 

* Since the publication of our first edition,
this definition or rule as to soundness or
unsoundness has received very high judicial
sanction, Coates v. Stephens, 2 Moody and
Robinson, 157; Scholefield v. Robb, id.
210. We shall adhere to it as our test of
soundness or unsoundness throughout this
chapter, not forgetting what is said in the
following extract from 2 note to one of these
cases, ‘“ As jt may now be considercd as set-

tled law, that the breach of a warranty of
soundness does not entitle the purchaser to
return the horse, but only to recover the dif-
ference of value of the horse with or with-
out the particular unsoundness, the question.
of temporary maladies, producing no perma-
nent deterioration of the animal, would, ge-
nerally speaking, only involve a right to
damages merely nominal.’
486 UNSOUNDNESS.

he should try him sufficiently to ascertain his natural strength, endurance, and
manner of going. Unsoundness, we repeat, has reference only to disease, or to
that alteration of structure which is connected with, or will produce disease,
and lessen the usefulness of the animal.

These principles will be best illustrated by a brief consideration of the
usually supposed appearances or causes of unsoundness.

Broxen uness certainly do not constitute unsoundness, after the wounds
are healed, unless they interfere with the action of the joint ; for the horse may
have fallen from mere accident, or through the fault of the rider, without the
slightest damage more than the blemish. No person, however, would buy a
horse with broken knees, until he had thoroughly tried him, and satisfied him-
self as to his form and action.

Cappxp Hooks may be produced by lying on an unevenly paved stable, with
a scanty supply of litter, or by kicking generally, in neither of which cases
would they constitute unsoundness, although in the latter they would be an
indication of vice ; but, in the majority of instances, they are the consequence of
sprain, or of latent injury of the hock, and accompanied by enlargement of it,
and would constitute unsoundness. A special warranty should always be taken
against capped hocks.

Contraction is a considerable deviation from the natural form of the foot,
but not necessarily constituting unsoundness. It requires, however, a most
careful examination on the part of the purchaser or veterinary surgeon, in
order to ascertain that there is no heat about the quarter, or ossification of the
cartilage—that the frog, although diminished in size, is not diseased—that the
horse does not step short and go as if the foot were tender, and that there is not
the slightest trace of lameness. Unless these circumstances, or some of them, are
detected, a horse must not be pronounced to be unsound because his feet are con-
tracted ; for many horses with strangely contracted feet do not suffer at all in
their action. A special warranty, however, should be required where the feet
are at all contracted.

Corns manifestly constitute unsoundness. The portion of the foot in which
bad corns are situated will not bear the ordinary pressure of the shoe; and acci-
dental additional pressure from the growing down of the horn, or the introduction
of dirt or gravel, will cause serious lameness. They render it necessary to wear
a thick and heavy shoe, or a bar shoe, in order to protect the weakened and
diseased part; and they are very seldom radically cured. There may be,
however, and frequently is, a difference of opinion as to the actual existence or
character of the corn. A veterinary surgeon may consider it so slight and
insignificant as not apparently to injure the horse, and he pronounces the
animal to be sound; but he should be cautious, for there are corns of every
shade and degree, from the slightest degree to the most serious evil. They may
be so slight and manageable as, though ranging under the class of morbid altera-
tion of structure, yet not to diminish the natural usefulness of the horse in any
degree. Slight corns will disappear on the horse being shod with ordinary skill
and care, even without any alteration in the shoe.

Coven.—This is a disease, and consequently unsoundness, However slight
may be its degree, and of whatever short standing it may be, although it may
sometimes scarcely seem to interfere with the usefulness of the horse, yet a
change of stabling, or slight exposure to wet and cold, or the least over-exertion,
may, at other times, cause it to degenerate into many.dangerous complaints.
A horse, therefore, should never be purchased with a cough upon him, without
a special warranty ; or if—the cough not being observed —he.is purchased under
4 general warranty, that warranty is thereby broken. It is not law, that a horse
may be returned on breach of the warranty. The seller is not bound to take him
UNSOUNDNESS, 487

back, unless he has contracted so to do; but he is liable in damages. Lord Ellen-
borough has completely decided this matter. “I have always held,” said he,
“that a warranty of soundness is broken, if the animal, at the time of sale, had
any infirmity upon him that rendered him less fit for present service. It is
not necessary that the disorder should be permanent or incurable. While he
has a cough, he is unsound, although that may either be temporary or prove
mortal *.”

Roarine, Waeezne, Waistiine, Hica-srowie, and Grunrine, being
the result of alteration of structurc, or disease in some of the air-passages,
and interfering with the -perfect freedom of breathing, especially when the
horse is put on his specd, without doubt constitute unsoundness. There are
decisions to the contrary, which are now universally admitted to be erroneous.
Broken winp is still more decidedly unsoundness, .

Cris-sitine.—Although some learned judges have asserted that crib-biting
is simply a trick or bad habit, it must be regarded as unsoundness, This
unnatural sucking in of the air must to a certain degree injure digestion.
It must dispose to colic, and so interfere with the strength, and usefulness, and
health of the horse. Some crib-biters are good goers, but they probably would
have possessed more endurance had they not acquired this habit; and it isa
fact well established, that, as soon as a horse becomes a crib-biter, he, in nine
cases out of ten, loses condition. He is not to the experienced eye the horse
he was before. It may not lead on to strongly-marked disease, or it may rarely
do so to any considerable degree; but a horse that is morbidly deficient in
condition must, to that extent, have his capability for extraordinary work
diminished, and so be brought within our definition of unsoundness. In its very
early stage it may be a mere trick—confirmed, it must have produced morhid
deterioration. The wear of the front teeth, and the occasional breaking of
them, make a horse old before his time, and sometimes render it difficult or
almost impossible for him to graze, when the state of the animal or the con-
venience of the owner requires that he should be turned out.

Curs constitutes unsoundness while it lasts, and perhaps while the swelling
remains, although the inflammation may have subsided ; for a horse that has
once thrown out a curb is, for a while at least, very liable to do so again, to
get lame in the same place on the slightest extra exertion; or, at all events,

 

* In deciding on another case, the same soundness, and I entirely concur in that
judge said, “I have always held it that a opinion. If the horse emits a loud noise,
cough is a breach of the warranty. On that which is offensive to the ear, merely from a
understanding I have always acted, and think bad habit which he has contracted, or from
it quite clear.’? It was argued on the other any cause that does not interfere with his
hand that two-thirds of the horses in London general health, or muscular powers, he is still
had coughs, yet still the judge maintained that to be considered a sound horse. On the
the cough was a breach of warranty. When other hand, if the roaring proceeds from any
it was farther argued that the horse bad been disease or organic infirmity, which renders
hunted theday after the purchase, and the cough him incapable of performing the usual func.
thight have been increased by this, the reply was tions of a horse, then it does constitute un-
singular, butdecisive. ‘‘Thereisno proof that soundness. ‘The plaintiff has not done enough
he would have got well if he had not been in shewing that this horse was a roarer. To
hunted.”” This doctrine is confirmed by prove a breach of the warranty he must go on
Parke, B., in the first case cited in p. 485. to shew that the roaring was symptomatic of

In p. 254, it is very properly stated that disease.” These extracts are taken from a
Toaring is unsoundness, because it impairs the singular work, not always correct, yet from
function of respiration, This was not always which much amusement, and instruction too,
however, the law of the bench. ‘‘ Lord El- may be derived —“ The Adventures of a Gen-
lenborough,” quoting from Sir James Mans- tleman in Scarch of a Horse, by Caveat
ficld, says, ‘*It has been held by very high Emptor.’’
authority that roaring is not neccssarily un-
488 UNSOUNDNESS.

he would there first fail on extraordinary exertion. A horse, however, is not
returnable, although he should spring a curb five minutes after the purchase ;
for it is done in a moment, and does not necessarily indicate any previous
unsoundness or weakness of the part.

Currie, as rendering a horse liable to serious injury of the legs, and
indicating that he is either weak, or has an awkwardness of gait inconsistent
with safety, produces, rather than is, unsoundness. Many horses go lame
for a considerable period after cutting themselves severely ; and others have
dropped from the sudden agony, and endangered themselves and their riders, As
some doubt, however, exists on this subject, and as it is avery material objection
to a horse, cutting, when evident, should have its serious consequences provided
against by a special warranty.

Enuarcep Granps.—The enlargement of the glands under the jaw has not
been so much considered as it onght to have been in our estimate of the sound-
ness of the horse. Simple catarrh will occasionally, and severe affection of the
chest will generally, be accompanied by swelling of. these glands, which
does not subside for a considerable time after the cold or fever has apparently
been cured. 'I'o slight enlargements of the glands under the jaw much atten-
tion need not be paid ; but if they are of considerable size, and especially if they
are tender, and the glands at the root of the ear partake of the enlargement, and
the membrane of the nose is redder than it should be, we should hesitate in
pronouncing that horse to be sound. We must consider the swelling as a
symptom of disease.

Enrarcen Hoox.—A horse with enlarged hock is unsound, the structure
of this cornplicated joint being so materially affected that, although the horse
may appear for a considerable time to be capable of ordinary work, he will occa-
sionally fail even in that, and a few days’ hard work will always lame him.

Tue Eyves.—That inflammation of the cye of the horse which usually ter-
minates in blindness of one or both eyes, has the peculiar character of receding
or disappearing for a time, once or twice, or thrice, before it fully runs its
course. The eye, after an attack of inflammation, regains so nearly its former
natural brilliancy that a person even well acquainted with horses will not
always recognise the traces of former disease. After a time, however,
the inflammation returns, and the result is inevitable. A horse that has
had one attack of this complaint, is long afterwards unsound, however per-
fect the eye may seem to be, because he carries abort with him a disease
that will probably again break out, and eventually destroy the sight. Whether,
therefore, he may be rejected or not, depends on the possibility of proving an
attack of inflammation of the eye, prior to the purchase. Next to direct evi-
dence of this are appearances about the eye, of which the veterinary surgeon at
least ought not to be ignorant. Allusion has been made to them in page 131.
They consist chiefly of a puckering of the lids towards the inner corner of one cr
both eyes—a difference in the size of the eyes, although perhaps only a slight
one, and not discovered except it be looked for—a gloominess of the eye—a dul-
ness of the iris—a little dulness of the transparent part of the eye generally—a
minute, faint, dusky spot, deep in the eye, and generally with little radiations
of white lines proceeding from it. If these symptoms, or the majority of them,
existed at the time of purchase, the animal had assuredly been diseased
before, and was unsound. Starting has been considered as an equivocal proof.
Tt is usually an indication of defective sight, but it is occasionally a trick.
Connected, however, with the appearances just described, it is a very strong
corroborative proof.

Lameness, from whatever cause arising, is unsoundness. However tem-
UNSOUNDNESS. 439

porary it may be, or however obscure, there must be disease which lessens
the utility of the horse, and renders him unsound for the time. So says
common sense, but there are contradictory decisions on the case. “A horse
labouring under a temporary injury or hurt, which is capable of being speedily
cured or removed, is not, according to Chief Justice Eyre, an unsound horse &
and where a warranty is made that such a horse is sound, it is made without
any view to such an injury ; nor is a horse so cireumstanced within the mean-
ing of the warranty. To vitiate the warranty, the injury the horse had
sustained, or the malady under which he laboured, ought to be of a permanent
nature, and not such as may arise from a temporary injury or accident.” *

On the contrary, Lord Ellenborough says: “I have always held, and now
hold, that a warranty of soundness is broken, if the animal at the time of sale
has any infirmity upon him which renders him less fit for present service. It is
not necessary that the discrder should be permanent or incurable. While a
horse has a cough he is unsound, although it may either be temporary or may
prove mortal. The horse in question having been lame at the time of sale,
when he was warranted to be sound, his condition subsequently is no defence
to the actiont.” The decisions of Mr. Baron Parke, already referred to, con-
firm this doctrine.

Nevroromy.—A question has arisen how far a horse that has undergone the
operation of the division of the nerve of the leg (see p. 156), and has recovered
from the lameness with which he was before affected, and stands his work well,
may be considered to be sound. Chief Justice Best held such a horse to be
unsound, and in our opinion there cannot be a doubt about the matter. The
operation of neurotomy does not remove the disease causing the lameness, but
only the sensation of pain. A horse on whom this operation has been per-
formed may be improved by it—may cease to be lame—may go well for many
years; but there is no certainty of this, and he is unsound, within our defini-
tion, unless nature gave the nerve for no useful purpose.

OsstFIcATION OF THE LATERAL CARTILAGES constitutes unsoundness, as
interfering with the natural expansion of the foot, and, in horses of quick work,
almost invariably producing lameness.

Pumicen-roor.—When the union between the horny and sensible lamin,
or little plates of the foot (see p. 383), is weakened, and the coffin-bone is let
down, and presses upon the sole, and the sole yields to this unnatural weight,
and becomes rounded, and is brought in contact with the ground, and is bruised
and injured, that horse must be unsound, and unsound for ever, because there
are no means by which we can raise the coffin-bone again into its place.

Quippine.—If the mastication of the food gives pain to the animal, in con-
sequence of soreness of the mouth or throat, he will drop it before it is perfectly
chewed. This, as an indication of disease, constitutes unsoundness. Quidding
sometimes arises from irregularity in the teeth, which wound the cheek
with their sharp edges; or a protruding tooth renders it impossible for the horse
to close his jaws so as to chew his food thoroughly. Quidding is unsoundness
for the time ; but the unsoundness will cease when the teeth are properly filed,
or the soreness or other cause of this imperfect chewing removed.

Quirror is manifestly unsoundness.

Rine-zonz.—Although when the bony tumour is small, and on one side
only, there is little or no lameness—and there are a few instances in which a
horse with ring-bone has worked for many years without its return—yet from
the action of the foot, and the stress upon the part, the inflammation and the
formation of bone may acquire a tendency to spread so rapidly, that we must

 

* 2 Espin. Rep. 673, Garment v. Barrs. + 4 Campbell, 251 Elton v Brogden.
190 UNSOUNDNESS.

pronounce the slightest enlargement of the pasterns, or around the coronet, to
be a cause of unsoundness,

Sanporack is manifestly unsoundness. It may, however, occur without the
slightest warning, and no horse can be rejected on account of a sandcrack that has
sprung after purchase. Its usual cause is too great brittleness of the crust of the
hoof ; but there is no infallible method of detecting this, or the degree in which it
must exist in order to constitute unsoundness. When the horn round the bottom
of the foot has chipped off so much that only a skilful smith can fasten the shoe
without pricking the horse, or even when there is a tendency in the horn to
chip and break in a much less degree than this, the horse is unsound, for this
brittleness of the crust is a disease of the part, or it is such an altered structure
of it as to interfere materially with the usefulness of the animal.

Spavin.—Bone spavin, comprehending in its largest sense every bony tumour
on the hock, is not necessarily unsoundness. If the tumour affects in the
slightest degree the action of the horse, it is unsoundness ;— even if it does not,
it is seldom safe to pronounce it otherwise than unsoundness. But it may pos-
sibly be (like splint in the fore-leg) so situated as to have no tendency to affect
the action. A veterinary surgeon consulted on the purchase will not always
reject a horse because of such a tumour. His evidence on a question of sound-
ness will depend on the facts. ‘The situation and history of the tumour may be
such as to enable him to give a decisive opinion in a horse going sound, but not
often.

Boe or Broop Spavin is unsoundness, because, although it may not be pro-
ductive of lameness at slow work, the rapid and powerful action of the hock in
quicker motion will produce permanent, yet perhaps not considerable lameness,
which can scarcely ever be with certainty removed.

Spiivr.—It depends entirely on the situation of the bony tumour on the
shank-bone, whether it is to be considered as unsoundness. If it is not in the
neighbourhood of any joint, so as to interfere with its action, and if it does not
press upon any ligament or tendon, it may be no cause of unsoundness, although
it is often very unsightly. In many cases it may not lessen the capability and
value of the animal. This has been treated on at considerable length in
page 340.

Srrineuatt.—This singular and very unpleasant action of the hind leg
is decidedly an unsoundness. It is an irregular communication of nervous
energy to some muscle of the thigh, observable when the horse first comes
from the stable, and gradually ceasing on exercise. It has usually been accom-
panied by a more than common degree of strength and endurance. It must,
however, be traced to some morbid alteration of structure or function ; and it
rarely or never fails to deteriorate and gradually wear out the animal.

TuickENiNe or THE Bacx Sinews.—Sufticient attention is not always paid
to the fineness of the legs of the horse. If the flexor tendons have been sprained,
so as to produce considerable thickening of the cellular substance in which their
sheaths are enveloped, they will long afterwards, or perhaps always, be liable
to sprain, from causes by which they would otherwise be scarcely affected. The
continuance of any considerable thickness around the sheaths of the tendons
indicates previous and violent sprain. This very thickening will fetter the
action of the tendons, and, after much quick work, will occasionally renew the
inflammation and the lameness; therefore, such a horse cannot be sound. It
requires, however, a little discrimination to distinguish this from the gumminess
or roundness of leg, peculiar to some breeds. There should be an evident
difference between the injured leg and the other, _

Tnorovenrin, except it is of great size, is rarely productive of lameness,
and therefore cannot be termed unsoundness ; but as it is the consequence of
UNSOUNDNESS, 491

hard work, and now and then does produce lameness, the hock should be most
carefully examined, and there should be a special warranty against it.

Turvsa.—There are various cases on record of actions on account of thrushes
in horses, and the decisions have been much at variance, or perfectly contra-
dictory. Thrush has not been always considered by legal men as unsound-
ness. We however, decidedly so consider it ; as being a disease interfering and
likely to interfere with the usefulness of the horse. Thrush is inflammation of
the lower surface of the inner or sensible frog—and the secretion or throwing
out of pus—almost invariably accompanied by a slight degree of tenderness of
the frog itself, or of the heel a little above it, and, if neglected, leading to
diminution of the substance of the frog, and separation of the horn from the parts
beneath, and underrunning, and the production of fungus and canker, and,
ultimately, a diseased state of the foot, destructive of the present, and dangerous
to the future usefulness of the horse.

Winneatis.—There are few horses perfectly free from windgalls, but they do
not interfere with the action of the fetlock, or cause lameness, except when they
are numerous or large. They constitute unsoundness only when they cause
lameness, or are so large and numerous as to render it likely that they will
cause it.

In the purchase of a horse the buyer usually receives, embodied in the receipt,
what is termed a warranty. It should be thus expressed :—

“ Received of A. B. forty pounds for a grey mare, warranted only five years old,

sound, free from vice, and quiet to ride and drive.
“ £40 “C.D.”

A receipt, including merely the word “ warranted,” extends only to sound-
ness,—“ warranted sound” goes no farther; the age, freedom from vice, and quiet-
ness to ride and drive, should be especially named. This warranty comprises
every cause of unsoundness that can be detected, or that lurks in the constitution
at the time of sale, and to every vicious habit that the animal has hitherto
shown. To establish a breach of the warranty, and to be enabled to tender a
return of the horse and recover the difference of price, the purchaser must prove
that it was unsound or viciously disposed at the time of sale. In case of cough,
the horse must have been heard to cough immediately after the purchase, or as he
was led home, or as soon as he had entered the stable of the purchaser. Coughing,
even on the following morning, will not be sufficient ; for it is possible that he
might have caught cold by change of stabling. If he is lame, it must be
proved to arise from a cause that existed before the animal was in the pur-
chaser’s possession. No price will imply a warranty, or be equivalent to one;
there must be an express warranty. A fraud must be proved in the seller, in
order that the buyer may be enabled to return the horse or maintain an action
for the price. The warranty should be given at the time of sale. A warranty,
or a promise to warrant the horse given at any period antecedent to the sale, is
invalid; for horseflesh is a very perishable commodity, and the constitution and
usefulness of the animal may undergo a considerable change in the space of afew
days, A warranty after the sale is invalid, for it is given without any legal con-
sideration. In order to complete the purchase, there must be a transfer of the
animal, or a memorandum of agreement, or the payment of earnest-money.
The least sum will suffice for earnest. No verbal promise to buy or to sell is
binding without one of these. The moment either of these is effected, the
legal transfer of property or delivery is made, and whatever may happen to the
horse, the seller retains, or is entitled to the money. If the purchaser exercises
any act of ownership, by using the animal without leave of the vendor, or by
having any operation performed, or any medicines given to him, he
492 UNSOUNDNESS

makes him his own. The warranty of a servant is considered to be binding on
the master.*

I€ the horse should be afterwards discovered to have been unsound at the time
of warranty, the buyer may tender a return of it, and, if it be not taken back,
may bring his action for the price ; but the seller is not bound to rescind the
contract, unless he has agreed so to do.

Although there is no legal compulsion to give immediate notice to the
seller of the discovered unsoundness, it will be better for it to be done. The
animal should then be tendered at the house or stable of the vendor. If he
refuses to receive him, the animal may be sent to a livery-stable and sold; and
an action for the difference in price may be brought. The keep, however, can
be recovered only for the time that necessarily intervened between the tender
and the determination of the action. It is not legally necessary to tender a
return of the horse as soon as the unsoundness is discovered. The animal
may be kept for a reasonable time afterwards, and even proper medical means
used to remove the unsoundness; but courtesy, and indeed justice, will require
that the notice should be given as soon as possible. Although it is stated,
on the authority of Lord Loughborough, that ‘no length of time elapsed
after the sale will alter the nature of a contract originally false,” yet it seems
to have been once thought it was necessary to the action to give notice of the
unsoundness in a reasonable time. The cause of action is certainly complete on
breach of the warranty.

It used to be supposed that the buyer had no right to have the horse medi-
cally treated, and that he would waive the warranty by doing so. The question,
however, would be, has he injured or diminished the value of the horse by this
treatment? It will generally be prudent for him to refrain from all medicah
treatment, because the means adopted, however skilfully employed, may have
an unfortunate effect, or may be misrepresented by ignorant or interested
observers,

The purchaser possibly may like the horse, notwithstanding his discovered
defect, and he may retain, and bring his action for the depreciation in value on
account of the unsoundness. Few, however, will do this, because his retaining
the horse will cause a suspicion that the defect was of no great consequence,
and will give rise to much cavil about the quantum of damages, and after all,
very slight damages will probably be obtained. ‘I take it to be clear law,”
says Lord Eldon, “that if a person purchases a horse that is warranted,
and it afterwards turns out that the horse was unsound at the time of the war-
ranty, the buyer may, if he pleases, keep the horse, and bring an action on the
warranty ; in which he will have a right to recover the difference between the
value of a sound horse, and one with such defects as existed at the time of war-
ranty ; or he may return the horse, and bring an action to recover the full
money paid : but in the latter case, the seller has a right to expect that the horse
shall be returned to him in the same state he was when sold, and not by any
means diminished in value; for if a person keeps a warranted article for any
length of time after discovering its defects, and when he returns it, it isin a
worse state than it would have been if returned immediately after such dis-
covery, I think the party can have no defence to an action for the price of the
article on the ground of non-compliance with the warranty, but must be left to
his action on the warranty to recover the difference in the value of the article
warranted, and its value when sold.” t

 

* The weight of authority decides that the master is bound by the act of the servant.
Lord Kenyon, however, had some doubt on the subject.
t+ Curtis v. Hannay,3 Esp. 83.
UNSOUNDNESS. 493

Where there is no warranty, an action may be brought on the ground of
fraud ; but this is very difficult to be maintained, and not often hazarded. It
will be necessary to prove that the dealer knew the defect, and that the purchaser
was imposed upon by his false representation, or other fraudulent mcana.
If the defect was evident to every eye, the purchaser has no remedy—he should
have taken more care ; but ifa warranty was given, that extends to all unsound-
ness, palpable or concealed. Although a person should ignorantly or carelessly
bay a blind horse, warranted sound, he may reject it—the warranty is his
guard, and prevents him from so closely examining the horse as he otherwise
would have done; but if he buys a blind horse, thinking him to be sound, and
without a warranty, he has no remedy. Every one ought to exercise common
circumspection and common sense,

A man should have a more perfect knowledge of horses than falls to the lot
of most, and a perfect knowledge of the vendor too, who ventures to buy a horse
without a warranty.

If a person buys a horse warranted sound, and discovering no defect in him,
and, relying on the warranty, re-sells him, and the unsoundness is discovered
by the second purchaser, and the horse returned to the first purchaser, or an
action commenced against him, he has his claim on the first seller, and may
demand of him not only the price of the horse, or the difference in value, but
every expense that may have been incurred.

Absolute exchanges, cf one horse for another, or a sum of money being
paid in addition by one of the parties, stand on the same ground as simple
sales. If there is a warranty on either side, and that is broken, an action may
be maintained : if there be no warranty, deceit must be proved.

The trial of horses on sale often leads to disputes. The law is perfectly clear,
but the application of it, as in other matters connected with horse-flesh, attended
with glorious uncertainty. The intended purchaser is only liable for damage
done to the horse through his own misconduct. The seller may put what
restriction he chooses on the trial, and takes the risk of all accidents in the fair
use of the horse within such restrictions.

If a horse from a dealer’s stable is galloped far and fast, it is probable that he
will soon show distress; and if he is pushed farther, inflammation and death
may ensue. The dealer rarely gets recompensed for this; nor ought he, as
he knows the unfitness of his horse, and may thank himself for permitting such
atrial ; and if it should occur soon after the sale, he runs the risk of having
the horse returned, or of an action for its price.

In this, too, he is not much to be pitied. The mischievous and fraudulent
practice of dealers, especially in London, of giving their horses, by overfeeding,
a false appearance of muscular substance, leads to the ruin of many a valuable
animal. It would be a useful lesson to have to contest in an action or two the
question whether a horse overloaded with fat can be otherwise than in a state
of disease, and consequently unsound.

It is proper, however, to put a limit to whet has been too frequently asserted
from the bench, that a horse warranted sound must be taken as fit for immediate
use, and capable of being immediately put to any fair work the owner chooses.
A hunter honestly warranted sound is certainly warranted to be in immediate
condition to follow the hounds. ‘The mysteries of condition, as has been shown
in a former part of the work, are not sufficiently unravelled. .

In London, and in most great towns, there are repositories for the periodical
sale of horses by auction. They are of great convenience to the seller who can
at once get rid of a horse with which he wishes to part, without waiting month
after month before he obtains a purchaser, and he is relieved from the nuisance
or fear of having the animal returncd on account of breach of the warranty,
494 MEDICINE.

because in these places only two days are allowed for the trial, and if the horse is
not returned within that period, he cannot be afterwards returned. They arc also
convenient to the purchaser, who can thus in a large town soon find a horse
that will suit him, and which, from this restriction as to returning the animal,
he will obtain twenty or thirty per cent. below the dealers prices. Although
an auction may seem to offer a fair and open competition, there is no place at
which it is more necessary for a person not much accustomed to horses to take
with him an experienced friend, and, when there, to depend on his own judgment,
or that of his friend, heedless of the observations or manceuvres of the by-
standers, the exaggerated commendation of some horses, and the thousand
faults found with others. There are always numerous groups of low dealers,
copers, and chaunters, whose business it is to delude and deceive,

One of the regulations of the Bazaar in King Street was exceedingly fair,
both with regard to the previous owner and the purchaser, viz.—

“ When a horse, having been warranted sound, shall be returned within the
prescribed period, on account of unsoundness, a certificate from a veterinary sur-
geon, particularly describing the unsoundness, must accompany the horse so re-
turned ; when, if it be agreed to by the veterinary surgeon of the establishment,
the amount received for the horse shall be immediately paid back ; but if the
veterinary surgeon of the establishment should not confirm the certificate, then,
in order to avoid further dispute, one of the veterinary surgeons of the college
shall be called in, and his decision shall be final, and the expense of such umpire
shall be borne by the party in error.”

 

CHAPTER XXVII.

A LIST OF THE MEDICINES USED IN THE TREATMENT
OF THE DISEASES OF THE HORSE,

—~—

He will rarely consult his own interest, who, not having having had the
advantage of a veterinary education, undertakes the treatment of any of the
serious diseases of his horses. Many of the maladies of the horse nearly
resemble each other. They are continually varying their character, and require,
in their different stages, a very different treatment, and in the plainest case
not only the characteristic symptoms of disease are obscure, but even the indica-
tions of returning health, or increasing danger, are often scarcely ascertainable,
consequently the sick horse, as well as the human being, needs the care of
one whom study and experience have qualified for the task. A list of the
drugs generally employed, with a slight account of their history, adulterations,
and medicinal effects, will be interesting to the horse-proprietor as well as to
the veterinary surgeon ; and may occasionally be useful when professional aid
cannot be obtained. :

Frequent reference will be made to Professor Morton’s most valuable
Manual of Pharmacy. This work will be found to be a treasure to every
veterinary surgeon. Mr. W. C. Spooner’s Materia Medica, in his recent
compendium of White's account of the horse, will occasionally be laid under
2ontribution.

Acacta Gumm1.—Many varieties of gum arabic are procured from Egypt,
Arabia, and the East Indies. It is an exudation from the trunk and branches
of various trees. It isemployed in the form of a mucilage, made by dissolving
MEDICINE. AY5

it in water, in the proportion of one part of the gum to three or four of water.
Various insoluble powders may be thus suspended, or oils rendered miscible
or emulsions formed, Emulsions composed of gum arabic are supposed to be
useful in urinary affections.

Acinum Aceticum, Acetic Acip, Vinecar.—Vinegar is a very useful appli-
cation for sprains and bruises. Equal parts of boiling water and cold vinegar
will form a good fomentation. Extract of lead, or bay salt, may be added with
some advantage. As an internal remedy, vinegar is rarely given, nor has it,
except in large doses, any considerable medicinal power. The veterinarian and the
horse-owner should manufacture their own vincgar. That which they buy
frequently contains sulphuric acid and pungent spices, and irritates the inflamed
part to which it is applied.

Acipum Arseniosum, Arsenic.—Were it not that some practitioners con-
tinue to use it as a tonic, in doses of from ten to twenty grains daily, and others
employ it to core out old ulcers, we would not include it in our list, for we
have little faith in it. There are better and safer tonics, and far better and
safer caustics. The method of detecting the presence of arsenic, in cases of
poisoning, has been described at page 292.

Acipum Mouriaticum, or Hyprocutornic Acip: Sprrir or Sart.—
This acid is formed by distilling corrosive sublimate with antimony. The
butter-like matter which is produced (whence the common name, Butyr of
Antimony) has a strong affinity for water, which it attracts from the atmo-
sphere, and thus becomes converted into a fluid. The less water it is suffered
to attract to itself the more powerful it remains, and therefore it should be
kept in stoppered bottles. The proof of its goodness is its weight. It is
decidedly the best liquid caustic we have. It is most manageable, and its
effect can most readily be ascertained. As soon as it touches any mus-
cular or living part, a change of colour is perceived, and the effect of the
caustic can be fairly judged of by the degree of change. For corns, canker,
indisposition in the sole to secrete good horn, wounds in the foot not attended
by healthy action, and for every case where the superficial application of a
caustic is needed, this acid is unrivalled.

Acwum Nirricum: Nirric Acrp, Aquarortis.—This is 4 valuable external
application. It is both a caustic and an antiseptic. It destroys fungous
excrescences. <A pledget of tar should be dipped in the acid, and then firmly
pressed on the cankerous surface. Every part with which the acid has
come into contact will be deadened and slough off, and healthy granulations will
spring up.

Acipum Hyproctanicum: Prussio Actp.—This, in a concentrated state, is
truly a deadly poison ; a few drops of it will killa large animal. Ina diluted
form, it is a powerful sedative. In doses of six drops, largely diluted, it abates
both pulmonary and gastric irritation. It may be worth trying in the form of
enema in cases of Tetanus. It may also be given by the mouth in the same
disease. Nothing is more likely to tranquillize the general excitement of the
nervous system. The author of this work was the first person who applied the
hydrocyanie acid for the purpose of allaying irritation of the skin in dogs. It
seldom fails of producing the desired effect, and it has had a similar good effect
in subduing itchiness and mange in the horse.

Acipum Sunpuuricum, Suuraurio Actp.— When mixed with tar in the
proportion of an ounce to the pound, it isa good application for thrush and
canker: a smaller quantity mixed with olive oil makes a good stimulating lini-
ment. If too much sulphuric acid is added, either by mistake or wilfully,
it inflames and corrodes the stomach and bowels. ‘The proper antidotes in this
496 MEDICINE.

case are magnesia, or the carbonate of soda or potash, with soft soap. The
acid might possibly be neutralized by this combination. .

Apeps, Hoe’s Larv, very properly forms the basis of most of our ointments,
lt is tasteless, inodorous, and free from every stimulating quality. That cannot
be said of all the ingredients used in the composition of our unguents.

Axcoson, Reoririep Spirir.—This is necessarily used in many of our tine-
tures and other preparations, and is sometimes given to the horse in almost
a pure state. Some horses that are compelled to travel far and quickly, show
evident fatigue before they arrive at the end of their journey.. A cordial
or carminative tincture, to the extent of three or four ounces, largely diluted,
may occasionally be given, and they rally, and cheerfully pursue their course to
the end. The groom or the stableman gives the gin or whiskey of the country, in
preference to any other stimulant. In cases of thorough fatigue the Daffy’s Elixir
may be administered, and probably rendered more stimulant by the addition of
pepper. Mr. Bracy Clark recommends four ounces of the tincture of allspice in
cases of gripes. On the other hand, some veterinary surgeons have preferred
simple hot water, or the infusion of several of our medicinal herbs, as pepper-
mint, rosemary, &c. We should be loath, except on extraordinary occasions, to
advocate the use of any spirituous drink.

Axors.—There are two kinds used in horse practice, the Barbadoes and the
Cape. The Socotrine, preferred by the human surgeon, are very uncertain in
their effect on the horse, and are seldom to be met with pure. Of the Barba-
does and the Cape, the first are much to be preferred. They are obtained
principally from the island of Barbadoes, and are the juice of the large leaves
of the aloe boiled to a considerable thickness, and then poured into gourds in
which they gradually harden. The true Cape are the extract of a species of
aloes chiefly cultivated at the Cape of Good Hope. The Barbadoes aloes are
black, with a shade of brown, of an unctuous feeling, with a stronger. smell,
broken with difficulty, and the fracture dull. The Cape are darker coloured,
stronger smelling, very brittle, and the fracture perfectly glossy. Every veterinary
surgeon who uses much aloes should buy them in the mass, and powder them
at home, and then, by attending to this account of the difference of the two, he
can scarcely be imposed upon. It is, however, the fact, that these are mostly
adulterated, by their being melted together. Aloes purchased in powder are too
often sadly adulterated.

The Cape aloes may be powdered at all times, and the Barbadoes in frosty
weather, when enough should be prepared, to be kept in closed bottles, for the
year’s consumption. They may also be powdered when they have been taken
from the gourd, and exposed to a gentle heat for two or three hours before they
are put into the mortar. In the proportion of fifteen ounces of the powder
mixed with one ounce of powdered ginger, and beaten up with eight ounces of
palm oil, and afterwards divided into the proper doses, it will form a purging
mass more effectual, and much less likely to gripe, than any that can be pro-
cured by melting the drug. If the physic is given in the shape of a ball it more
readily dissolves in the stomach, and more certainly and safely acts on the
bowels when mingled with some oily matter, like that just recommended, than
when combined with syrup or honey, which are apt to ferment, and be
themselves the cause of gripes, It is also worse than useless to add any diu-
retic to the mass, as soap or carbonate of soda. The action of these on one set
of organs will weaken that of the aloes on another. A physic mass should never
be kept more than two or three months, for, after that time, it rapidly loses its
purgative property.

Directions for physicking will be found at page 804. We will only add
that, as a promoter of condition, the dose should always be mild. A few fluid
MEDICINE. 497

stools will be sufficient for every good purpose. Vivlent disease will alone
justify violent purging.

The Barbadoes aloes have a greater purgative power than the Cape, exclusive
of griping less and being safer. In addition to this, the action of the bowels is
kept up longer by the Barbadoes aloes than by the Cape. If the horse is well
mashed, and carefully exercised, and will drink plenty of warm water, the Cape
may be ventured on, or at least mixed with equal quantities of the Barbadoes ;
but if there is any neglect of preparation for physic, or during the usual opera-
tion of the physic, the Cape are not always to be depended upon. The comhi-
nation of alkaline compounds with aloes alters the results of the medicine,
Their action is quickened, but their purgative properties are impaired, and they
cease to operate specifically on the larger intestines. Such is the opinion of
Professor Morton, and undoubtedly the latter would be an advantage gained.
The activity of the aloes may be occasionally increased by a few drops of the
croton oil. Mashes are useful helps when physic is administered.

Some persons are fond of what are called half-doses of physic. Three or four
drachms are given on one day, and three or four on the following ; and perhaps,
if the medicine has not operated, as in this divided state it will not always, two
or three additional drachms are given on the third day. The consequence is,
that the bowels having been rendered irritable by the former doses, the horse
is over-purged, and inflammation and death occasionally ensue. In physicking
a horse, whatever is to be done should be done at once. Whatever quantity is
intended to be given should be given in one dose.

The system of giving small doses of aloes as alteratives is not good.
These repeated minute doses lodging in some of the folds of the intestines,
and at length uniting, often produce more effect than is desirable. It is
never safe to ride a horse far or fast, with even a small dose of aloes within
him.

Most of all objectionable is the custom of giving small doses of aloes as a
nauseant, in inflammation of the lungs. There is so much sympathy between
the contents of the chest and the belly in the horse, and inflammaiion of one
part is so likely to be transferred to another, that it is treading on very dan-
gerous ground, when, with much inflammation of the lungs, that is given which
will stimulate and may inflame the intestines.

Aloes are most commonly, because most easily, administered in the form
of ball, but in a state of solution their effect is more speedy, effectual, and
safe. :
Aloes are useful in the form of tincture. Eight ounces of powdered aloes,
and one ounce of powdered myrrh, may be put into two quarts of rectified
spirit, diluted with an equal quantity of water. The mixture should be daily
well shaken for a fortnight, and then suffered to stand, in order that the un-
dissolved portion may fall to the bottom. This will constitute a very excellent
application for wounds, whether recent or of long standing and indisposed to heal.
It is not only a gentle stimulant, but it forms a thin crust over the wound, and
shields it from the action of the air.

The principal adulteration of aloes is by means of resin, and the alteration of
colour is concealed by the addition of charcoal or lamp-black. This adultera-
tion is easily enough detected by dissolving the aloes in hot water. All aloes
contain some resinous matter, which the water will not dissolve and which has
very slight purgative effect. The excess of this resin at the bottom of the
solution will mark the degree of adulteration.

Aurenatives are a class of medicines the nature and effect of which are often
much misunderstood, and liable to considerable abuse. It is a very convenient

K K
498 MEDICINE.

name in order to excuse that propensity to dose the horse with medicines, which
is the disgrace of the groom, and the bane of the stable.

By altcratives we understand those drugs which effect some slow change in
the diseased action of certain parts without interfering with the food or work ;
but by common consent the term seems to be confined to medicines for the
diseases of the circulation, or of the digestive organs, or of the skin. If a horse
is heavy and incapable of work from too good keep, or if he is off his food from
some temporary indigestion—or if he has mange or grease, or cracked heels, or
swelled legs, a few alteratives are prescribed, and the complaint is expected to
be gradually and imperceptibly removed. For all skin affections there is no
better alterative than that so often recommended in this treatise, consisting of
black antimony, nitre, and sulphur. If there is any tendency to grease, some
resin may be added to each ball. Ifthe complaint is accompanied by weakness,
a little gentian and ginger may be farther added, but we enter our protest against
the ignorant use of mercury in any form, or any of the mineral acids, or mineral
tonics, or heating spices, as alteratives. We indeed should be pleased if we
could banish the term alterative from common usage. The mode of proceeding
which reason and science would dictate is to ascertain the nature and degree of
the disease, and then the medicine which is calculated to restore the healthy
action of the part, or of the frame generally.

Axum is occasionally used internally in cases of super-purgation in the form of
alum-whey, two drachms of the powder being added to a pint of hot milk; but
there are much better astringents, although this may sometimes succeed when
others fail. If alum is added to a vegetable astringent, as oak-bark, the power of
both is diminished. Its principal use is external. A solution of two drachms to a
pint of water forms alone, or with the addition of a small quantity of white
vitriol, a very useful wash for cracked heels, and for grease gencrally ; and also
for those forms of swelled legs atteaded with exudation of moisture through the
skin. Some add the Goulard lotion, forgetting the chemical decomposition that
takes place; the result of which is, that the alumine, possessing little astrin-
gency, is detached, and two salts with no astringency at all, the sulphate of
lead and the sulphate of potash, are formed.

The Burnt Axum is inferior to the common alum for the purposes men-
tioned, and we have better stimulants, or caustics, to apply to wounds.

Anmon1a is, to the annoyance of the horse, and the injury of his eyes and
his lungs, plentifully extricated from the putrefying dung and urine of the
stable; but, when combined with water in the common form of hartshorn, it is
seldom used in veterinary practice. It has been given, and with decided benefit,
and when other things have failed, in flatulent colic; and is best administered
in the form of the aromatic spirit of ammonia, and in doses of one or two ounces,
in warm water.

Cutoripe or Ammonia, or sal ammoniac, is scarcely deserving of a
place in our list. It is not now used internally; and as an astringent em-
brocation, it must yield to several that are more effectual, and less likely to
blemish.

Antsi Semina, ANIsE-sEED.—This seed is here mentioned principally as a
record of old times, when it was one of the sheet-anchors of the farrier. It is
not yet quite discarded from his shop as a stimulant, a carminative, and a
cordial.

Anopynes.—Of these there is but one in horse practice: Opium is the only
drug that will lull pain. It may be given as an anodyne, but it will also be an
astringent in doses of one, two, or three drachms.

Antimony.—There are several valuable preparations of this metal.
MEDICINE. 499

Tue Brack Sesqui-Sunpuvrer or Antimony, a compound of sulphur and
antimony, is a good alterative. It is given with more sulphur and with nitre,
in varying doses, according to the disease, and the slow or rapid effect intended
tobe produced, It should never be bought in powder whatever trouble there
may be in levigating it, for it is often grossly adulterated with lead, manga
nese, forge-dust, and arsenic. The adulteration may be detected by placing a
little of the powder on a red-hot iro. plate. The pure sulphuret will evaporate
without the slightest residue—so will the arsenic: but there will be an
evident smell of garlic. A portion of the lead and the manganese will be left
behind.

Awrimonit Porassio Tartras, Emeric Tanrar.—The tartrate of potash
and antimony, or a combination of super-tartrate of potash and oxide of anti-
mony, is a very useful nauseant, and has considerable effect on the skin. It is
particularly valuable in inflammation of the lungs, and in every catarrhal affec-
tion. It is given in doses of from one drachm, to a drachm and a half, and
combined with nitre and digitalis. It is also beneficial in the expulsion of
worms. It should be given in doses of two drachms, and with some mechanical
vermifuge, as tin filings, or ground glass, and administered on an empty
stomach, and for several successive days. Although it may sometimes fail to
expel the worms, it will materially improve the condition of the horse, and pro-
duce sleekness of the coat. To a slight degree the emetic tartar is decomposed
by the action of light, and should be kept in a jar, or green bottle. It is
sometimes adulterated with arsenic, which is detected by the garlic smell
when it is placed on hot iron, and also by its not giving a beautiful gold-coloured
precipitate when sulphuret of ammonia is added to a solution of it. It has
also been externally applied in chest affections, in combination with lard, and
in quantities of from one drachm to two drachms of the antimony, to an ounce
of the lard ; but, except in extreme cases, recourse should not be had to it, on
account of the extensive sloughing which it sometimes produces.

Putvis Antimonu Composirus, Tax Compounp Powner or ANTIMONY.—
Commonly known by the name of James’s Powder. It is employed as a sudo-
rific in fever, either alone or in combination with mercurials. The dose is from
one to two drachms. The late Mr. Bloxam used todrust to it alone in the
treatment of Epidemic Catarrh in the horse. It is, however, decidedly inferior
to Emetic Tartar. It is often adulterated with chalk and burnt bones, and
other white powders, and that to so shameful a degree, that little dependence
can be placed on the antimonial powder usually sold by druggists. The muri-
atic or sulphuric acids will detect most of these adulterations.

Anti-spasmopics.—Of these our list is scanty, for the horse is subject
only to a few spasmodic diseases, and there are fewer medicines which have an
anti-spasmodic effect. Opium stands first for its general power, and that
exerted particularly in locked jaw. Oil of turpentine is almost a specific for
spasm of the bowels. Camphor, assafoetida, and various other medicines, used
on the human subject, have a very doubtful effect on the horse, or may be
considered as almost inert.

Arcentum, Sirver.—One combination only of this metal is used, and that
as a manageable and excellent caustic, viz. the Lunar Caustic. It is far pre-
ferable to the hot iron, or to any acid, for the destruction of the part if a horse
should have been bitten by a rabid dog ; and it stands next to the butyr of anti-
mony for the removal of fungus generally. It has not yet been administered
internally to the horse.

Arsenicum, Arsenic.—This drug used to be employed as a tonic, in order
to core out old ulcers; but it is now seldom employed, for there are better and

KK 2
500 MEDICINE.

safer tonics, and far better and safer caustics. The method of detecting the
presence of arsenic in cases of poisoning has been described at page 292. :

Batis.—The usual and the most convenient mode of administering veterinary
medicines is in the form of balls, compounded with oil, and not with honey or
syrup, on account of their longer keeping soft and more easily dissolving in the
stomach. Balls should never weigh more than an ounce and a half, otherwise
they will be so large as not to pass without difficulty down the gullet. Theyshould
not be more than an inch in diameter and three inches in length. The mode
of delivering balls is not difficult to acquire ; but the balling-iron, while it often
wounds and permanently injures the bars, occasions the horse to struggle more
than he otherwise would against the administration of the medicine. The horse
should be backed in the stall ;—the tongue should be drawn gently out with the
left hand on the off side of the mouth, and there fixed, not by continuing to
pull at it, but by pressing the fingers against the side of the lower jaw. The
ball, being now taken between the tips of the fingers of the right hand, is passed
rapidly up the mouth, as near to the palate as possible, until it reaches the root
of the tongue. It is then delivered with a slight jerk, and the hand being im-
mediately withdrawn and the tongue liberated, the ball is forced through the
pharynx into the cesophagus. Its passage should he watched down the left side
of the throat ; and if the passage of it is not seen going down, a slight tap or blow
under the chin will generally cause the horse to swallow it, or a few gulps ot
water will convey it into the stomach. Very few balls should be kept ready,
made, for they may become so hard as to be incapable of passing down the gullet,
or dissolving in the stomach, and the life of the horse may be endangered or lost.
This is peculiarly liable to be the case if the ball is too large, or wrapped in
thick paper.

Bark, Peruvian.—A concentrated preparation of this is entitled the Sun-
PHATE OF Quinine. The simple bark is now seldom used. If it has any
good effect, it is in diabetes. The quinine, however, is strongly recommended
by Professor Morton as singularly efficacious in the prostration of strength which
is often the consequence of influenza.

Basiicon is a valuable digestive ointment, composed of resin, bees-wax, and
olive-oil. If it is needed as a stimulant, a little turpentine and verdigris may
be added.

Buitiaponn#z Exrractum, Exrract or Deapiy NientsaapE.—The inspis-
sated juice is principally used as a narcotic and sedative, and indicated where
there is undue action of the nervous and vascular systems, as in tetanus, carditis,
and nervous affections generally. Externally, it is beneficially applied to
the eye.

Buisters are applications to the skin which separate the cuticle in the form
of vesicles containing a serous fluid. They excite increased action in the vessels
of the skin, by means of which this fluid is thrown out. The part or neighbour-
ing parts are somewhat relieved by the discharge, but more by the inflammation
and pain that are produced, and lessen that previously existing in some con-
tiguous part. On this principle we account for the decided relief often
obtained by blisters in inflammation of the lungs, and their efficacy in abating
dceply-seated disease, as that of the tendons, ligaments, or joints; and also
the necessity of previously removing, in these latter cases, the superficial

inflammation caused by them, in order that one of a different kind may be
excited, and to which the deeply-seated inflammation of the part will be
more likely to yield. The blisters used in horse-practice are composed of

cantharides or the oil of turpentine, to which some have added a tincture
of the croton-nut.
MEDICINE, 501

For some important remarks on the composition, application and management
of the blister, see page 482.
~ Bone Armentan is an argillaceous earth combined with iron, and is supposed
to possess some astringent property. The propriety of its being adminis-
tered inwardly is doubtful; for it may remain in the intestinal canal, and become
the nucleus of a calculus. On account of its supposed astringency, it is em-
ployed externally to give consistence to ointments for grease. Even the bole
‘Armenian has not escaped the process of adulteration, and is largely mixed with
inferior earths. The fraud may be suspected, but not satisfactorily detected,
by the colour of the powder, which should be a bright red.

Canamine.—See Zinc.

Catomun.—See Mercury.

Campuor is the produce of one of the laurus species, a native of Japan, and
too often imitated by passing a stream of chlorine through oil of turpentine.
According to Professor Morton, it is a narcotic. It diminishes the frequency of
the pulse, and softens its tone. When long exhibited, it acts on the kidneys.
Externally applied, it is said to be a discutient and an anodyne for chronic
sprains, bruises, and tumours. The camphor ball is a favourite one with the
groom, and occasionally administered by the veterinary surgeon. Mr. W.C.
Spooner uses it, mixed with opium, in cases of locked jaw, and in doses of from
one to two drachms. In the form of camphorated oil, itpromotes the absurption of
fluids thrown out beneath the skin, the removal of old callus, and the suppling
of joints stiff from labour. Combined with oil of turpentine it is more effective,
but in this combination it occasionally blemishes.

Canruaripes are the basis of the most approved and useful veterinary blisters.
The cantharis is a fly, the native of Italy and the south of France. It is de-
stroyed by sulphur, dried and powdered, and mixed with palm oil and resin in
the proportions directed at page 290. Its action is intense, and yet superficial ;
it plentifully raises the cuticle, yet rarely injures the true skin, and therefore
seldom blemishes. The application of other acrid substances is occasionally fol-
lowed by deeply-seated ulcerations ; but a blister composed of the Spanish fly
alone, while it does its duty, leaves, after a few weeks have passed, scarcely &
trace behind.

The art of blistering consists in cutting, or rather shaving, the hair perfectly
close; then well rubbing in the ointment, for at least ten minutes ; and, after-
wards, and what is of the greatest consequence of all, plastering a little more of
the ointment lightly over the part, and leaving it. As soon as the vesicles have
perfectly risen, which will be in twenty or twenty-four hours, the torture of the
animal may be somewhat relieved by the application of olive or neat’s-foot oil,
or any emollient ointment.

When too extensive a blister has been employed, or, from the intensity of the
original inflammation, the blister has not risen, (for no two intense inflamma-
tions can exist in neighbouring parts at the same time,) strangury—great
difficulty in passing urine, and even suppression of it—has occurred. The care-
ful washing off of the blister, and the administration of plenty of warm water,
with opium, and bleeding if the symptoms run high, will generally remove this
unpleasant effect.

An infusion of two ounces of the flies in a pint of oil of turpentine, for
several days, is occasionally used as a liquid blister; and, when sufficiently
lowered with common oil, it is called a sweating oil, for it maintains a certain
degree of irritation and inflammation on the skin, yet not sufficient to blister,
and thus gradually abates or removes some old or deep inflammation, or cause
of lameness.

- Of late cantharides have come into more general use. They were recom-
502 MEDICINE.

mended by Mr. Vines, in combination with vegetable bitters, as a stimulating
tonic, in cases of debility. He next applied them for the cure of Glanders,
and with considerable success. ‘The Veterinary public is much indebted to Mr.
Vines, for the steadiness with which he has followed up the employment of the
Spanish-fly. The dose is from five to eight grains given daily, but withheld for
a day or two when diuresis supervenes. 3

Capstct Baccm, Capsicum Bernres.—They are valuable as stimulants affect-
ing the system generally, yet not too much accelerating the pulse. Their bene-
ficial effect in cases of cold, has seldom been properly estimated. The dose
is from a scruple to half a drachm.

Carur Semina, Caraway Szxns.—-These and Ginger, alone or combined,
are the best stimulants used in horse-practice.

CascaritL@ Cortex, Cascarinua Bark.—Tonic as well as aromatic. It
must not, however, be used with the sulphates of iron or zinc.

Castor Orn, Oreum Ricin1.—An expensive medicine. It must be given in
large doses, and even then it is uncertain in its effects. Mild as is its operation
in most animals, it sometimes gripes and even endangers the horse.

Carecau, Japan Earru, yet, no earth, but extracted from the wood of
one of the acacia trees, is a very useful astringent. It is given in super-
purgation, in doses of one or two drachms, with opium, as a yet more power-
ful astringent ; chalk, to neutralize any acid in the stomach or bowels; and
powdered gum, to sheath the over-irritated mucous coat of the intestines. It is
not often adulterated in our country, but grossly so abroad—fine sand and alu-
minous earth being mixed with the extract. It is seldom given with any
alkali, yet the prescription just recommended contains chalk : but, although the
chalk, as an alkali, may weaken the astringency of the catechu, it probably
neutralizes some acid in the stomach or bowels, that would have diminished
the power of the catechu to a greater degree. It must not be given in conjunc-
tion with any metallic salt, for the tannin or gallic acid, on which its power
chiefly or entirely depends, has an affinity for all metals, and will unite with
them, and form a gallate of them, possessing little astringent energy. Common
ink is the union of this tannin principle with iron.

A tincture of catechu is sometimes made by macerating three ounces of the
powder in a quart of spirit fora fortnight. It is an excellent application for
wounds ; and, with the aloes, constitutes all that we want of a balsamic nature
for the purpose of hastening the healing process of wounds.

Caustics are substances that burn or destroy the parts to which they are
applied. First among them stands the red-hot iron, or actual cautery, and then
pure alkalies, potash, and soda, and the sulphuric and nitrous acids. Milder
caustics are found in the sulphate of copper, red precipitate, burnt alum, and
verdigris. They are principally used to destroy fungous excrescences, or
stimulate indolent tumours, or remove portions of cellular substance, or
muscle infected by any poison.

Crera Preparata, Cuan, is principally used in combination with catechu
and opium in cases of super-purgation. All adventitious matters are removed
by washing, and the prepared or levigated chalk remains in the form of an im-
palpable powder. It is usually administered in doses of two or three ounces.
It is externally applied over ulcers that discharge a thin and ichorous matter.

Cuamomite, Antaemis.—The powder of the flower is a useful vegetable
tonic, and the mildest in our list. It is given in doses of one or two drachms, and
is exhibited in the carly stage of convalescence in order to ascertain whether the
febrile stage of the disease is passed, and to prepare the way for a more power-
fal tonic, the gentian. Ifno acceleration of pulse, or heat of mouth, or indica-
tion of return of fever, accompanies the cautious use of the chamomile, the
MEDICINE. 508

gentian, with carbonate of iron, may be safely ventured upon; but if the gentian
had been first used, and a little too soon, there might have been considerable
and perhaps dangerous return of fever. :

Cuarcoax is occasionally used as an antiseptic, being made into a poultice.
with linseed meal, and applied to foul and offensive ulcers, and to cracked heels.
It removes the foetid and unwholesome smell that occasionally proceeds from
them.

Cuaanees are thick adhesive plasters spread over parts that have been strained
or weakened, and, being applied to the skin, adhere for a considerable time.
The following mixture makes a good charge—Burgundy or common pitch, five
ounces ; tar, six ounces; yellow wax, one ounce, melted together, and when
they are becoming cool, half a drachm of powdered cantharides well stirred in,
This must be partially melted afresh when applied, and spread on the part with a
large spatula, as hot as can be done without giving the animal too much pain,
Flocks of tow should be scattered over it while it is warm, and thus a thick
and adhesive covering will be formed that cannot be separated from the skin
for many months. It is used for old sprains of the loins, and also strains of the
back sinews. The charge acts in three ways—by the slight stimulant power
which it possesses it gradually removes all deep-seated inflammation—by its
stimulus and its pressure it promotes the absorption of any callus or thicken-
ing beneath ; and, acting as a constant bandage, it gives tone and strength to
the part.

Crysrers.—These are useful and too often neglected means of hastening the
evacuation of the bowels when the disease requires their speedy action. The
old ox-bladder and wooden pipe may still be employed, and a considerable
quantity of fluid thrown into the intestine; but the patent stomach and clyster
pump of Mr. Reid is far preferable, as enabling the practitioner to inject a
greater quantity of fluid, and in a less time.

Two ounces of soft or yellow soap, dissolved in a gallon of warm water, will
form a useful aperient clyster. It will detach or dissolve many irritating sub-
stances that may have adhered to the mucous coat of the bowels. For a more
active aperient, half a pound of Epsom salts, or even of common salt, may he
dissolved in the same quantity of water. A stronger injection, but not to be
used if much purgative medicine has been previously given, may be composed
of an ounce of Barbadoes aloes, dissolved in two or three quarts of warm water.
If nothing else can be procured, warm water may be employed ; it will act as
.a fomentation to the inflamed and irritable surface of the bowels, and will have
no inconsiderable effect even as an aperient.

In cases of over-purging or inflammation of the bowels, the injection must be
of a soothing nature. It may consist of gruel alone, or, if the purging is
considerable, and difficult to stop, the gruel must be thicker, and four ounces
of prepared or powdered chalk well mixed with or suspended in it, with two
scruples or a drachm of powdered opium.

No oil should enter into the composition of a clyster, except that linseed oil
may be used for the expulsion of the ascarides, or needle- worms.

In epidemic catarrh, when the horse sometimes obstinately refuses to eat or
to drink, his strength may be supported by nourishing clysters; but they should
consist of thick gruel only, and not more than a quart should be administered
at once. <A greater quantity would be ejected soon after the pipe is withdrawn.
Strong broths, and more particularly ale and wine, are dangerous ingredients.
They may rapidly aggravate the fever, and should never be administered, except
under the superintendence, or by the direction, of a veterinary surgeon.

The principal art of administering a clyster consists in not frightening the
horse. The pipe, well oiled, should be very gently introduced, and the fluid
504 MEDICINE.

not too hastily thrown into the intestine; its heat being as nearly as possible
that of the intestine, or about 96° of Fahrenheit’s thermometer. ‘

Contyrsa, Lorrons ror THE Eyrs.—These have been sufficiently described
when inflammation of the eyes was treated of.

Coparsa, Barsam or Carivi.—The resin is obtained from a tree growing in
South America and the West India Islands. It is expensive, much adulterated,
and scldom used; for its properties differ but little from those of common
diuretics.

Correr.—There are two combinations of this metal used in veterinary
practice the verdigris or subacetate, and the blue vitriol or sulphate.

Verdigris or Subacetate of Copper is the common rust of that metal produced
by subjecting it to the action of acetic acid. It is given internally by some
practitioners, in doses of two or three drachms daily, as a tonic, and particularly
for the cure of farcy. It is, however, an uncertain and dangerous medicine.
The corrosive sublimate, with vegetable tonics, as recommended at page 127, is
preferable. Verdigris is, however, usefully applied externally as a mild caustic.
Either alone, in the form of fine powder, or mixed with an equal quantity of
the sugar (superacetate) of lead, it eats down proud flesh, or stimulates old ulcers
to healthy action. When boiled with honey and vinegar, it constitutes the far-
riers’ Egyptiacum, certainly of benefit in cankered or ulcerated mouth, and no
bad application for thrushes; but yielding, as it regards both, to better remedies,
that are mentioned under the proper heads. Some practitioners use alum and
oil of vitriol in making their Fgyptiacum, forgetting the strange decomposition
which is produced.

Blue Vitriol or Sulphate of Copper is the union of sulphuric acid and copper.
It isa favourite tonic with many practitioners, and has been vaunted as a
specific fur glanders ; while others, and we think properly, have no very good
opinion of it in cithcr respect. As a cure for glanders, its reputation has
nearly passed away. As a tonic, when the horse is slowly recovering from
severe illness, it is dangerous, and its internal use should be confined to cases of
long continued discharge from the nostril, when catarrh or fever have ceased.
It may then be given with benefit in doses of from one to two drachms twice in
the day, and always combincd with gentian and ginger. It is principally
valuable as an external application, dissolved in water in the proportion of two
drachms to a pint, and acting as a gentle stimulant. If an ounce is dissolved in
the same quantity of water, it becomes a mild caustic. In the former propor-
tion, it rouses old ulcers to a healthy action, and disposes even recent wounds to
heal more quickly than they otherwise would do; and in the latter it removes
fungous granulations or proud flesh. The blue vitriol is sometimes reduced to
powder and sprinkled upon the wound for this purpose : it is also a good applica-
tion for canker in the foot.

Corpiats are useful or injurious according to the judgment with which they
are given. When a horse comes home thoroughly exhausted, and refuses his
food, a cordial may be beneficial. It may rouse the stomach and the system
generally, and may prevent cold and fever; but it is poison to the animal when
administered after the cold is actually caught and fever begins to appear. More
to be reprobated is the practice of giving frequent cordials, that by their stimulus
on the stomach, (the skin sympathising so much with that viscus,) a fine coat
may be produced. The artificial excitement of the cordial soon becomes as
necessary to enable the horse to do even common work, as is the excitement of
the dram to sustain the animal spirits of the drunkard.

In order to recal the appetite of the horse slowly recovering from illness, a
cordial may sometimes be allowed; or to old horses, that hive been worked
hard and used to these excitements when young ; or to draught horses, that have
MEDICINE, 505.

exhibited slight symptoms of staggers when their Jabour has’ been unusually
protracted and their stomachs left too long empty; or mixed with diuretic
medicine, to fine the legs of the over-worked and debilitated animal; but in no
other case should they obtain a place in the stable, or be used at the discretion of
the carter or the groom.

Corrosive SustimaTe.—See Mercury.

Creasore has very lately been introduced into veterinary practice, and is
much valued on account of its antiseptic properties. . It is obtained by the
destructive distillation of various substances, as pyroligneous acid, tar, wood
smoke, &c. Pure creasote is colourless and transparent ; its odour is that of
smoked meat, and its taste is caustic and burning. It coagulates the albumen of
the blood, and hence has been lately employed in stopping hemorrhages. It
acts very powerfully on the general system, and quickly destroys small animals.
Professor Morton gives a very interesting and faithful account of it. It is,
according to him, both a stimulant anda tonic. In an undiluted state it acts
asa caustic. When diluted it is a general excitant and an antiseptic. In the
form of a lotion, a liniment, or an ointment, it has been useful in farcy and
glanders, also in foot-rot, canker, and thrush,—mange, caries, excessive suppu-
ration, and the repression of fungous granulations. As a caustic it acts as a
powerful stimulant, and it is an antiseptic.

Croron Tre Semiva, Croron Seeps.—The croton-nut has not been long
introduced into veterinary practice, although it has been used from time imme-
morial by the inhabitants of India as a powerful purgative. An oil has been
extracted from it, and used by the surgeon; the meal is adopted by the veteri-
narian. It is given in doses from a scruple to half a drachm, and, from its acrid
nature, in the form of a ball, with an ounce of linseed meal. When it does
operate the effect is generally observed in six or eight hours, the stools being
profuse and watery, and the patient frequently griped. On account of its speedy
operation, it may be given in locked jaw and staggers: and also in dropsy of the
chest or belly, from the watery and profuse stools which it produces; but it is
often uncertain in its operation, and its griping, and the debility which it
occasions, are serious objections to it as common physic. When placed on the
tongue of the horse in quantities varying from twenty to forty drops, it produces
purging, but the membrane of the mouth frequently becomes viclently inflamed.
This likewise happens, but not to so great a degree, when it is given in the form
of a drink, or in a mash.

Denvutcents are substances that have the power of diminishing the effect of
acrimonious or stimulating substances. The first, by some oily or mucilaginous
substance, sheaths the sensible parts. The other dilutes the stimulus, and
diminishes its power. It will rarely be difficult to determine which effect should
be produced, and the means by which it is to be effected.

Diapnorerics, are medicines that increase the sensible and insensible per-
spiration of the animal. As it regards the horse, they are neither many nox
powerful. Antimony in its various forms, and sulphur, have some effect in
opening the pores of the skin, and exciting its vessels to action, and especially
when assisted by warmth of stable or clothing, and therefore is useful in those
diseases in which it is desirable that some portion of the blood should be
diverted from the overloaded, and inflamed, and vital organs of the chest,
to the skin or the extremities. The only diaphoretics, however, on which
much confidence can be placed, and especially to produce condition, are warm
clothing and good grooming :

Dicestives are applications to recent or old wounds, as mild stimulants, in
order to produce a healthy appearance and action in them, and to cause them
more speedily to heal. A weak solution of blue vitriol is an excellent diges-
506 MEDICINE.

tive ; so is the tincture of aloes, and the tincture of myrrh. The best digestive
ointment is one composed of three parts of calamine ointment (Turner's cerate)
and one of common turpentine.

Diarrauis.—The leaves of the common foxglove, gathered about the flower-
ing time, dried carefully in a dark place, and powdered, and kept in a close black
bottle, form one of the most valuable medicines in veterinary practice. It isa
direct and powerful sedative, diminishing the frequency of the pulse, and
the general irritability of the system, and acting also as a mild diuretic ; it is
therefore useful in every inflammatory and febrile complaint, and particularly
in inflammation of the chest. It is usually given in combination with emetic
tartar and nitre. The average dose is one drachm of digitalis, one and a half of
emetic tartar, and three of nitre, repeated twice or thrice in the day.

Digitalis seems to have an immediate effect on the heart, lessening the number
of its pulsations ; but effecting this in a singular manner—not by causing the
heart to beat more slowly, but producing certain intermissions or pauses in
its action. When these become marked—when at every sixth or seventh beat,
the pulsations are suspended while two or three can be slowly counted, this
is precisely the effect that is intended to be produced, and, however ili the
horse may appear to be, or however alarming this intermittent pulse may seem
to the standers-by, from that moment the animal will frequently begin to amend.
The dose must then be diminished one-half, and, in a few days, it may be
omitted altogether: but the emetic tartar and the nitre should be continued
during some days after the practitioner has deemed it prudent to try the effect of
mild vegetable tonics.

There is no danger in the intermittent pulse thus produced; but there is
much when the digitalis fails to produce any effect on the circulation. The
disease is then too powerful to be arrested by medicine. Digitalis requires
watching; but the only consequence to be apprehended from an over-dose is,
that the patient may be reduced a little too low, and his convalescence retarded
for a day or two.

In the form of infusion or tincture, digitalis is very useful in inflammation of
the eyes. It is almost equal in its sedative influence to opium, and it may
with great advantage be alternated with it, when opium begins to lose its power.
The infusion is made by pouring a quart of boiling water on an ounce of the
powder. When it is become cold, a portion of the liquid may be introduced
into the eye. One or two drops of the tincture may be introduced with good
effect. This may be obtained by macerating three ounces of the digitalis in a
quart of spirit.

The infusion has been serviceable in mange ; but there are better applications.

Diuretics constitute a useful but much abused class of medicines. They
stimulate the kidneys to secrete more than the usual quantity of urine, or to
separate a greater than ordinary proportion of the watery parts of the blood.
The deficiency of water in the blood, thus occasioned, must be speedily supplied
or the healthy circulation cannot be carried on, and it is generally supplied by
the absorbents taking up the watery fluid in some part of the frame, and carrying
it into the circulation, Hence the evident use of diuretics in dropsical affections,
in swelled legs, and also in inflammation and fever, by lessening the quantity of
the circulating fluid, and, consequently, that which is sent to the inflamed parts,

All this is effected by the kidneys being stimulated to increased action; but
if this stimulus is too often or too violently applied, the energy of the kidney
may be impaired, or inflammation may be produced. That inflammation may
be of an acute character, and destroy the patient ; or, although not intense in
its nature, it may by frequent repetition assume a chronic form, and more
slowly, but as surely, do irreparable mischief. Hence the necessity of attention
MEDICINE. 507

to that portion of the food which may have a diuretic power. Mow-burnt hay
and foxy oats are the unsuspected causes of many a disease in the horse, at first
obscure, but ultimately referable to injury or inflammation of the urinary
organs. Hence, too, the impropriety of suffering medicines of a diuretic nature
grease, or accumulation of fluid in any part, and in those superficial eruptions
to be at the command of the ignorant carter or groom. In swelled legs, cracks,
and inflammations which are said to be produced by humours floating in the
blood, diuretics are evidently beneficial; but they should be as mild as pos-
sible, and not oftener given or continued longer than the case requires. For
some cautions as to the administration of diuretics, and a list of the safest and
best, the reader is referred to page 313, The expensive Castile soap, and
eamphor, so often resorted to, are not needed, for the common liquid turpentine
is quite sufficient in all ordinary cases, and nitre and digitalis may be added if
fever is suspected.

Drinxs.—Many practitioners and horse-proprietors have a great objection to
the administration of medicines in the form of drinks. A drink is not so porta-
ble as a ball, it is more troublesome to give, and a portion of it is usually
wasted. If the drink contains any acid substance, it is apt to excoriate the
mouth, or to irritate the throat already sore from disease, or the unpleasant
taste of the drug may unnecessarily nauseate the horse. There are some medi-
cines, however, which must be given in the form of drink, as in colic ; and the
time, perhaps, is not distant when purgatives will be thus administered, as more
speedy, and safer in their operation. In cases of much debility and entire loss
of appetite, all medicine should be given in solution, for the stomach may not
have sufficient power to dissolve the paper in which the ball is wrapped, or the
substance of the ball.

An ox’s horn, the larger end being cut slantingly, is the usual and best
instrument for administering drinks. The noose of a halter is introduced into
the mouth, and then, by means of a stable fork, the head is elevated by an
assistant considerably higher than for the delivery of a ball. The surgeon
stands on a pail or stable basket on the off-side of the horse, and draws out the
tongue with the left hand ; he then with the right hand introduces the horn
gently into the mouth, and over the tongue, and by a dexterous turn of the
horn empties the whole of the drink—not more than about six ounces—into
the back part of the mouth. The horn is now quickly withdrawn, and the
tongue loosened, and the greater portion of the fluid will be swallowed. A por-
tion of it, however, will often be obstinately held in the mouth for a long time,
and the head must be kept up until the whole is got rid of, which a quick, but
not violent slap on the muzzle will generally compel the horse todo. The art
of giving a drink consists in not putting too much into the horn at once; intro-
ducing the horn far enough into the mouth, and quickly turning and withdrawing
it, without bruising or wounding the mouth, the tongue being loosened at the
same moment. A bottle is a disgraceful and dangerous instrument to use,
except it be a flat pint bottle, with along and thick neck.

Ferrvum, Inon.—Of this metal there are two preparations adopted by veteri-
narians. The rust, or Carbonate, is a mild and useful tonic in doses of from two to
four drachms. The Sulphate (green vitriol or copreras) is more powerful.
It should never be given in the early stages of recovery, and always with
caution. The dose should be the same as that of the carbonate. The sulphate
has lately been recommended for the cure of that deceitful stage or form of
glanders, in which there is nothing to characterise the disease but a very slight
discharge from the nostrils. It is to be dissolved in the common drink of the
horse. It is worth a trial, but too sanguine expectations must not be en-
couraged of the power of any drug over this intractable malady. The iron
508 MEDICINE.

should be given in combination with gentian and ginger, but never with any
alkali or nitre, or soap, or catechu, or astringent vegetable.

Fever.—Forthe nature and treatmentofthe fever, both pure and symptomatio,
reference may be made to p. 246.

Forge water used to be a favourite tonic with farriers, and also a lotion for
canker and ulcers in the mouth. It owes its power, if there be any, to the iron
with which it is impregnated.

Fomenrations open the pores of the skin and promote perspiration in the
part, and so abate the local swelling, and relieve pain and lessen inflanimation.
‘They are often used, and with more benefit when the inflammation is somewhat
deeply seated, than. when it is superficial. The effect depends upon the warmth
of the water, and not on any herb that may have been boiled in it. They
are best applied by means of flannel, frequently dipped in the hot water, or on
which the water is poured, and the heat should be as great as the hand will
bear. The benefit that might be derived from them is much impaired by the
absurd method in which the fomentations are conducted. They are rarely
continued long enough, and when they are removed, the part is left wet and
uncovered, and the coldness of evaporation succeeds to the heat of fomentation.
The perspiration is thus suddenly checked ; the animal suffers considerable pain,
and more harm is done by the extreme change of temperature than if the
fomentation had not been attempted.

Gentian stands at the head of the vegetable tonics, and is a stomachic as
well as a tonic. It is equally useful in chronic debility, and in that which is
consequent on severe and protracted illness. It is generally united with chamo-
mile, ginger, and, when the patient will bear it, carbonate of iron. Four
drachms of gentian, two of chamomile, one of carbonate of iron, and one of
ginger, will make an excellent tonic ball. An infusion of gentian is one of the
best applications to putrid ulcers.

Ginepr is as valuable as a cordial, as gentian is asa tonic. It is the basis of
the cordial ball, and it is indispensable in the tonic ball. Although it is diffi-
cult to powder, the veterinary practitioner should always purchase it in its solid
form. If the root is large, heavy, and not worm-eaten, the black ginger is as
good as the white, and considerably cheaper. The powder is adulterated with
bean-meal and the sawdust of boxwood, and rendered warm and pungent by
means of capsicum.

Hetieporus Atpus, Wuire Heiiesorr.—This is a drastic cathartic, and
should be used with great caution... It is a powerful nauseant, and lowers both
the force and frequency of the pulse, and is therefore given with good effect in
various inflammations, and particularly that of the lungs. In the hospital of
the veterinary surgeon, or in the stable of the gentleman who will superintend
the giving and the operation of every medicine, it may be used with safety ;
but with him who has to trust to others, and who does not see the horse more
than once in twelve or twenty-four hours, it is a dangerous drug. If it is
pushed a little too far, trembling and giddiness, and purging follow, and the
horse is sometimes lost. The hanging of the head, and the frothing of the
mouth, and, more particularly, the sinking of the pulse, will give warning of
danger ; but the medical attendant may not have the opportunity of observing
this, and when he does observe it, it may be too late. Its dose varies from a
scruple to half a drachm. In doses of a drachm it could not be given with
safety ; and yet, such is the different effect of medicines given in different doses,
that in the quantity of an ounce it is said to be a diuretic and a tonic, and
exhibited with advantage in chronic and obstinate grease.

Hetcezorus Niger, Brack Hetievorse.—This is used mostly as a local
application, and as such it is a very powerful stimulant. Mr. E. Stanley, of
MEDICINE. 509

Banbury, frequently resorts to it in fistulous affections of the poll and withers,
and with considerable success. The abscess having formed, and exit being given
to the imprisoned fluid it is allowed to discharge itself, for two or three days
being dressed with an ordinary digestive ointment. When the pus assumes “i
laudable character, he introduces a few portions of the fibrous part of the
root, passing them down to the bottom of the sinus, and letting them remain
for a fortnight or more ; in the mean time, merely keeping the surrounding parta
clean. On cxamination it will be found that the healing process has commenced.

Professor Morton adds, that an ointment, formed of the powder of either the
black or white Hellebore, in the proportion of one part of the powder to eight
of lard, will be found exceedingly active for the dressing of rowels and setons.*

Hemrockx is used by some practitioners, instead of digitalis or hellebore, in
affections of the chest, whether acute or chronic; but it is inferior to both.
The dose of the powder of the dried leaves is about a drachm.

Hyprarcyrrum.—This metal is found native in many countries in the form
of minute globules. It also occurs in masses, and in different varieties of crys-
tallization. It has the singular property of being liquid in the natural tem-
perature of our earth. It freezes, or assumes a singular species of crystalliza-
tion, at 39° below 0 of Fah., and at 660° above 0 of Fah. it boils, and rapidly
evaporates, In its metallic state it appears to have no action on the animal
system, but its compounds are mostly powerful excitants, and some of thein
are active caustics.

The Common Mercurial Ointment may be used for ring-worm, and that spe-
cies of acarus which seems to be the source, or the precursor of, mange. The
compound mercurial ointment is also useful in the destruction of the same
insect. For most eruptions connected with or simulating mange, the author of
this work has been accustomed to apply the following ointment with consider-
able success :—

Sublimed sulphur < . 5 . - 1 pound.

Common turpentine . . 3 - 402,
Mercurial ointment . . 7 P . 2ou
Linseed oil ; : ‘ A : - 1 pint.

The Mercurial Ointment is prepared by rubbing quicksilver with lard, in the
proportion’ of one part of mercury to three of lard, until no globules appear.
The practitioner should, if possible, prepare it himself, for he can seldom get
it pure or of the proper strength from the druggist. It is employed with
considerable advantage in preparing splents, spavins, or other bony or callous
tumours, for blistering or firing. One or two drachms, according to the nature
and size of the swelling, may be daily well rubbed in; but it should be watched,
for it sometimes salivates the horse very speedily. The tumours more readily
disperse, at the application of a stronger stimulant, when they have been thus
prepared. Mercurial ointment in a weaker state is sometimes necessary for the
cure of mallenders and sallenders ; and in very obstinate cases of mange, one-
eighth part of mercurial ointment may be added to the ointment recommended
at page 477.

Calomel, the submuriate or protochloride of mercury, may be given, combined
with aloes, in mange, surfeit, or worms. It is also useful in some cases of chronic
cough, in farcy, and in jaundice. Alone it has little purgative effect on the horse,
but it assists the action of other aperients. It is given in doses from a scruple
toa drachm. As soon as the gums become red, or the animal begins to quid or
drop his hay, it must be discontinued. Calomel has lately gained much
repute in arresting the progress of epidemic catarrh in the horse. Mr. Percivall

 

* Morton’s Manual of Pharmacy, p. 175,
510 MEDICINE.

y

has succeeded in this attempt to a very considerable extent. In fact, the

influence of calomel in veterinary practice seems to have been far too much’

undervalued*. . . ;
Corrosive Sublimate, the oxymuriate or bichloride of mercury, combined with

chlorine in a double proportion, is a useful tonic in farcy. It should be given
in doses of ten grains daily, and gradually increased to a scruple, until the horse
is purged, or the mouth becomes sore, when it may be omitted for a few days,
and resumed. Some have recommended it as a diuretic, but it is too dangerous
a medicine for this purpose. It is used externally in solution ; in substance
in quittor, as a stimulant to foul ulcers ; and in the proportion of five grains to
an ounce of rectified spirit in obstinate mange, or to destroy vermin on the
skin. It is, however, too uncertain and too dangerous a medicine for the horse-
proprietor to venture on its use.

ZEthiop’s Mineral, the black sulphuret of mercury, is not often used in horse
practice, but it is a good alterative for obstinate surfeit or foulness of the skin,
in doses of three drachms daily. Four drachms of cream of tartar may be ad..
vantageously added to each dose.

Inrustons.—The active matter of some vegetable substances is partly or
entirely extracted by water. Dried vegetables yield their properties more
readily and perfectly than when in their green state. Boiling water is poured
on the substance to be infused, and which should have been previously
pounded or powdered, and the vessel then covered and placed near a fire. In
five or six hours the transparent part may be poured off, and is ready for use,
In a few days, however, all infusions become thick, and lose their virtue, from
the decomposition of the vegetable matter.

The infusion of chamomile is advantageously used instead of water in com-
pounding a mild tonic drench. The infusion of catechu is useful in astringent
mixtures; that of linseed is used instead of common water in catarrh and cold ;
and the infusion of tobacco in some injections.

Iopinr.—This substance has not been long introduced into veterinary practice.
The first object which it seemed to accomplish, was the reduction of the en-
larged glands that frequently remain after catarrh, but it soon appeared that it
could reduce almost every species of tumour. Much concerned in the first in-
troduction of iodine into veterinary practice, the writer of the present work bears
willing testimony to the zeal and success of others, in establishing the claims of
this most valuable medicine. Professor Morton has devoted much time and labour
to the different combinations of iodine, and they are described at length in his
useful “ Manual of Pharmacy.” He gives the formule of the composition of a
liniment, an ointment, and a tincture of iodine, adapted to different species and
stages of disease. He next describes the preparation of the iodide of potassium—
the combination of iodine and potash,—and then the improvement on that under
the name of the diniodide of copper—the union of two parts of the iodide of
potassium with four of the sulphate of copper.

The action of this compound is an admirable tonic and a stimulant to
the absorbent system, if combined with vegetable tonics, and, occasionally,
smali doses of cantharides. Professor Spooner and Mr. Daws applied this com-
pound, and with marked success, to the alleviation of farcy, nasal gleet, and
glanders. Itis pleasing to witness these triumphs over disease, a little while
ago so unexpected, and now so assured.

Juniper, On or.—This essential oil is retained because it has some diuretic
property, as well as being a pleasant aromatic. It frequently enters into the
composition of the diuretic ball. :

 

* Voterinarian, vol, xvi., or i. new series, pp. 325, 441, and 524.

PeEnee
MEDICINE. 611

Leap, Prussum.—The Carbonate of Lead has a deleterious effect on the
biped and the quadruped in the neighbourhood of lead works. They are sub-
ject to violent griping pains, and to constipation that can with great difficulty,
or not all, be overcome. Something of the same kind is occasionally observed in
the cider counties, and the “ painter's colic” is a circumstance of too frequent
occurrence—the occasional dreadful pains, and the ravenous appetite extending
to every thing that comes in the way of the animal. Active purgatives fol-
lowed by opium are the most effectual remedies,

The Acetute of Lead, Plumbi Acetas-—Sugar of lead is seldom given exter-
nally to the horse, but is used as a collyrium for inflammation of the eyes.

The Liquor Plumbi Subacetatis, or Goulard’s Ucztract, or, as it used to be
termed at the Veterinary College, the Aqua Vegeto, is a better collyrium, and
advantageously used in external and superficial inflammation, and particularly
the inflammation that remains after the application of a blister,

Lure was formerly sprinkled over cankered feet and greasy heels, but there
are less painful caustics, and more effectual absorbents of moisture. Lime-water
is rarely used, but the Chloride of Lime is exceedingly valuable. Diluted with
twenty times its quantity of water, it helps to form the poultice applied to
every part from which there is the slightest offensive discharge. The fcetid
smell of fistulous withers, poll-evil, canker, and ill-conditioned wounds, is im-
mediately removed, and the ulcers are more disposed to heal. When mangy
horses are dismissed as cured, a washing with the diluted chloride will remove
any infection that may lurk about them, or which they may carry from the
place in which they have been confined. One pint of the chloride mixed with
three gallons of water, and brushed over the walls and manger and rack of the
foulest stable, will completely remove all infection, Professor Morton, very
properly, says that the common practice of merely whitewashing the walls
serves only to cover the infectious matter, and perhaps to preserve it for an
indefinite length of time, so that when the lime scales off, disease may be again
engendered by the exposed virus. The horse furniture worn by a glandered or
mangy animal will be effectually purified by the chloride. Internally admi-
nistered, it seems to have little or no power.

Liniments are oily applications of the consistence of a thick fluid, and
designed either to soothe an inflamed surface, or, by gently stimulating the skin,
to remove deeper-seated pain or inflammation. As an emollient liniment, one
composed of half an ounce of extract of lead and four ounces of olive oil will be
useful. For sprains, old swellings, or rheumatism, two ounces of hartshorn,
the same quantity of camphorated spirit, an ounce of oil of turpentine, and half
an ounce of laudanum, may be mixed together; or an ounce of camphor may
be dissolved in four ounces of sweet oil, to which an ounce of oil of turpentine
may be afterwards added. A little powdered cantharides, or tincture of can-
tharides, or mustard powder, will render either of these more powerful, or
convert it into a liquid blister.

Linsrep.—An infusion of linseed is often used instead of water, for the drink
of the horse with sore-throat or catarrh, or disease of the urinary organs or of
the bowels. A pail containing it should be slung in the stable or loose hox.
Thin gruel, however, is preferable ; it is as bland and soothing, and it is more
nutritious. Linseed meal forms the best poultice for almost every purpose.

Maenusia.—The sulphate of magnesia, or Epsom Saxrs, should be used
only in promoting the purgative effect of clysters, or, in repeated doses of six or
eight ounces, gently to open the bowels at the commencement of fever. Some
floubt, however, attends the latter practice; for the dose must occasionally be
thrice repeated before it will act, and then, although safer than aloes, it may
512 MEDICINE.

produce too much irritation in the intestinal canal, especially if the fever is the
precursor of inflammation of the lungs. :

Masues constitute a very important part of horse-provender, whether in
sickness or health. .A mash given occasionally to a horse that is otherwise fed
on dry meat prevents him from becoming dangerously costive. T'o the over-
worked and tired horse nothing is so refreshing as a warm mash with his usual
allowance of corn init. The art of getting a horse into apparent condition for
sale, or giving him a round and plump appearance, consists principally in the
frequent repetition of mashes, and, from their easiness of digestion and the mild
nutriment which they afford, as well as their laxative effect, they form the
principal diet of the sick horse.

They are made by pouring boiling water on bran, and stirring it well, and
then covering it over until it is sufficiently cool for the horse to eat. If in the
heat of summer a cold mash is preferred, it should, nevertheless, be made with
hot water, and then suffered to remain until it is cold. This is not always
sufficiently attended to by the groom, who is not aware that the efficacy of the
mash depends principally on the change which is effected in the bran and the
other ingredients by the boiling water rendering them more easy of digestion,
as well as more aperient. If the horse refuses the mash, a few oats may be
sprinkled over it, in order to tempt him to eat it; but if it is previously designed
that corn should be given in the mash, it should be scalded with the. bran, in
order to soften it and render it more digestible. Bran mashes are very useful
preparatives for physic, and they are necessary during the operation of the
physic. They very soon become sour, and the manger of the horse of whose
diet they form a principal part should be daily and carefully cleaned out.

When horses are weakly and much reduced, malt mashes will often be very
palatable to them and very nutritive: but the water that is poured on a malt
mash should be considerably below the boiling heat, otherwise the malt will be
set, or clogged together. If the owner was aware of the value ofa malt mash, it
would be oftener given when the horse is rapidly getting weaker from protracted
disease, or when he is beginning to recover from a disease by which he has been
much reduced. The only exception to their use is in cases of chest affection, in
which they must not be given too early. In grease, and in mange accompanied
by much emaciation, malt mashes will be peculiarly useful, especially if they
constitute a principal portion of the food.

Musrarp, Srvapis.—This will be found occasionally useful, if, in inflamma-
tion of the chest or bowels, it is well rubbed on the chest or the abdomen. The
external swelling and irritation which it excites may, to a greater or less degree,
abate the inflammation within.

Myrra may be used in the form of tincture, or it may be united to the
tincture of aloes as a stimulating and digestive application to wounds. Diluted
with an equal quantity of water, it is a good application for canker in the mouth,
but as an internal medicine it seems to be inert, although some practitioners
advocate its use, combined with opium, in cases of chronic cough.

Nrrrovs /#iruer, Spirit or, is a very useful medicine in the advanced
stages of fever, for while it, to a certain degree, rouses the exhausted powers of
the animal, and may be denominated a stimulant, it never brings back the
dangerous febrile action which was subsiding. It is given in doses of three or
four drachms.

O1ive Oi is an emollient and demulcent. Its laxative effect is very incon-
siderable and uncertain in the horse. :

Ovrum.— However underrated by some, there is not a more valuable drug
on our list. It does not often act as a narcotic except in considerable doses;
MEDICINE. 513

but it isa powerful antispasmodic, sedative, and astringent. As an antispas-
modic, it enters into the cholic drink, and it is the sheet- anchor of the veterinarian
in the treatment of tetanus or locked jaw. As a sedative, it relaxes that uni-
versal spasm of the muscular system which is the characteristic of tetanus ;
and, perhaps, it is only as a sedative that it has such admirable effect as an
astringent, for when the irritation around the mouths of the vessels of the
intestines and kidneys is allayed by the opium, the undue purging and profuse
staling will necessarily be arrested.

Opium should, however, be given with caution. It is its secondary effect
that is sedative, and, if given in cases of fever, its primary effect in increasing
the excitation of the frame may be very considerable and highly injurious. In
the early and acute stage of fever, it would be bad practice to give it in the
smallest quantity ; but when the fever has passed, or is passing, there is nothing
which so rapidly subdues the irritability that accompanies extreme weakness.
It becomes an excellent tonic, because it is a sedative.

if the blue or green vitriol, or cantharides, have been pushed too far, opium,
sooner than any other drug, quiets the disorder they have occasioned. It is
given in doses of one or two drachms, in the form of ball. Other medicines are
usually combined with it, according to the circumstances of the case.

Externally, it is useful in ophthalmia. In the form of decoetion of the poppy-
head, it may constitute the basis of an anodyne poultice; but it must not be given
in union with any alkali, with the exception of chalk, in over-purging; nor
with the superacetate of lead, by which its powers are materially impaired ; nor
with sulphate of zine, or copper, or iron.

From its high price it is much adulterated, and it is not always met with in
a state of purity. ‘The best tests are its smell, its taste, its toughness and pli-
ancy, its fawn or brown colour, and its weight, for it is the heaviest of all the
vegetable extracts, except gum arabic ; yet its weight is often fraudulently in-
creased by stones and bits of lead dexterously concealed in it. The English
opium is almost as good as the Turkish, and frequently sold for it; but is dis-
tinguishable by its blackness and softness.

Patm Orr, when genuine, is the very best substance that can be used for
making masses and balls. It has a pleasant smell, and it never becomes rancid.

Pircn is used to give adhesiveness and firmness to charges and plasters. The
common pitch is quite as good as the more expensive Burgundy pitch. ‘The
best plaster for sandcrack consists of one pound of pitch and an ounce of yellow
bees-wax melted together.

Puyvsic.—The cases which require physic, the composition of the most
effectual and safest physic-ball, and the mode of treatment under physic, have
been already described.

Puras.—T wo compounds of potash are used in veterinary practice. The
Nitrate of Potash (Vitre) is a valuable cooling medicine and a mild diuretic,
and, therefore, it should enter into the composition of every fever-ball. Its dose
is from two to four drachms. Grooms often dissolve it in the water. There
are two objections to this: cither the horse is nauseated and will not drink so
much water as he ought; or the salt taste of the water causes considerable thirst,
and.disinclination to solid food. Nitre, while dissolving, materially lowers the
temperature of water, and furnishes a very cold and.useful lotion for sprain of
the back sinews, and other local inflammations. The lotion should be used
as soon as the salt is dissolved, for it quickly becomes as warm as the sur-
rounding air. The Bitartrate of Potash (Cream of Tartar) is a mild diuretic,
and, combined with thiop’s mineral, is used as an alterative in obstinate
mange or grease. The objection, however, to its use in such an animal as the
horse, is the little power which it seems to exercise.

Lb
514 MEDICINE.

Pourticrs.— Few horsemen are aware of the value of these simple applica-
tions in abating inflammation, relieving pain, cleansing wounds, and disposing
them to heal. Thcy are applications of tlie best kind continued much longer
than a simple fomentation can be. In all inflammations of the foot they are
very beneficial, by softening the horn hardened by the heat of the foot and con-
tracted and pressing on the internal and highly sensible parts. The moisture
and warmth are the useful qualities of the poultice ; and that poultice is the best
for general purposes in which moisture and warmth are longest retained. Per-
spiration is most abundantly promoted in the part, the pores are opened,
swellings are relieved, and discharges of a healthy nature procured from wounds.

Linseed meal forms the best general poultice, beeause it Tongest retains the
moisture. Bran, although frequently used for poultices, is objectionable, be-
cause it so soon becomes dry. To abate considerable inflammation, and especially
in a wounded part, Goulard may be added, or the linseed meal may be made
into a paste with a decoction of poppy-heads. To promote a healthy discharge
from an old or foul uleer; or separation of the dead from the living parts, in
the process of what is called coring out ; or to hasten the ripening of a tumour
that must be opened ; or tocleanse it when it is opened, — two ounces of common
turpentine may be added to a pound of linseed meal: but nothing can be so
absurd, or is so injurious, as the addition of turpentine to a poultice that is
designed to be anemollient. The drawing poultices and stoppings of farriers are
often highly injurious, instead of abating inflammation.

If the ulcer smells offensively, two ounces of powdered charcoal may be
added to the linseed meal, or the poultice may be made of water, to which a
solution of the chloride of lime has been added in the proportion of half an ounce
toa pound. Asan emollient poultice for grease and cracked heels, and espe-
cially if accompanied by much unpleasant smell, there is nothing preferable to
a poultice of mashed carrots with charcoal. For old grease some slight stime-
lant must be added, as a little yeast or the grounds of table-beer.

There are two errors in the application of a poultice, and particularly as it
regards the legs. It is often put on too tight, by means of which the return of
the blood from the foot is prevented, and the disease is increased instead of lessened;
or it is too hot, and unnecessary pain is given, and the inflammation aggravated.

PowpeErs.—Some horses are very difficult to ball or drench, and the violcnt
struggle that would accompany the attempt to conquer them may heighten the
fever or inflammation. To such horses powders must be given in mashes.
Emctic tartar and digitalis may be generally used in cases of inflammation or
fever ; or emetic tartar for worms; or calomel or even the farina of the croton
nut for physic: but powders are too often an excuse for the laziness or awk-
wardness of the carter or groom. The horse frequently refuses them, especially
if his appetite has otherwise begun to fail; the powder and the mash are wasted,
and the animal is unnecessarily nauseated. All medicine should be given in
the form of ball or drink.

Raxine.—This consists in introducing the hand into the rectum of the horse,
and drawing out any hardened dung that may be there. It may be necessary in
costiveness or fever, if a clyster pipe cannot be obtained; but an injection will
better effect the purpose, and with less inconvenience to the animal. The
introduction of the hand into the rectum is, however, useful to ascertain the
existence of stone in the bladder, or the degree of distension of the bladder in
suppression of urine, for the bladder will be easily felt below the intestine,
and, at the same time by the heat of the intestine, the degree of inflammation
in it or in the bladder may be detected.

Resry.—The yellow resin is that which remains after the distillation of oil
ef turpentine. It is used externally to give consistence to ointments, and to
MEDICINE. 515

render them slightly stimulant. Internally it is a useful diuretic, and is given
in doses of five or six drachms made into a ball with soft soap. The common
liquid turpentine is, however, preferable.

Rowets.—The manner of rowelling has been already described. As
exciting inflammation on the surface, and so lessening that which had pre-
viously existed in a neighbouring but deeper-seated part, they are decidedly
inferior to blisters, for they do not act so quickly or so extensively ; therefore
they should not be used in acute inflammation of the lungs or bowels, or any
vital part. When the inflammation, however, although not intense, has long
continued, rowels will be serviceable by producing an irritation and discharge
that can be better kept up than by a blister. As promoting a permanent,
although not very considerable discharge, and some inflammation, rowels in the
thighs are useful in swelled legs, and obstinate grease. If fluid is thrown out
under the skin in any other part, the rowel acts as a permanent drain. When
sprain of the joint or the muscles of the shoulders is suspected, a rowel in the
chest will be serviceable. The wound caused by a rowel will readily heal, and
with little blemish, unless the useless leather of the farrier has been inserted,

Secate cornutum, the Ergot of Rye.—This is well known to be an excitant
in assisting parturition in cattle, sheep, and dogs. It has been used with suc-
cess in the mare by Mr. Richardson, of Lincoln. It should only be applied in
difficult cases, and the dose should be two drachms, combined with some car-
tminative, and given every hour.

Sepatives are medicines that subdue irritation, repress spasmodic action,
or deaden pain. We will not inquire whether they act first as stimulants: if
they do, their effect is exccedingly transient, and is quickly followed by de-
pression and diminished action. Digitalis, hellebore, opium, turpentine, are
mnedicines of this kind. Their effect in different diseases or stages of disease,
and the circumstances which indicate the use of any one of them in preference
to the rest, are considered under their respective titles.

Sopa.—The Carbonate of Soda is a useful antacid, and probably a diuretic,
but it is not much used in veterinary practice. The Chloride of Soda is not so
efficacious for the removal of unpleasant smells and all infection as the chloride
of lime; but it is exceedingly useful in changing malignant and corroding and
destructive sores into the state of simple ulcers, and, in ulcers that are not ma-
lignant it much hastens the cure. Poll evil and fistulous withers are much
benefited by is, and all farcy ulcers. It is used in the proportion of one part of
the solution to twenty-four of water.

Sop Cutoripum, Common Salt, is very extensively employed i in veterinary
practice. It forms an efficacious aperient clyster, and a solution of it has been
given as an aperient drink. Sprinkled over the hay, or in a mash, it is very
palatable to sick horses; and in that languor and disinclination to food which
remain after severe illness, few things will so soon recall the appetite as a drink
composed of six or eight ounces of salt in solution. To horses in health it is more
useful than is generally imagined, as promoting the digestion of the food, and,
consequently, condition. Externally applied, there are few better lotions for
inflamed eyes than a solution of half a drachm of salt in four ounces of water.
In the proportion of an ounce of salt to the same quantity of water, it is
4 good embrocation for sore shoulders and backs; and if it does not always
disperse warbles and tumours, it takes away much of the tenderness of the
skin,

Sopa Sunpras,—Sulphate of Soda.—Glauber’s Salt—This medicine is seldom
used in the treatment of the horse. It appears to have sume diuretic
property.

Soar is supposed te possess a diuretic quality, and therefore enters into the

Lua
516 MEDICINE,

composition of some diuretic masses. See Resin. By many practitioners it is
made an ingredient in the physic-ball, but uselessly or even injuriously 80 5 for
if the aloes are finely powdered and mixed with palm oil, they will dissolve
readily enough in the bowels without the aid of the soap, while the action of
the soap on the kidneys will inipair the purgative effect of the aloes.

Srarcu may be substituted with advantage for gruel in obstinate cases of
purging, both asa clyster, and to support the strength of the animal.

Sroprines constitute an important, but too often neglected part of stable
management. Ifa horse is irregularly or seldom worked, his feet are deprived
of moisture; they become hard and unyielding and brittle, and disposed
to corn and contraction and founder. The very dung of a neglected and filthy
stable would be preferable to habitual standing on the cleanest litter without
stopping. In wounds, and bruises, and corns, moisture is even more necessary, in
order to supple the horn, and relieve its pressure on the tender parts beneath. As
acommon stopping, nothing is better than cow-dung with a fourth part of clay
well beaten into it, and confined with splents from the binding or larger twigs of
the broom. In cases of wounds a little tar may be added ; but tar, as acommon
stopping, is too stimulating and drying. Pads made of thick felt have lately
been contrived, which are fitted to the sole, and, swelling on being wetted, are
sufficiently confined by the shoe. Having been well saturated with water, they
will continue moist during the night. ‘They are very useful in gentlemen's
stables ; but the cow-dung and clay are sufficient for the farmer.

Srrycunia.—This drug has frequently been employed with decided
advantage in cases of paralysis in the dog; and lately, and with decided
advantage, it has been administered to the horse. The dose is from one to three
grains, given twice in the day.

Sutpuur is the basis of the most effectual applications for mange. It is
an excellent alterative, combined usually with antimony and nitre, and particu-
larly for mange, surfeit, grease, hidebound, or want of condition ; and it is a
useful ingredient in the cough and fever ball. When given alone, it seems to
have little effect, except as a laxative in doses of six or cight ounces ; but there
are much better aperients. The black sulphur consists principally of the dross
after the pure sulphur has been separated.

Tar melted with an equal quantity of grease forms the usual stopping of the
farrier. It is a warm, or slightly stimulant and therefore useful, dressing for
bruised or wounded feet; but its principal virtue seems to consist in preventing
the penetration of dirt and water to the wounded part. As a common stopping
it has been considered objectionable. Fyrom its warm and drying properties it
is the usual and proper basis for thrush ointments; and from its adhesiveness,
and slightly stimulating power, it often forms an ingredient in applications for
mange. -Some practitioners give it, and advantageously, with the usual cough
medicine, and in doses of two or three drachms for chronic cough. The
common tar is as effectual as the Barbadoes for every veterinary purpose. The
oil, or spirit (rectified oil) of tar is sometimes used alone for the cure of mange,
hut it is not to be-depended upon. The spirit of tar, mixed with double the
quantity of fish oil, is, from its peculiar penetrating property, one of the best
applications for hard and brittle feet. It should be well rubbed with a brush
every night, both on the crust and sole.

Tincrures.—The medicinal properties of many substances are extracted by
spirit of wine, but in such small quantities as to he scarcely available for inter-
nal use in veterinary practice. So much aloes or opium must be given in order to
produce effect on the horse, that the quantity of spirit necessary to dissolve it
would be injurious or might be fatal. As applications to wounds or inflamed
surfaces, the tinctures of aloes, digitalis, myrrh, and opium, are highly useful.
MEDICINE, 534

Topacco, in the hands of the skilful veterinarian, may be advantageously
employed in cases of extreme costiveness, or dangerous cholic ; but should never
be permitted to be used as an external application for the cure of mange, or an
internal medicine to promote a fine coat.

Tones are valuable medicines when judiciously employed ; but, like cordials,
they have been fatally abused. Many a horse recovering from severe disease
has been destroyed by their too early, or too free use. The veterinary surgeon
occasionally administers them injuriously, in his anxiety to gratify the impa-
tience of his employer. The mild vegetable tonics, chamomile, gentian, and
ginger, and, perhaps, the carbonate of iron, may sometimes be given with
benefit, and may hasten the perfect recovery of the patient; but there are few
principles more truly founded on reason and experience, than, that disease once
removed, the powers of nature are sufficient to re-establish health. Against
the more powerful mineral tonics, except for the particular purposes that have
been pointed out under the proper heads, the horse proprietor and the veterina-
rian should be on his guard.”

TurPeNTINE.—The common liquid turpentine has been described as one of
the best diuretics, in doses of half an ounce, and made into a ball with linseed,
meal and powdered ginger. It is added to the calamine or any other mild oint-
ment in order to render it stimulating and digestive, and, from its adhesiveness.
and slight stimulating power, it is an ingredient in mange ointments. The oil
of turpentine is an excellent antispasmodic. For the removal of cholic it stands.
unrivalled. Forming a tincture with cantharides, it is the basis of the sweating
blister for old strains and swellings. As a blister it is far inferior to the com-
mon ointment. As a stimulant frequently applied it must be sufficiently
lowered, or it may blemish.

_ Wax.—The yellow wax is used in charges and some plasters to render them,
less brittle. aa

Zinc.—The impure carbonate of zinc, under the name of Calamine Powder,
is used in the preparation of a valuable healing ointment, called Turner's Cerate.
Five parts of lard and one of resin are melted together, and when these begin
to get cool, two parts of the calamine, reduced to an impalpable powder, are
stirred in. If the wound is not healthy, a small quantity of common turpen-
tine. may be added. This salve justly deserves the name which it has gained,
“The Healing Ointment.” The calamine is sometimes sprinkled with ad-
vantage on cracked heels and superficial sores.

The sulphate of zinc, White Vitriol, in the proportion of three grains to an
ounce of water, is an excellent application in ophthalmia, when the inflammatory
stage is passing over ; afid quittor is most successfully treated by a saturated
solution of white vitriol being injected into the sinuses. A solution of white
vitriol of less strength forms a wash for grease that is occasionally useful, when
the alum or blue vitriol does not appear to succeed.

Zinarpykis Raprx.—Ginger Root.—This is an admirable stimulant and car-
minative. 1t is useful in loss of appetite and flatulent cholic, while it rouses the
intestinal canal to its proper action. The cordial mass resorted to by the best
surgeons consists of equal parts of ginger and gentian beaten into a mass with
treacle.
ON DRAUGHT.

Tue investigation of the subject of draught by animal power, to which this
treatise is devoted, and which will form an appropriate supplement to an
account of the Horse,—has frequently occupied the attention of theoretical
and practical men; so much so, that our object will be to collect what has
been said and done, and, by arranging it methodically, to show in what manner
the information may be applied and rendered useful, rather than to attempt to
produce anything absolutely new upon the subject. Notwithstanding, however,
all that has been written, if we open any of the authors who have treated the
subject, in the hope of obtaining direct practical information, we shall be much
disappointed.

It might have been expected that the particular result of every method
known and in use for the conveyance of a load from one spot to another, by
animal power, whether by sledges, by wheel-carriages, or by water, as in canals,
being so constantly and necessarily a matter of practical’ experiment, would
have been accurately known and recorded ;—but the contrary is too much
the case.

The theoretical investigations have been made with too little reference to
what really takes place in practice; and the practical portion of the subject
has not generally been treated in that useful and comprehensive manner which
it deserves and demands.

In fact, there is hardly a question in practical mechanics on which, though
much has been written, opinions are apparently less fixed; or on which the
information we do possess is in a less defined and available state.

One great object of research has been the average force of traction or power
of the horse.

If we consult the most approved authors and experimentalists, Desaguilliers,
Smeaton, &c., we find this power variously stated as equal to 801bs., 100Ibs.,
150]bs., and even 200lbs.: we are therefore left almost as ignorant as before ;
but the knowledge of this average power is fortunately of little importance in
practice. It is the knowledge of the best application, and of the effect, of that
power which alone is useful: and these are governed by circumstances so
varying and dissimilar, such as the form and state of the road, the structure
of the carriage, the size and friction of the wheels, &., &.; that scarcely any
two cases of draught would, as regards the effect of the power of the horse,
present the same results.

The difference of opinion here manifest is still greater when existing on a
purely practical question.

In the inquiries instituted by a committee of the House of Commons in
1806 and 1808, on the subject of roads and carriages, two well-informed prac-
tical men, Mr. Russell of Exeter and Mr. Deacon of Islington, the most
extensive carriers in England, were examined upon an important question viz.,
the advantage or disadvantage of a particular form of wheel. It was stated
by one that, having given the wheels in question a twelve months’ trial, he
found that they tended to injure the road and increase the draught in the pro-
portion of four to five ; while it was stated by the other, who had also made the
ON DRAUGHT. 519

experiment ona large scale, that he found they materially assisted in keeping the
roads in repair, and diminished the draught in the proportion of five to four.

Amidst such conflicting and contradictory opinions, it would appear difficult
to come to any useful conclusion, and we might naturally be disposed to
adopt a very common practice, that of taking an average result.

A little consideration, however, will show that these apparent discrepancies
and contradictions arisc, in great measure, from attempting to generalise and
apply to practice the results of experiments made in, and therefore applicable
only to, particular cases.

The results of experiments thus made at various times and places, and
without that identity of condition and circumstance so necessary when standard
rules are to be deduced from them, have, nevertheless been used for that purpose ;
and this circumstance, combined with the variety of distinct points to be consi-
dered before we can estimate accurately what even constitutes draught, will per-
haps account for the disagreement among the practical and scientific authorities
alluded to.

We must therefore examine severally all these points; and then, by con-
sidering their relative bearing upon each other, we may hope to reconcile the
different opinions advanced, without which we cannot collect from them any
information which will lead us to a practical and beneficial result.

We shall procecd to divide the subject under separate and distinet heads,
and under each head to examine the methods or means now in use, or which
have been proposed, and endeavour to estimate their comparative advantages by
availing ourselves of what is already written and known upon each.

It will be necessary first, however, to explain and define clearly some terms
which will occur frequently in the course of this paper, and especially the word
‘draught,’ which is itself the title of the treatise.

This word is used in such a very general and vague sense, that it would be
difficult, if not impossible, to give an explanation which should apply equally
to all its different meanings.

In the expression ‘draught by animal power,’ it would seem to mean the
action itself of drawing ; while, on the other hand, it is frequently used to signify
the amount of power employed, as well as the degree of resistance—as when we
say the draught of a horse, or the draught of a carriage. ‘ Draught power’ is
also an expression used. We shall, however, confine our use of the word to
the two meanings—draught, the action of dragging—and draught, the amount
of resistance to the power employed to drag any given weight.

‘Force of traction,’ is another expression requiring explanation ; but here
we must enter into more detail, and give a practical illustration of our meaning.

A force is most conveniently measured by the weight which it would be.
capable of raising ; but it is not therefore necessarily applied vertically, in
which direction weight or gravity acts.

If a weight of 100lbs. be suspended to a rope, it is clearly exerting upon.
this rope a force of 100lbs.; but if the rope be passed over a pully void of
friction, and continued horizontally, or in any other direction, and then attached
to some fixed point, the weight still acts upon all parts of this rope, and con-
sequently upon the point to which it is fixed, with a force equal to 100Ibs.: and
80 inversely, if a horse be pulling at a rope with a force which, if the rope were
passed over a pully, would raise 100lbs., the force of traction of the horse is
in this case 100lbs. Spring steel-yards being now commonly in use, we
may be permitted to refer to them as affording another clear exemplification of
our meaning. In pulling at a steel-yard of this description, if the same force
be exerted, whether horizontally or vertically, the index will, of course, show
the same amount ; and, consequently, if the strength of the horse be measured
520 ‘ ON DRAUGHT,

by attaching the traces to one of these steel-yards, the number of pounds indi-
cated on the dial will be the exact measure of the strain the horse exerts, and
the amount of strain is called his ‘force of traction.’

Having fixed as nearly as possible the meaning of these terms, which will
frequently occur in the course of our progress, we shall proceed to the division
of the subject.

It is evident that there are three distinct agents and points of consideration
in the operation of draught, which are quite independent of each other. They
are—First, the moving power and the mode of applying it; Secondly, the
vehicle for conveying the weight to be moved; Thirdly, the canal, road, or rail-
way, or what may be generally termed the channel of conveyance.

All these individually influence the amount of draught, and require separate
consideration ; but the mode of combining these different agents has also a
material effect upon the result,—consequently, they must be considered in rela~
tion to each other ; and to obtain the maximum useful effect, with the greatest
economy, in the employment of any given power, it is evidently necessary that
these different agents should not only each be the best adapted to its purpose,
and perfect to the greatest possible degree, but also that they should all be com-
bined to the greatest advantage.

We shall proceed, then, to examine the different agents now employed, the
modes of applying them, and the proportionate effects produced,

And, first, with regard to the species of moving power ;—this may be of
two kinds, animai and mechanical.

By ‘animal power’ we mean the direct application of the strength of any
animal to dragging or pulling, as in the simple case of a horse dragging a cart.
By ‘mechanical,’ the application of any power through the intervention of
machinery: the source of power in this latter case may still, however, be
animal power, or a purely mechanical agent, as a steam-engine.

The latter is the only species of mechanical power which it has been attempted,
with any prospect of success, to apply practically to locomotion ; and therefore
that alone we propose to compare with the animal power.

Now, although these two powers, viz., simple animal power and the steam-
engine, may in most instances be applied so as to produce the same effect, and,
may therefore, to a superficial observer, appear similar ; yet there do exist such
essential differences in the mode of action, or the means by which the effect is
produced, that there are many cases in which the one may be used, wherein the
other may be totally inapplicable.

In this treatise, dranght by animal power is the principal object of con-
sideration ; but as great efforts have been made for many years, and are still now
perseveringly made, to supersede animal power entirely by mechanical,—to
dismiss our old servant the horse, and supply his place by the steam-engine,—
it may be as well, in justice to the former, to say a few words in his defence,
and to take a brief view of the distinguishing features of the two agents.

‘To enter into all their respective merits, and to weigh their comparative
advantages in all civcumstances, would involve us in many questions foreign
to that under our immediate consideration, and would embrace subjects
which may supply matter well worthy of our future attention. It is sufficient
for our present purpose to show that there still exist great objections to the
universal application of machinery to draught,—objections which do not
equally apply to the use of animal power; that there are many advantages in
the latter, which are not yet obtained by the former; and that animal power
continues, for all the ordinary purposes of traffic upon common reads, to be the
most simple in its application, and certain in its effect.

We shall confiue ourselves particularly to the consideration of that part of
: ON DRAUGHT. 521

the question whicli relates to the slow transport ‘of heavy goods, as being the
most important branch of the subject, especially for agricultural purposes,
Economy is, of course, the grand desideratum in the consideration of this
question ; consequently, the comparative expense of the two powers, supposing
them for the moment equally convenient and applicable, will first demand our
attention.

A difficulty arises here, however, from the want of a certain measure of com-
parison. The power of a one-horse engine is by no means exactly the same thing
as that of a horse. As we have before stated, the mode of applying them being
different, the variations in the results are different, and consequently the effects
do not bear a constant proportion to each other, in different circumstances :
we must therefore be careful’ not to fall into the mistake which we have our-
selves pointed out as a very common source of error, viz., the drawing general
conclusions from data obtained in a particular case. We shall take the power
of the horse, and that of the steam-engine as ascertained practically on railways,
where the effect of each is less influenced by accidental circumstances, and con-
sequently can be better ascertained than on a road. We shall confine our
calculations of expense to this particular case, and then endeavour to discover
how far the same results are to be expected, or what modifications are likely to
take place, and what alterations are to be made in the results under different
circumstances. As regards the first, viz., the comparative cost of animal and
mechanical power on a railway, we cannot do better than quote the words of the
late Mr. Tredgold upon this subject, and we accordingly extract the following
passage from his work upon Railways :—

“The relative expense of different moving powers for railways is an inter-
esting inquiry, and the same materials being necessary to estimate the absolute
expense for any time or place, it is desirable to give some particulars to aid the
researches of those who wish to make such comparative estimates. The annual
expense of a horse depends on—

“1. The interest of purchase-money.

“ 2. Decrease of value.

“3. Hazard of loss.

“4. Value of food.

“5. Harness, shoeing, and farricry.

“6, Rent of stabling.

“7. Expense of attendance.

“ According to the average duration of a horse in a state fit for labour, of
the description required on a railway, the first three items may be estimated
at one-fourth of the purchase-money ; the food, harness, shoeing, &c., included
in the 4th, 5th, and 6th, will most likely not exceeed 40/. per annum, nor yet
be much short of that amount ; and supposing one man to attend to two horses,
this would add 15/. 12s. if the man’s wages were 2s. per day ; and, at this rate,
the labour of a horse of the value of 207. would cost 60/. 12s. per year;
or, since thére are 312 working days in the year, the daily expense would
be 8s. 103d., or 186 farthings. But the power of a horse is about 125lbs. when
travelling at the rate of three miles per hour, and the days’ work eighteen miles,

“ The annual expense of a high-pressure locomotive engine, or steam carriage,
consists of —

“1. The interest of the first cost.

“2. Decrease of value. x

“3. Hazard of accidents. :

‘4, Value of coals and water. “ares

“5, Renewals and repairs.

“6, Expense of attendance.
522 ON DRAUGHT.

“It is difficult to procure these particulars from the experience of those who
employ engines; we will therefore annex, by way of example, such sums as
we think likely to cover the expense. The first cost of the engine and its, , .
carriage may be stated at 50/. per horse power, and its decrease of value and
hazard will render its annual expense about one-fifth of its first cost, or 102. per
annum per horse power. The expense of fuel and water per day will be not
less than one bushel and a half of coals per horse power, and fourteen cubic
feet of water ; and, taking the coals at Gd. per bushel, and the water and loading
with fuel at 3d., the annual expense will be 15/. 12s, ; the renewals and repairs,
at 20 per cent. on the first cost, will be 10/., which is as little as can be expected
to cover them. Attendance, suppose one man and one boy for each six-horse
engine, at Gs, per day, or 1s. per day for each horse-power, or 15/. 12s. per
annum; therefore the total annual expense of one horse-power would be
511, 48., or 158 farthings per day.”—This power is equal to a force of traction
of 1662lbs. for the same number of miles per day as the horse ; but from this
gross amount of power we must deduct that necessary to move the engine with
its supply of coals: this will reduce it at least to 155lbs.; consequently, in.the
one case we have a force of traction of 125lbs., at an expense of 186 farthings,
and, in the other, a force of 155lbs. at an expense of 158 farthings ; and reducing
them both to one standard quantity of work done, we find the expense of the
horse is 184— 1.488, and of the locomotive engine, 1.019, or about as 147 is to
100. In this case, therefore, there appears to be a decided economy in the use
of the steam-engine, and accordingly its application has become very general,
and is becoming more so every day.

Let us now examine what alterations are requisite, before we can apply these
calculations to the case of draught upon common roads. Supposing both species
of power equally convenient and applicable, and confining our observations
merely to the amount of power and proportionate expense.

The force of traction of the horse, and the yearly cost, will remain so nearly. . . .
the same, that for our present purpose we may consider them quite unaltered.
Not exactly so with the locomotive engine.

Allthe parts of the machine must be made much stronger and heavier, and
consequently more expensive for road-work than for a railway, and, therefore,
the first cost will be greater—the wear and tear will also be greater, and as the
work will be more variable, the consumption of fuel will be increased as well
as the price, which, generally speaking, will be much less on a line of railway,
than it can possibly be elsewhere.

Still all these circumstances will not influence the result so much as the
increased effect of the weight of the engine. On a railway with the carriage,
as now constructed, the force of traction is not much more than 3); or g4, of
the weight moved ; consequently, the power necessary to move the engine itself
is not very considerable. On a road, however, this proportion is materially
altered ; here the average force required to move a well-constructed carriage
cannot be estimated in practice, at less, even when the roads are in good repair,
than 54; the engine, according to the construction of the best locomotive
engines now in use, will weigh, with its carriage and fuel, at least one-half ton,
or 1120lbs. per horse power, and >1, of 1120 is nearly 45lbs., which we have to
deduct from the gross power of the engine, and which leaves only 1212lbs. as
the available power. The proportional expense of the horse and the steam-
engine is now therefore about as 115 to 100, and this without taking into account
the causes of increased expenditure already alluded to as regards the prime cost,
the repairs, and the consumption of fuel. From these calculations it would
appear, that even if mechanical power was found as convenient and applicable in
practice as horse power, still no great economy can be expected from the
ON DRAUGHT. 523

employment, upon common roads, of small locomotive engines, such as the best
of those now in use, and known to the public, unless it is in cases where other
means may fail to produce some particular effect which may be required ; if, for
instance, a considerable velocity is necessary, the power of a horse is very nearly
exhausted in moving his own body, and then there can be no doubt that a
mechanical agent, in which power may always be exchanged for a proportional
velocity, will have some advantages on a very good road, which in fact approaches
very nearly to a railway. But in every case in which velocity is not a principal
object, as in the one now under consideration, and where, consequently, little
momentum is acquired, and frequent though slight obstructions occur, as on an
ordinary road, an animal appears to possess decided advantages. He adapts
himself admirably to the work, increasing or diminishing his efforts according to
the variations of the draught, resting himself, as it were, and aequiring vigour
wheré his utmost strength is not called for, and thus becomes enabled to make
exertions far beyond his average strength where any impediment or obstruction
is to be overcome. Indeed, he appears rather to increase the average effect of his
powers by these alternations of exertion and comparative relaxation ; and when
it is considered that the draught will, in an ordinary road, frequently vary in the
proportion of six or eight to one, and that these changes may succeed each other
suddenly, the importance of such an accommodating faculty will be immediately
appreciated.

By mechanical power, such as a steam-engine affords, these advantages are not
easily obtained. Without great weight or rapid motion no momentum can be
acquired ; and unless when the carriage is in very rapid motion, a very small
obstruction will check, and perhaps totally stop the machine. For instance,
supposing the carriage to be advancing steadily under the effect of a force of
traction of 500lbs., and that a stone or rut suddenly causes a resistance, which
it would require 800 or 10001b. to overcome, a case by no means rare even on
tolerable roads ; if the impetus or momentum of the mass be not sufficient to
carry it over this obstruction, the machine must stop until some increased power
be given to it.

It is also to be remembered, that what we are accustomed, in practice, to
consider as the average power of a horse, is the average excess remaining over
and above that necessary to carry his own body ; and that in all ordinary cases
he is able to maintain and continue nearly the same exertions, although the
comparative draught of the carriage be considerably increased. Thus, if the
road be slightly muddy or sandy, or newly gravelled, the draught, as we shall
see more accurately laid down when we come to the subject of wheeled carriages,
will be double and even treble what it ison the same road when freed from dust
or dirt; but the average power of the horse remains nearly the same, and,
practically speaking, equal in both circumstances; that is to say, that the
power necessary to move the weight of the horse’s body, which forms no incon-
siderable portion of his whole power, is not materially increased by a state of
road which will even treble the draught of the carriage ; consequently, the
excess, or available portion of his power, remains unimpaired, and the full benefit
of it, as well as of any increased exertions of the animal, is felt and is applied
solely to dragging the load.

Not so with a locomotive steam-engine, because, beyond the power necessary
to perform the work of dragging the load, a large additional power must be pro-
vided to move the engine itself. In other words, if an engine of ten-horse power
be capable of dragging a certain load, the weight of this engine forming a portion
of the load to be moved,-a corresponding portion of the power is unprofitably
absorbed in moving it, and the excess, or remaining power, is alone available for
useful purposes, and can alone be compared to the animal or horse power.
524 ON DRAUGHT.

Now, if the draught is augmented, as we have just supposed, by any. sand, dirt,

or roughness of the road, or any other impediment, the force required to move

the useless weight (of the engine) is proportionally increased; it may even, ag 4 1

we have stated, be doubled or trebled; and the whole power of the engine
remaining the same, the surplus or remaining portion is considerably diministied,
and that at the very moment when, as before stated, it produces only one-half
or one-third the effect.

Moreover, if at any part of the road a power equal to twenty horses is
required, the engine, as regards its construction, must be a 20-horse engine.
It is erroneous to suppose that a steam-engine, because it is a high-pressure
engine, can therefore, as occasion requires, be worked for any length of time
beyond its nominal power, by merely raising the steam. Every part of a
machine is caleulated and arranged for a certain pressure and corresponding
power, and that is the real power of it. It is optional to work at or below
that power, but, if below, it will be to a disadvantage, as the bulk and weight
of the machine will be as great as if it were always worked to its full extent,
and both have to be carried over all those parts of the road where a far less
power would be sufficient. The velocity of the carriage might indeed be
increased, while travelling on the good and level portion of the road ; but these
alternations in the speed and power cannot be effected without a considerable
degree of complexity, weight, and expense in the machinery; and, as we are
confining ourselves to the consideration of the case where velocity is not required,
and might even be an inconvenience, the excess of power will be wasted.

These objections to the use of mechanical power, in certain cases, are pointed
out, not as being insurmountable obstacles to the use of machinery, but as
scrious difficulties which, in practice, have not yet been overcome. In fact,
there is not at present any practical substitute for horse power on common
roads, and, as far as the public is concerned, nothing has yet been done. We,
therefore, must consider them as objections remaining to be overcome ; and we
are compelled to draw the conclusion, that, at the present moment, animal
power (always confining ourselves to the question of the economical transpurt
of heavy goods upon common roads) is superior to any mechanical agent, and
that beasts of draught, and particularly the horse, although the most ancient,
still remain the most advantageous source of power.

Long experience has pointed out various modes of applying animal power ;
but it is frequently ill directed, owing to the want of an adequate knowledge
of the mechanical structure of the animal, and the manner in which he exerts
his strength.

In the most powerful steam-engine, if too great a resistance be applied, or,
practically speaking, if we attempt to make it do more work than it is calcu-
lated for, there is an immediate loss of power, in consequence of the diminution
of velocity caused thereby ; and if we continue to oppose a still greater resist-
ance, we reach the point at which it is unable to overcome it, and it ceases to
produce any effect. Again, a very small obstacle may be so applied as greatly
to impede an engine of considerable power, or even to stop it altogether. The
power of an engine is limited, and resistance must always be proportioned to it;
and there is a proportion beyond which it is useless to go, and less than which
would not absorb the whole force.

An animal is but a beautiful piece of machinery, and although perfect in its
construction, and wonderfully accommodating in its movements, it still, like
the engine, has a limited power, and has its peculiar modes of action, its strong
and its feeble parts; and we must well consider its structure, to be able to
apply the resistance in that degree, and in that manner, which shall enable it to
produce the greatest effect. The consideration of the comparative effects of
\ ON DRAUGHT. 525

the exertions of a man and a horse will at once exemplify this, and lead us
more clearly to the knowledge of the peculiar qualities or faculties of the horse.

If a horse be made to carry a heavy weight rapidly up a steep ascent, or if
aman be employed to drag slowly a heavy carriage along a rough road, the
strength of both will be soon exhausted, and little effect produced; but if a
man be made to carry a weight up a ladder, and if a horse draw a heavy
carriage along a road, they will each produce a considerable effect : yet, in the
former case, the horse and the man are as strong as in the latter, but their
power is not properly applied, and is consequently wasted.

These different results are easily explained, by considering the mechanical
structure of the two bodies, and the mode in which their muscular strength is
exerted.

The action of pulling is effected in either case by throwing the body forward
beyond the feet, which form the fulcrum, and allowing the weight of the body,
in its tendency to descend, to act against the resistance applied horizontally, and
drag it forward ; as the resistance yields, the feet are carried forward; and
the action renewed, or rather continued.

Let A (fig. 1.) be the centre of gravity, or the point in which the whole of

 

the weight of the body may be supposed to be accumulated, and B the fulcrum
or point of resistance ; AC the direction of the power to be overcome.

If the legs are inflexible, the body, acting by its gravity, tends in its descent
to describe a circle around the point B, but is opposed by the resistance AC ;
and it is demonstrable, by the law of the resolution of forces, that if BD be
drawn parallel to AC, the lengths of the lines AD, AB, and DB represent
respectively the proportions between the weight of the body, the strain upon
the point of support, and the effect produced ; that is, if AD be taken as the
roeasure of the weight of the body, then AB is the measure of the strain upon
the legs, and BD or AE the power pulling in the direction of AC.

Consequently, the effect increases with the weight of the body and the
distance which it is thrown beyond the feet, and is limited only by the capa-
bility of resistance at B, or the muscular strength of the legs. This is evidently
the case in practice ; for even if the body were brought nearly horizontal, when
its weight would act to the greatest advantage, still, if the legs are incapable of
resisting the strain, they would yield, and no effect be produced. Jn aman,
this muscular strength of the limbs is very great, and he can lift or carry
immense weights, and ascend easily, even loaded, a ladder; but he is not
well adapted to the purpose of dragging ; as his own weight is small proportion-
ably to his strength, and the centre of gravity is low, and by the construction
of his body cannot be thrown far beyond the fulcrum at his fect; consequently,
however capable his legs may be of resisting a great strain, AE remains small,
and his muscular force is not advantageously brought into action.

A horse, on the contrary, by the formation of the body, can relieve his
526 ON DRAUGHT.

weight partly from his fore-legs; and, extending his hind-legs as in fig. 2,
throw the centre of gravity a considerable distance in front of his feet B. AE
‘is here proportionably much greater than in the former case, and the whole of
his force is, therefore, advantageously employed. He is, in fact, by his
mechanical construction, a beast of draught,

The same train of reasoning which has here pointed out the species of work
peculiarly adapted to the different structures of the man and of the horse, if
continued further, will now serve to show the circumstances in which the power
of the latter is best applied, and the greatest effect produced.

We shall here consider both the quality and the degree of the draught.

And first, it is to be observed, that, although the weight of the animal's body
is the immediate cause in the action of pulling, yet, as before stated, it is by the
action of the muscles in advancing the legs and raising the body, that this cause
is constantly renewed, and the effort continued. The manner and the order of
succession in which a horse thus lifts and advances his legs may, of course,
influence the movement of his body, and ought therefore to be examined into.
accordingly we find that many writers upon draught have touched upon this
part of the subject, but they appear to have contented themselves with inventing
in their closet the manner in which they conceived a horse must. have moved
his legs, rather than to have taken the trouble to go out of doors to see what
really did take place, and, consequently, many have arrived at erroneous con-
clusions. The ancient sculptors, who generally studied nature so faithfully,
either neglected this point, or otherwise our modern horses, by constant artifi-
cial training, have altered their step: for we find in the celebrated frieze from
the Parthenon at Athens, a portion of which, now in England, is more com-
monly known under the name of the Elgin marbles, the only horses which are
represented trotting, have both their legs on the same side of the body raised at
once, the other two being firm upon the ground—a position which horses of the
present day never assume while trotting.

In the case of these relievos, it is true that there are only four horses, out of
more than two hundred, which are in the action of trotting, all the others being
represented in a canter or gallop ; and only two of these four are entirely in the
foreground, and distinct from the other figures. It would not be safe, there-
fore, to draw too general a conclusion from this example alone; but we have
another decided proof of the remark we have made, in the case of the four
horses of the church of St. Marc at Venice.

Whether this was then the mode of trotting or not, it is certain that it is
never seen to occur in nature in the present day ; and indeed it appears quite

 
ON DRAUGHT. 627

inconsistent with the necessary balancing of the body, and was, therefore, more
probably an error of the artist.

It perhaps may have been found difficult or troublesome to watch the move-
ment of a horse’s legs ; but a very little practice will enable anybody to verify
what we are about to state: by keeping near the side of a horse that is walking,
it will be easily seen that, immediately after the raising of cither of the hind-
legs from the ground, the fore-leg of the corresponding side is also raised, so
that the latter leaves the ground just before the former touches it. If the fore-
legs be then watched, it will be seen that, immediately after the movement of
cither of these, the hind-leg upon the opposite side is put in action, so that the
order of succession appears to be in walking, as numbered in fig. 8.

If the horse be now examined from a short distance, it will be seen that,
when he is walking freely, the successive movements of the legs are at equal
intervals of time, and that the muscular force of one limb only is brought into
action at the same moment. But if a horse which is dragging a load with some
considerable exertion be watched, it will be“seen that he then acts longer upon
his legs, and allows a less interval of time for raising and advancing them ; and
at the same time, the regularity of the movement is generally destroyed ;_ the
limbs on the same side generally being moved more simultaneously, or at nearer
intervals of time, than those at the opposite corners: thus, the muscular forces
of two limbs are always acting together ; the movement of the whole body is
less continued and uniform than in the former case, but each impulse is more
powerful, and a resistance, which would be too great for the muscles of one
leg, is overcome by the united exertion of two. We shall point out, hereafter,
the necessity of attending to this in the application of this power to draught.

In trotting, the action is of course quicker, and a less resistance will, as might
be expected, cause the horse to move his legs at two intervals instead of at four
equal intervals of time : indeed, a horse accustomed to go in harness generally
acquires the habit of that action. There is this striking difference between
trotting and walking: in walking, we have seen that the interval between the
movement of the legs on the same side was less than the other interval of time:
in trotting, on the contrary, the legs situated diagonally, or at opposite corners,
move almost simultaneously. Owing to the velocity and the momentum which
the body acquires in consequence of that velocity, in trotting fast, the successive
impulses are less distinctly perceptible, and the movement more continued and
uniform than in a slow trot, or in walking.

In galloping, the movement is totally different: the fore-legs are thrown
forward nearly simultaneously, and the hind-legs brought up quickly, and nearly
together ; it is, in fact, a succession of leaps, by far the greatest interval of time
elapsing while the legs are extended after the leap is taken: this is the position,
therefore, which catches the eye, and which must be represented in a drawing
to produce the effect of a horse ina gallop, although it is the moment when the
animal is making no exertion. :

The canter is to the gallop very much what the walk is to the trot, though
probably a more artificial pace, The exertion is much less, the spring less dis-
tant, and the feet come to the ground in more regular succession: it is a pace of
ease, quite inconsistent with any exertion of draught.

The consequence of these peculiar movements in the limbs of the animal is,
that a succession of impulses is conveyed to the body ; and when the movement
is slow, and the body of the horse does not acquire any considerable impetus or
momentum, the resistance should be such as to receive each of these impulses,
and leave the horse unrestrained in the intervals.

It must, therefore, be a rigid resistance, void of elasticity.

It must not, however, be a constant, unremitted resistance.
528 ON DRAUGHT,

For it is a well-known fact, that, however powerful may be the muscles of a
limb, they must not be kept constantly on the stretch. Thus we-feel even more
fatigue by standing than by walking, because one particular set of muscles
is then kept constantly exerted. It is evident, therefore, that the resistance or
draught must not be perfectly constant, but should afford frequent opportunities
of relaxing the efforts. Neither must it be a yielding resistance, as in that case
the animal could not make any great exertion ; for if he applied too much power,
he would be liable to fall forward ; and should he at any time fall short of the
necessary exertion, he would be drawn back by the strain, and it would require
a considerable effort to restore the motion.

If a horse be made to drag a rope passing over a pully and descending into
a well with a certain weight, say of 200lbs. attached to it, it is obvious that he
could -not make an effort greater than 200lbs. without instantly considerably
increasing his velocity, which would be a waste of power ; nor must he for an
instant relax his efforts, or fall below that mark, for he would then be unable
even to resist the pull, and would be overcome by the weight. Such an extreme
case as this, of course, is not likely to occur often in practice, but the disadvan-
tage of the principle is obvious.

An arrangement of this sort is, indeed, sometimes made use of, for raising
the earth from excavations, or the materials of a building ; but the exertion is
continued only for a few seconds, or for a distance of not more than ten or
twenty yards: if prolonged, the inconvenience would be seriously felt, as it is,
to a certain degree, in towing canal boats ; the length and curve of the rope give
an elasticity to the strain, and the necessity of keeping the rope out of the
water, or from dragging along the towing-path, compels the animal to keep up
a constant, unremitted pull, and that, too, in an oblique direction, so as to
throw him into an unfavourable position. We accordingly find that, in
these circumstances, the average work of a horse is equivalent only to about
four-fifths of that given by Smeaton, Desaguillicrs, and others, who estimated
the power of the horse from the work done in a horse-mill, where the resistance
is inelastic, and all circumstances favourable, with the exception of the circular
path.

The disadvantage of this kind of resistance is well known to carmen, though
of course without consideration of the reason. A horse is said to pull better
when he is close to his work, that is to say, when he is attached at once to the
body to be moved, because every exertion he makes is then communicated at
once to the mass; but the leader of a team, unless he keeps the traces con-
stantly on the stretch, may frequently waste a powerful effort without
producing much effect upon the carriage.

Another inconvenience resulting from harnessing horses in a team, or one
before the other, is, that the leader, by tightening the traces, is continually
selieving the strain from the body horse, and reciprocally the body horse from
the leader; so that these horses labour under all the disadvantages of a long,
elastic, and constantly yielding connexion with the load, which is not only
fatiguing to them, but, in cases where the resistance is variable, prevents the
full and united effect of their exertions being properly communicated to the
carriage. For, if a slight obstacle, as a rut or stone in a road, checks the pro-
gress cf the vehicle, the shaft-horse can immediately throw his whole weight
into the collar, and the united effect of his strength and impetus is conveyed
unimpaired to the vehicle, and forces it over the obstacle; but if any elasticity
is interposed between the power and the resistance, as in the case of the traces
of the leader of a team, the whole, or the greater part of the effect of impetus is
lost, and that force which, if concentrated in one effort, would effect the object,
being lengthened into a continued and comparatively feeble pull, is insufficient.
ON DRAUGHT. 529.

If we wish to destroy the impetus of a body moving with violence, we receive
it with a yielding resistance ; the action of catching a cricket-ball exemplifies
this perfectly ; and therefore, if the full effect of momentum is wanted, all
elasticity in the direction of the movement should be avoided.

We have entered rather fully into the consideration of this particular point,
because the principle is not only applicable to the mode of communicating the
immediate action of the moving power, but will be found also of considerable
importance when we arrive at the subject of wheel-carriages.

A consideration of these various points brings us to this conclusion, that the
draught ought neither to be constantly uniform nor without remission, nor yet
yielding or elastic: sudden shocks or violent changes in the velocity must also
evidently be disadvantageous, as tending to distress and injure the animal.

Having determined upon the necessary quality of the resistance, we will
proceed to examine into the quantity or the degree of resistance or draught,
and the speed best adapted to the exertion of the animal. The useful effect of
ahorse, or the work done, must evidently depend upon three things, viz. the
rate at which he is made to travel, the power of traction he can exert, and the
number of hours he can continue to work duily at that speed; and where there is
no fixed condition which determines any one of these, such as a particular
load to be moved, or a certain velocity which it is- desirable to attain, or a
limited time to perform the work in, then the object must be to search for
those proportions of the three by which, at the end of the day, the greatest
quantity of work shall have been produced.

With respect to the first two, viz., the speed and power exerted, it will be
obvious, that where a horse travels unloaded, the greatest distance he can go in
any given time for several days in succession without injurious fatigue, is the
limit of his velocity: on the other hand, the load may be so great, that he can
scarcely put it in motion—this is the limit of his power: in both cases, the
useful effect is nothing. But between these limits of velocity and power, there
is a proportion which affords the maximum quantity of effect, and which, there-
fore, must be the most advantageous for the application of horse-power.

It has been asserted by theorists, and the theory appears to be supported by
experience, that the velocity corresponding to this maximum, or that at which
a horse working continually a certain number of hours per day will do the most
work, is equal to half the extreme or limit of velocity of the same horse working
the same number of hours unloaded ; and that the force of traction correspond-
ing to this speed, is equal to half the limit of his power. For instance, if six
hours be the length of a day’s work decided upon, and if a horse working that
time can go six miles per hour unloaded, and therefore producing no useful
effect, and supposing the limit of power of the same horse be equal to 250 lbs.,
it is found that he will do the most work in the same number of hours when
drawing a load at the rate of half six, or three miles per hour ; and half of 250,
or 126 Ibs. will be the strain corresponding to this speed. Our next step, then,
must be to find these limits : now, the limit of velocity depends upon the length
of time during which the speed is kept up; we subjoin therefore a Table deduced
from experiments, and which represents the proportion of the duration of
labour and maximum velocity of the average of horses accustomed to their
respective velocities.

Hours.

iso of labour . . . . 1 2 38 4 5 6 7 8 10
aximum velocity unloaded in 5 i 4
miles, per hour } 143 103 8h 7h ORC a3 3

This within the range here given may be considered as very nearly the law of

decrease of speed by increased duration of labour ; and at the first glance we

see the preat advantage of reducing the speed and prolonging the exertion

There are, however, many causes to limit the duration of a day’s work of a
uM
530 ON DRAUGHT.

horse. Tredgold, in his work on Railways, before quoted, says: “ The time
assigned for the day’s work of a horse is usually eight hours; but it is certain,
from experience, that some advantage is gained by shortening the hours of
labour ; and we have observed, that a horse is least injured by his labour,
where his day’s work is performed in about six hours; where the same quantity
of labour is performed in less than six hours, the over-exertion in time shows
itself in stiffened joints, while the wearying effects of long-continued action
become apparent, if the duration of the day’s work be prolonged much beyond
eight hours. Indeed, under the management of a good driver, a full day’s work
may be completed in the time before mentioned—six hours—with benefit to the
health and vigour of the animal.”

We may be permitted, however, to abandon the idea of improving the health
of the animal, or of rendering his business a pleasure to him—an attempt, the
success of which is, we should think, very questionable, and content ourselves
with endeavouring to check the barbarous practice of working horses to death
either by overdriving or overloading them ; and we shall, as is generally the
case, consult our own interests and follow the dictates of humanity at the same
time, by not injuring so useful an animal: and we think experience proves
there will be no danger of doing this by working eight or nine hours a day.
By referring to the foregoing Table, we see that the maximum velocity of the
average of horses corresponding to eight hours’ work, is five miles and a half
per hour, consequently, the rate at which he would travel when loaded isa
little more than two miles and a half per hour. There is no doubt that some
horses could conveniently travel faster; but as the speed must generally be
governed by that of other horses, the average is, in this case, the rate to be
adopted. The force exerted under these circumstances depending upon the

quality of the horse, it is very difficult to obtain even an approximate value of ‘ ‘'

it, unless the experiment be made upon each individual horse: it is fortunately,
however, of no great consequence in practice, because if we feel sure that
we are employing all the power we can command to the greatest advantage,
it is not of any very great importance that we should know the exact amount of
that power.

In comparing anjmal horse-power with that of the steam-engine, we estimated
it at about 125 Ibs., but we believe that, with tolerably good horses, it may
generally be taken at more than that.

We have thus far confined our attention to the cases where velocity, as well
as duration of labour, was left to choice; this is far from being always the
case. In stage-coaches, or other conveyances for passengers, speed is abso-
lutely necessary, and it only remains to learn how that speed can be obtained
with the greatest economy. The following Table, extracted from Tred-
gold, will show the great reduction in the effect produced by increasing the
velocity.

The first column being the velocity or rate per hour, continued for six hours
per day ; the second represents the force of traction of which the animal is
capable ; and the third, the comparative effects produced. A force of traction
of 125 Ibs. continued for six hours at the rate of three miles per hour being
taken as the standard, and considered equal to the arbitrary number 1000.

Mtles per hour. Force of traction in lhs. Effect produced.
2 66 888
3 125 1000
33 104 972
4 83 888 -
4} 624 750
5 412 555
54 363 500
ON DRAUGHT. 531

If, however, the hours of labour be lessened, taking the velocity corresponding
to the greatest useful effect, the results will be much greater, and the velocity
may be raised much higher, as will be seen in the following Table.

Here the first column is the length of day’s work, the second the best velocity
corresponding to that time, or half the limit of velocity shown in Table (1),
and the third column the comparative effect produced, the force of traction
being in each case 125 lbs.

Duration of labour in hours. Velocity, “ per hour. Effect produced,

2

8 709
4 a4 818
5 3} 909
6 3 1000
7 23 1063
8 2 1110

To attain higher velocity, it is necessary still further to reduce the load, and the
next Table is calculated upon the supposition of the strain being only one-half
the last, viz., 624]bs. ; this is about the average exertion of each horse in a four-
horse heavy stage-coach.
Duration of labour,

hours per day. Velocity. Effect produced.
54 613
3 6 534
2 74 434
1 1l 307

In mails or light coaches, where ten, eleven, and even eleven and a half or
twelve miles an hour is attained, the average strain of each horse is barely
40lbs., and the effect produced, or value of work done, not much more than one-
half the above.

It must be remembered, that these tables are all calculated upon the suppo-
sition of the road being good, and the work such as not to cause any immediate
injury to the animal, and is adapted only to the average quality of horses.
They are not, therefore, at once applicable as data for calculations in all ordinary
cases, but only serve to show the comparative forces which may be exerted under
different degrees of speed. The results or effects of this force will always be
influenced by the quality of the resistance, as we have already observed, in the
cases of slow travelling ; but in rapid travelling the power is much more expen-
sive, owing to the great loss which we see by the tables is sustained by increased
velocity ; and it is, therefore, the more important to study well the means of
applying the power in question.

In this rapid travelling, the bad consequences of a uniform and constant
strain is still more felt by the horses, and the necessity of occasional relief is
still more urgent than at low velocities. It is universally admitted by horse
proprietors and postmasters, whose interests make them peculiarly sensible on
this point, that a flat piece of road is more destructive of horses than the same
length of road where gentle rises and alternate flat and swelling ground occur ;
and that a long hill is easier surmounted where there are occasional short levels,
and even descents, than when the whole is one uniform ascent.

It only remains for us, before we dismiss the subject of the moving power, to
ie the particular mode of applying it, or the manner of harnessing the

orses, 4

Under this head comes the question of the best direction of the traces, or, as
it has generally but less clearly been called, the angle of inclination of the line
of traction, This question appears to have been always considered one of great
importance: the point has been frequently discussed, and various opinions have

MM 2
§32 ON DRAUGHT

been advanced ; some having recommended it to be horizontal, others inclined ;
and, as they have each in their turn, in demonstrating the correctness of their
own theory, proved the error of others, there can be no presumption in laying
them all aside, and in taking a different, but, at the same time, a more simple
and practical view of the case. By referring to a figure similar to that by which
we showed the mode of action of the horse in pulling, we see that if AD repre-
sent that portion of his whole weight which is relieved from his fore-legs, and
AE the direction of the traces, then AF is the measure of the horizontal pull
upon the carriage. Now, AF bears a constant proportion to AB, which repre-
sents the strain upon the legs ; and AD being constant, AB, and, consequently,
AF, increase or diminish according as the angle ADB is increased or diminished:
that is to say, the horizontal pull applied to the carriage is proportionate to the
strain upon the legs; but they are both dependent upon the angle formed by the
traces, increasing or diminishing as the latter are inclined downwards or up-
; wards from the collar; so
Fig. 4. that whether the traces be
inclined upwards, as fig. 4,
or downwards, as fig. 6, or
whether they be horizontal,
as fig.5, makes no difference
in the manner of pulling.
In the first case, a portion
of the animal’s weight is
borne by the traces, and is
transferred by them to the
carriage. AF is here small,
but the strain upon the
legs AB, is also proportion-
ably less than in the second
case, where the traces are
F x horizontal. In fig. 6, where
the traces incline down-
wards, we see that the
horizontal force AE is
i {( much more considerable ;
; but, at the same time, AB
is increased, and conse-
es : ee quently the muscular ex-
ertion required in the legs
is proportionably great : in
fact, here a portion of the
weight of the load is trans-
ferred to his shoulders.
The comparative advan-
tages, therefore, of the three
do not follow any general
rule, but depend simply
upen the peculiar qualities
of the particular animal
employed, and his relative
capabilities of lifting and
pulling, or the proportion
existing between the weight.
of his body and his muscular strength. To render this more clear to our own

 

 

 

 

 

 
ON DRAUGHT. 533

feelings, we will take the case ofa man. We have already seen that an able-
bodied man is more adapted for lifting than pulling; consequently, in his
case, it would be advantageous to throw a certain portion of the weight upon
him, by making him pull upwards, as in fig. 7, or what we are more accustomed

 

to see, and which amounts to the same thing, applying his strength to a wheel-
barrow, fig. 8, and we have frequently seen an ordinary man wheel 800lbs. in
this manner.

If, however, we take a person unaccustomed to hard work, and consequently
not so strong in the legs, although he may be unable even to lift the wheel-
barrow which the other moved with ease, still he may, by pushing horizontally,
put in motion a considerable load ; and lastly, in the case of an invalid who can
barely carry his own weight, if he lean on the back of a garden-chair, he will
not only walk himself, but push on the chair; ora child who is yet too weak
to stand, can, if part of his weight be supported in a go-cart, not only move
himself, but also the frame which supports him. These are very familiar and
homely comparisons, but they are cases exactly similar to the three positions
of the traces; and the argument will equally apply to horses as to men. It is
true, we rarely use for draught a horse that cannot stand; but the case is very
possible that a large heavy horse, otherwise not strong, or one which it was not
desirable to fatigue, might pull better and longer, if part of the weight was
borne upon the carriage, or if, in other words, the traces inclined upwards. And
we know by experience, that in the case of stage-coaches, where, owing to the
speed, the weight of the horse's body is already generally a burden to him, it is
disadvantageous to increase that weight by inclining the traces much downwards ;
on the contrary, where we wish to obtain the utmost effect ofa powerful horse, or
of a horse that is muscular, but without much weight forward, it is highly ad-
vantageous to augment the effect of his gravity by inclining the traces downwards
even as much as 15°, or about 1 upon 8; the strain upon the traces will be then
considerably increased, and the effect augmented, provided always that he is able
to exert the necessary strength in his legs. As far, therefore, as the mere force
of traction is concerned, there is no particular angle which will always produce
the greatest effect—but it must depend upon the particular capability of the
horse ; and this in its turn varies, and is affected by circumstances ; for the
same horse that upon a level road requires no addition to his weight, might be
materially assisted by a slight addition when ascending a hill, if not continued
too long; and most horses would be benefited considerably by, the opposite
arrangement in a descent, that is, by a portion of their weight being borne up;
they should at least have no additional load thrown on them while descending
a hill.

There is also a time, when inclining the traces downwards is almost indispen-
sable: it is when dragging a four-wheeled waggon over a rough broken road.
If the front wheel, which is generally small, meets with an obstacle by falling
534 ON DRAUGHT.

into a hole, or stopping against a stone, it requires no profound reasoning to
show, that a force pulling upwards in the direction AB, fig. 9, will raise the
Fig. 9. whole wheel over the obstacle with much greater facility
B than if applied horizontally, as AC: this is the only
circumstance, unconnected with the horse, that ought to
govern the direction of the traces, and the degree of the
inclination here must, of course, still be proportioued to
the power of the horse. We see therefore that, in pro-
portion as the horse is stronger, or that we are disposed
to make him exert a greater effort, the traces should be
===" inclined downwards from the collar: with a good average
horse, perhaps one-sixth or one-seventh of the distance from the collar to the
extremity ; with a horse of inferior capabilities, arising from weakness in the
limbs, and not want of weight, or with an ordinary horse when travelling above
six miles an hour, the traces should be nearer the horizontal line, except when
the circumstance of a rough road, before alluded to, requires some modification
of this. To be able to apply these rules generally in practice, it would be
necessary to have some means of altering the traces while on the road; as we
have stated that they should be differently arranged according as the road is
level or rough, or ascending or descending, this would not be difficult to con-
trive, and has, indeed, been suggested by some writers upon this subject ; but it
is probable that, except in stage-waggons, where the same carriage goes along a
great extent, and consequent variety of road, it will be sufficient to adjust the
traces according to the average state of the roads in the neighbourhood; and
we cannot greatly err, if we bear in mind that inclining the traces downwards
from the collar to the carriages, amounts to the same thing as throwing part of
the weight of the load on to the shafts, a thing frequently done in two-wheeled
carts, and a manceuvre which all good carmen know how to put in practice.
The impossibility of inclining the traces of the leaders, owing to their distance
from the carriage, is an additional reason to those given before, why they (the
leaders) cannot, when required, exert such an effort as the shaft-horse or
wheeler ; and on rough cross-roads, is a great argument in favour of harnessing
horses abreast.
Yet what can be more contrary to the rules here laid down than the injudi-

   

 

cious mode frequently adopted in harnessing horses? How constantly do we
see the efforts of horses paralysed by misapplication of their respective qualities!
In the annexed sketch, (fig. 10.) for instance, which represents a very common
ON DRAUGHT. 535

specimen of this, the light, muscular, little horse, which is capable of consider-
able exertion, is nearly lifted from the ground, and prevented from making any
exertion, by the traces leading upwards ; while the feeble old horse, scarcely
capable of carrying his own body, is nearly dragged to the ground, and com-
pelled to employ his whole strength in carrying himself, and even part of the
weight of the leader; so that the strength of the one willing and able to work
is not employed, and the other is so overloaded as to be useless,

The mode of attaching the traces does not admit of much variety. The
shoulders have always been made use of for this purpose.

Fig. 11. _ Homer, who is supposed to have lived about
900 years B.c., describes very minutely, in the
twenty-fourth book of the Iliad, the mode of har-
nessing horses at the time of the siege of Troy,
nearly 3000 years ago ; but if we suppose that his
description was taken from the harness in use in
his own time, it is still referring to a period about
twenty-seven centuries back.

A simple strap, formed of several thicknesses of
leather, so as to be very stiff, and fitted well to
the neck and shoulders, served as a collar, as
seen at A A, (figs. 11, 12). A second strap, B B,
passed round the body, and was attached to the
shoulder-strap at the withers. At this point was
fixed the yoke, C C, which was fixed to the pole.

  

 

 

A pair of horses were thus yoked together, without traces or breechings, as
oxen are seen at the present time in many-parts of the country. :

This was a simple arrangement, but by no means a bad one ; and it would
appear that they performed all the manoeuvres of cavalry with chariots and
horses thus harnessed. The pair yoked to the pole were called yoked horses :
abreast of these was frequently placed what was called an outer horse, with a
simple shoulder-strap or collar F F, and a single trace, G G, passing inside, as
in fig. 18. Sometimes there were two of those horses, one on each side, each
furnished with his strap or collar and trace. These straps, if well fitted, were
not bad ; but as they must have pressed in some degree upon the throat, they
could not be equal to the collar of the yoked horses, still less to the collar at
present used.

In more modern times these shoulder-straps gave place to the breast-strap.
A horse can no doubt exert a considerable strain against such a strap, but in
action it must impede the movement of the shoulder.
536 ON DRAUGHT.

 

In some parts of South Ameriea the trace is fixed to the pummel of the saddle,
which in its turn is weil secured to the horse by saddle-girths, breast-straps,
and breechings; and we are informed that horses in this manner drag very
considerable loads, It resembles completely the harness of the ancients, with
the addition of the breechings. It is, of course, a mere temporary arrangement,
convenient only as requiring no preparation. ‘The trace is, in fact, the lasso of
the rider, which is always fastened to the saddle; and when he has entangled it
round the horns of a bull, or attached it to anything he may have occasion to
transport, he takes one or two turns of the thong round the pummel of the
saddle, and the horse will at full gallop drag the load after him. Here the load
being generally upon the ground, the trace must incline considerably down-
wards ; and this, added to the weight of the rider, will perhaps account in some
degree for the extraordinary effects of a young powerful horse goaded to the
utmost, and continuing the exertion only for a short time.

A gentleman who travelled some time in this part of America, and frequently
witnessed the practical effects of this arrangement, has suggested the propriety
of introducing it into the Artillery, by means of which a number of horses
might in an instant be attached to a gun, to extricate it from any heavy or
broken ground in which it might be entangled. Certainly, the length of these
traces would enable these additional horses to secure a good footing ; and any
number of horses might thus be made to lend their assistance in time of need.
We do not pretend, however, to judge of the practical utility of this measure,
but merely record the suggestion of another.

The collar now generally used is an improvement upon the ancient shoulder-
strap described by Homer ; and it is probably the best possible mode of attaching
the traces to the horses. If the connection is made at the proper place on the
collar, the latter bears flat and evenly upon the muscles which cover the collar-
bone, and the shouiders of the horse are left almost as free in their action as if
the collar were not there. About A, (figs. 14, 15,) is the point of the shoulder
where the trace should come; and a little inclination downwards, which can
easily be effected in the case of the shaft-horse by the shafts, and in the others
by the belly-band, will, if necessary, prevent the collar rising up, and incon-
veniencing the throat of the horse.

Reflecting upon ihe various circumstances which we have shown to occur in
the application of animai power, and the various conclusions we kave drawn
ON DRAUGHT. 537

while considering the best and most advantageous application of this power—
and we must be excused the frequent repetition of the terms, for the sake of the
clearness gained by it—it would appear that the resistance should be as much
as possible rigid and inelastic, so as to receive immediately, and unimpaired, the
direct effects of the slightly irregular exertions of the animal; that this resist-
ance should not be such as to yield directly to a sudden impulse ; that it should
be so far uniform as to be free from violent changes or sudden shocks, but not
so constant as to allow of no remission, nor of those alternations of exertion
and comparative relaxation which we have stated to be advantageous to the
perfect development of animal power.
Fig. 14, Fig. 15.

 

That, as regards the degree of resistance, where velocity is not required, a
force of traction of from 100]bs. to 125lbs., or even 150lbs.*, according to the
strength of the horse, continued for eight hours a day, at about two and a half
to three miles per hour, is the best proportion of quantity and duration of
labour ; that where six or eight miles per hour is required, the duration of the
day’s work should be shortened to five or six hours, and the draught reduced to
80lbs. or 1001bs, At still higher velocities the draught must not exceed 50lbs.
or 60lbs., and the time of working two or three hours. But this speed can only
be attained by the sacrifice of the horse ; and consequently the question will
rather be what the horse is capable of doing than what can be done with
economy ; and it becomes a matter of calculation depending altogether upon the
first cost of the horse, and the profits arising from his employment.

With respect to the mode of harnessing the horse, it is hardly necessary to
say that great care should be taken in fitting the collar and in attaching the
traces to the proper point. As to the direction of the traces, it must, as we
have shown, entirely depend upon the circumstances of the case. Where the
draught is heavy and slow, if the road be good, the traces should be nearly

 

* The load which will produce this amount of draught will be determined when we con-
sider the subject of the roads, on the quality of which it will be sccn that this mainly depends.
538 ON DRAUGHT.

horizontal, unless the journey be short, or the traffic be only in one direction,
and the cart return empty, or unless any other reason render it desirable to
compel the horse to exert himself more than he would naturally do ; the traces
should then be inclined downward towards the carriage, with an inclination
perhaps of one upon four or five, provided always that the horse is capable of
continuing the exertion which, by the additional load thrown upon his shoulders,
he is thus called upon to make. If, in the same case of low speed, the road
be very heavy, or broken and rough, the proportion of draught upon each horse
must be lessened by diminishing the load, but the traces should be attached
still lower to the carriage, at a slope of one upon three or four, by which much
greater power is given to the animal to drag the load over any obstruction.

At all high velocities, the traces should generally be horizontal. The cases
of rough roads or powerful horses may slightly affect this arrangement, as at
low velocities, but not in so great a degree.

We will now proceed to examine the mode in which these conditions are
practically to be fulfilled, and the result of the application of the principles which
we have laid down, by considering the subject of the vehicles for conveying the
weight to be moved.

Those in present use are boats, as canal-boats, sledges, and wheeled carriages,
which last of course include every species of carriage, whether waggon or cart,
heavy or light.

Canal-boats and canals we suspect are gradually going out of use, and will,
excepting in some peculiar cases, or unless some great improvement takes place
in time, be superseded entirely by railways ; but still it must be many years
before this can be effected; and in the mean time, the produce of the most
extensive manufactories in the world, and the supply of immense masses of
people, will be transported over these beautifully smooth, level, and noiseless
roads ; and, even if their beds were dry, and become the course of railways (an
event which may perhaps befall some of them), we must, out of respect for the
extraordinary benefits we have derived from their assistance, and the almost
incredible effect they have produced upon the commerce and riches of the
country, have devoted a few lines to that part of their consideration which bears
upon our subject, viz., the draught of canal-boats.

The great advantage in the transport of goods by water conveyance, is the
smallness of the power required. A body floating in water is left so very free
in its movements, that motion may be gradually communicated to it by any
power however small, at least the limit is very far removed; but although a
very slow movement may thus easily be obtained, the slightest increase of speed
causes a very great increase of resistance.

The resistance to a body moving in a fluid, arises principally from the striking
of the particles of the fluid against the front of the moving body, so that if the
speed of the vessel be increased, not only does it encounter a proportionably
greater number of particles, but also it is struck by each with a force propor-
tionate to the velocity, and consequently the resistance is found to increase as
the square of the velocity; thus, if the speed of the vessel be trebled, the
number of particles, or the quantity of water which it meets in its progress for
a certain space of time, is trebled, and the resistance of each particle being also
three times as great, owing to the boats striking it with treble the velocity, the
united effect is nine times as great; therefore, if in the first instance it required
one pound to draw the vessel, it would now require nine, but nine times the
weight or resistance, moved at three times the velocity, will require twenty-
seven times the quantity of power in action; consequently, we see that the
resistance increases as the square of the velocity, and the power required to be
exerted for a given time increases as the cube of that velocity,
ON DRAUGHT. 539

This law of the increase of resistance is modified however by other causes,
which have been observed and deeply investigated within the last few years,
and which produce such an effect, that with boats of a peculiar form, a diminu-
tion of resistance actually occurs at a certain increased velocity, and very high
rates of speed, such as even 10 or 12 miles per hour, have been attained. There
are also some small sources of resistance, such as the friction of the water,
which do not increase in the ratio above named, but at moderate velocities the
rule applies, and as yet no means have been discovered, by which, with the
present dimensions of canals and their locks, larger quantities and weights can
be conveyed at any but very low rates of speed. The draught of an ordinary
canal-boat, at the velocity of 24 miles per hour, is about gy of its weight,
that is to say, a canal boat, with its load weighing 38 tons, or 73,920 lIbs., is
moved at the rate mentioned, by a force equivalent to 80 lbs., being 71, part of
the load. This is found by Mr. Bevan to be the result upon the Grand Junction
Canal, and a force of traction of 80 lbs., is here found to be equivalent to a
horse power. The average power of an ordinary horse is certainly rather more ;
and in the commencement of this paper, we mentioried this as an instance of a
small effect being produced, most probably owing to the peculiar application of
the power. We believe it to be the case, and think it likely, that if the disad-
vantages before alluded to, arising from the mode of applying the power, could
be removed, the effect might be raised 100 Ibs., or 120 lbs, of traction, and con-
sequently the load moved would then be 40 or 50 tons ; this is an increase well
worthy of consideration.

We now come to the consideration of the means of transport employed on
land. ‘These are sledges, rollers, and wheel carriages. The order in which
they are here mentioned, is probably that in which they were invented or first
employed. A sledge is certainly the rudest and most primitive form of vehicle ;
the wheeled carriage, and even the placing the load itself upon rollers, is the
effect of a much more advanced state of the mechanical arts, and is probably of
much later date than the sledge.

When man first felt the necessity or the desire of transporting any article
from one spot to another, he doubtless endeavoured to lift or carry it: if it
proved too heavy for him to carry, he would naturally endeavour to drag it.
Here frequent experiments would soon show him how much less labour was
required to drag a body with a smooth surface in contact with the ground, than
when the contrary was the case; and if the body to be moved did not itself
present a smooth surface on any of its sides, but was, on the contrary, rough
and angular in all directions, he would naturally be led to interpose between it
and the ground some plane surface which should prevent the angles and projec-
tions of the body from entering the ground and impeding the progress; and
we may presume that sledges were thus very early brought into use. When
attempting to transport still heavier masses, the accidental presence of round
stones, or of a piece of timber, may have shown the advantage of interposing
rolling bodies, and thus may rollers have been invented and first brought into use.

These steps appear natural and likely to have led to these results; they are at
any rate sufficient to account for the first introduction of these two Means of
facilitating transport, but no steps of this kind appear capable of leading to the
beautiful yet simple contrivance of a wheel.

A roller is by no means an imperfect wheel, as it may at first appear to be;
they have nothing in common but their rotatory or revolving action, but the
effect of this motion is totally different in the two. In a roller, friction is
avoided altogether by it, in a wheel this friction exists as completely as in a
sledge, but the sliding surfaces being at the centre of the wheel, instead of on
the ground, are always the same, and being under control, may be kept in that
540 ON DRAUGHT.

state which shall cause as little friction as possible ; moreover, the friction is at
a point where we have the means of overcoming it, by acting with the power of.
a considerable lever, as we shall hereafter show.

There is, indeed, a kind of roller which partakes somewhat of the character
of the wheel, but without possessing the advantages of it.

This species of roller might have been an intermediate step between the two,
and we shall therefore describe it, when we have dismissed the subject of sledges
and rollers.

In England sledges are at the present time very little in use. In some com-
mercial towns the facility with which bulky and heavy articles can be placed
upon them, without being raised to the height of a cart, has caused them still
to be employed, but even in these cases, they are in general used only upon the
pavement where the friction is not considerable, and for short distances, in
which case the saving of labour, in loading and unloading, more than compensates
for the increase of power absorbed by the draught. Low-wheeled trucks, how-
ever, in these cases, possess the same advantage, and have gradually been sub-
stituted for them, where this advantage was indispensable: for agricultural
purposes they are almost become obsolete, and for all purposes of traffic between
distant points, they are quite abandoned.

It is only in the North of England and in some parts of Cornwall, that they
are sometimes used in farms, but wherever good roads exist, and mechanical arts
keep pace with the improvements of the age, they have given place to wheel
carriages. An examination into their nature and action will immediately
account for this.

A sledge is merely a frame, generally of wood, upon which the load is placed,
and resting at once upon the ground, the friction between the under surface of
the sledge and the ground bears a considerable proportion to the load; but if
the ground be very uneven and full of holes, the sledge, by extending over a
great surface, avoids the holes, and slides only upon the eminences, which being
naturally the stones or the hard portions of the ground, cause less friction ;
on such a road, a wheel would be continually sinking into those holes, and thus
oppose considerable resistance, and would also expose the load to frequent
danger of upsetting.

It would appear, therefore, that over broken ground, or even upon a very bad
uneven road, a sledge may sometimes be more advantageous than wheels, and
its extreme simplicity of construction renders it very economical as regards first
cost; but the ground must indeed be very bad, or the country be very poor
and little cultivated, where the formation of roads would not amply repay
themselves by allowing the use of wheels; for the power required to draw a
loaded sledge will be at least four or five times greater than that required for
an equally loaded cart upon a tolerably good road.

The draught of a sledge, even upon the pavement, is about one-fifth of the
load, so that to draw a ton weight, requires a force of traction of about four
hundred weight ; upon roads the friction will be much greater: it is difficult to
state its amount, as it must depend so much upon the nature of the ground, but
with the load before mentioned, viz., one ton, the force of traction will probably
vary from five to seven hundred weight: over a strong rocky surface the
resistance of a sledge will be much the same ason pavement. Its use, therefore,
must be confined to very particular cases, where the absence of roads, or the
want of means, prevents the adoption of more improved vehicles; and these
cases are fortunately too rare in England to render it worth our while to bestow
much time upon its description.

Sledges are generally formed of two longitudinal pieces of timber, four or five
feet apart, with their lower edges shod with iron: and transverse planks, bolted
ON DRAUGHT, B41

to these, form the floor, and they are thus easily constructed. The traces shoul
be more inclined than with wheeled carriages, because the friction bearing a
greater proportion to the load it is more advantageous to throw a portion of that
load upon the horse, and being used upon uneven ground it is more important
to be able to lift the front of the sledge over obstacles.

Although in this country the use of sledges is very limited, in many parts of
the world they constitute the best, and, indeed, the only means of conveyance.
Upon ice the friction is so trifling that they oppose less resistance even than
wheels, for the reasons before stated, of their covering a larger surface, and
thereby sliding over those asperities which would impede the progress of a
wheel ; upon snow the advantage is still more decided: where a wheel would
sink a considerable depth and become almost immoveable, a sledge will glide
upon the thin frozen crust without leaving a trace, and with an ease truly won-
derful. In all cold climates they are consequently in general use ; and the depth
of winter is there the season for the transport of merchandise.

The Esquimaux with their dogs, the Laplanders with their rein-deer, and
the Russians with horses, use the sledge to a great extent in the winter, over
the frozen rivers or the hard snow.

In the warm climates, on the contrary, not only are they now almost unknown,
but the records which refer to periods so far removed as 3000 years make no
mention of such conveyances.

Rollers come next under consideration; they certainly afford the means of
transporting a heavy weight with less power than any other means with which
we are acquainted ; their motion is not necessarily attended with any friction.
A cylinder, or a sphere, can roll upon a plane without any rubbing of the
surfaces whatever, and consequently without friction ; and, in the same manner,
a plane will roll upon this roller without friction: in practice, this is more or
less the case, according to the perfection of workmanship in the formation of the
rollers, and, if cylindrical, the care with which they are placed at right angles
to the direction at which they are tomove. There is only one source of resistance
which is inseparable from the use of rollers, viz., the unevenness of the surfaces,
or the yielding of the material, which amounts to nearly the same thing.

Fig. 16. A circle resting upon a straight line can only
touch it in a single point, and the contact of a
cylinder with a plane is merely a line: conse-
quently, if the material of the roller, and the sur-
face on which it rolled, were perfectly hard and
inelastic, such would be their contact, whatever
weight might be placed upon the roller.

But in practice no such material can be obtained,
and rollers, on the contrary, are generally made of
wood, and, when loaded, they must yield until the
surface AB, fig. 16, is proportionate to the pressure.
Still, if the substance were perfectly elastic; that
is to say, if it would return to its original form with
the same force and velocity which were required to
distort it, this alteration would not cause any re-
sistance ; the elasticity at E would tend to raise the
back of the roller with a force DE, fig. 17, equal to,
and exactly similar, but opposite to CB, and would

 

consequently balance it.

Although perfect elasticity is unattainable, yet most hard substances possess
this quality to some extent ; consequently, when the load is not sufficient to
crush the materials, the resistance is not much increased by even a con-
542 ON DRAUGHT.

siderable yielding, — provided this yielding, as we before said, arises from

elasticity. Thus if a bladder be filled with air and used as a roller, the resist-

ance will not be greater than if a perfect and hard cylinder were employed,

although the bladder may be nearly flattened under the weight ;—but the per-

manent compression of the roller, and the crushing of dust or other extraneous

substances lying in the way, are the great impediments to its movements ; these

constitute a resistance in the direction BC, which is not counterbalanced by any

force arising from elasticity on the opposite side. The effect of this resistance

is dependent upon the diameter of the roller, diminishing when the latter is
increased, though not in so rapid a proportion.

If to a circle a horizontal force P be applied at G, fig.18; if an obstacle

Fig. 18 be placed at E, the force P will tend to push

a ¢ : he roller over the obstacle, and will act

<_< twith a lever equal to G F, and for all small

~~ p obstacles G F may be considered equal to G D

the diameter. The weight upon the roller

pressing it down, acts with a lever equal to EF;

but EF is equal ,/GF, x ,/F D; therefore

Er, which is equal to FD, remaining constant,

and the diameter being increased, EF increases

only as the square root of diameter, and con-

sequently, the force necessary to advance the

a roller is inversely as the square root of the

diameter ; that is to say, if a roller be increased four times in diameter, the

resistance arising from the causes now under consideration will be reduced

|
ni

 

= E

 

to 4 or 3, and if increased nine times in diameter, the resistance will be

 

only equal to or 4.

1
/9
This being the only source of resistance to the action of a roller, it will
easily be conceived that, in practice, by laying a plank or any other plane
surface upon the ground, and preparing in like manner the lower surface of the
body to be moved, and interposing rollers between the two, a very great weight
may be moved with comparatively small power; but, on the other hand, there
is a serious practical inconvenience attending the use of the roller, which pre-
vents its adoption except in very particular cases.
A weight moved upon rollers proceeds at twice the rate of the roller; for if
Fig. 19. C, fig. 19, be the centre of the roller, D the point of
w contact with the ground, and E that with the weight
to be moved, and W the weight, if this weight be put
in motion, the point D is for an instant stationary, since
it is in close contact with the ground. The diameter
ECD moves, therefore, round the point D as a centre,
and, consequently, E being as twice as far from D asC
is, describes Ee twice as great a distance as Cc; fresh
points are now brought to the summit and in contact
with the ground, and again the latter is stationary,
while the former moves twice the distance which the
point C does. The summit, therefore, or that point
which isin immediate contact with the weight, always
moves with twice the velocity of the centre of the roller; but the velocity of
the centre is, of course, that of the roller, and the velocity of the point E, which
is in contact with, and is moved by, the weight, is the same as that of the

 
ON DRAUGHT. 543

‘weight moved ; therefore, as the weight is forced forward, it moves at twice the
rate of the roller, it will gain upon the rollers, and others must be continually
supplied in front—an inconvenience much felt in practice,

This confines the use of the roller to cases where the distance is very short,
or where the weight conveyed is exceedingly great, and reduction in the rent.
ance of more importance than the inconvenience alluded to.

The most remarkable instance of the application of rollers is the transport
of the rock which now serves as the pedestal of the equestrian statue of Peter
the Great at St. Petersburgh.

Fig. 20. Fig. 21.

=e,

         
  
  

LN

 

   

rh

HOOT

i

This rock, a single block of granite, was discovered in the centre of a bog,
four miles from the waterside ; it weighed, after being cut into a convenient
shape, 1217 tons. Notwithstanding its enormous weight it was raised and
turned upon its side, and placed upon aframe. A road was made across the bog,
and a timber railway laid down; the whole was then left till the depth of
winter, when the boggy ground was frozen and the operations then commenced.
The railway consisted of two lines of timber a a a a, (figs. 20, 21, 22,) furnished

         

 

Fig, 22.

6] o ®

 

 

 

 

 

t=
Se eS

 

with hard metal grooves; similar and corresponding metal grooves were fixed
to the under side of the sledge, and between these grooves were placed the
rollers, which were spheres of hard brass, about six inches diameter. The im-
possibility of confining cylindrical rollers to a perfectly parallel direction, and
without which the friction would have been considerable, rendered the adoption
of spherical rollers or balls running in a groove a matter of necessity, as other-
544 ON DRAUGHT.

wise the small surface upon which they can bear, and the consequent danger of
crushing, or at least flattening that surface, is a serious objection to spheres;
once placed upon the rollers, it was drawn by means of capstans. ‘he resist-
ance does not appear to have been great, considering the enormous weight, since
sixty men at the capstans with treble purchase blocks moved it with ease.

The transport of this enormous rock under such disadvantageous cireum-
stances of country, over a distance of four miles, and its subsequent passage of
thirteen miles by water in a vast cassoon or vessel constructed for the purpose,
was a work surpassing anything attempted by the ancients, and, indeed, in
modern times the only thing which can be compared toit is the dragging a ship
of the line up aslip; the weight is in this case nearly the same as that of the
rock, but the distance traversed is short, and the difficulties to be overcome much
less. A plane of inclined timber is prepared and well greased; a frame of
wood, technically called a cradle, is fixed under the vessel, it is floated on
to the inclined plane and drawn up by the united efforts of a number of well-
manned capstans, with powerful tackle: in this case no rollers are used:
it is a sledge, the surface being well covered with grease to lessen the friction.

We have stated that there was a particular construction of roller which might
be considered, as regards its form merely, an intermediate step between the

Fig, 23. roller and the wheel. It consists
of a roller with the diameter of the
extremities increased as ‘in fig. 23;
the only advantage of this roller is
that the body rests upon the small
part of the roller, see fig. 24, and
when put in motion, will not gain
so rapidly on the rollers; or in
other words, the roller will move
with more than half the velocity
of the body. A mere inspection
of fig. 25, is sufficient to show
that the velocity of the centre, C,
will be to that of the body resting
on the point B, as CD to BD,
so that if the ends of the rollers
are twice the size of the inter-
mediate part, C D will be equal
to two-thirds of B D, and the
roller will move at two-thirds of
the rate of the body ; a less num-
ber of rollers are therefore re-
quired, and the resistance is
somewhat diminished by having
larger rollers in contact with the
ground.

In using a roller of this sort, the idea may have struck the workman, or it
may have occurred accidentally, to confine the spindle of the roller, and compel
it to move with the body ; and thus a clumsy pair of wheels, fixed to a spindle,
would have resulted from his experiment. Such a supposition is quite gratui-
tous, as we have no record of any such contrivance having existed before wheels
were made; indeed it is inferior both to the roller and the wheel: the only
argument in favour of such a theory is, that rollers of this sort have been
employed in comparatively modern times.

At Rome, in 1588, an obelisk, ninety feet high, of a single block of stone,
weighing upwards of 160 tons, and which had originally been brought from

 
ON DRAUGHT. 545

Egypt, was removed from one square, in which it stood, to another near the
Vatican, and there again erected in the spot where it now is.

In dragging this through the streets of Rome, it was fixed in a strong frame
of wood, which rested upon a smaller frame, which were furnished each with a
pair of rollers, or spindles, of the form above referred to ; they were turned
by capstan bars: indeed they cannot be better described than by stating that
they resembled exactly the naves of a pair of cart-wheels (all the spokes being
removed), and fixed toa wooden axle. If a heavy waggon lay upon a pair of
these, we can conceive that by putting bars into the mortices of the naves, we
could force them round, and thus advance the waggon ; but the resistance would
evidently be greater than if either rollers or wheels were employed.

All the difficulties incidental to the use of the roller appear to be surmounted,
and all objections met, by the contrivance of the wheel.

The wheel being attached to the load, or to the carriage which contains it,
moves with it, is part of the machine, and consequently as we require only the
number of wheels immediately necessary for the support of the load, we can
afford to construct them of those dimensions and materials best suited to the
purpose. By increasing their diameter, we are enabled to surmount impediments
with much greater facility, as we have shown in the case of the roller; and although
there is a resistance arising from friction at the axle, which does not exist in the
roller, yet this may be so reduced, by increasing the diameter of the wheel, as to
form an inconsiderable part of the whole resistance, or draught of the carriage.

Of the first introduction of the wheel we have no record whatever. The
principle appears to us so simple as to have been necessarily the result of pure
invention, almost of inspiration; while, at the same time, it is so exceedingly
effective and perfect, as hardly to admit of improvement.

The great antiquity of wheeled carriages or chariots precludes all hopes of
discovering their origin. About fifteen hundred years before the Christian era
they appear to have been in common use amongst the Egyptians in their warfare.
Pharaoh despatched six hundred chosen chariots in pursuit of the Israelites,
while the rest of the army followed with all the chariots of Egypt: here,
therefore, they were in general use, and serving as the cavalry of the present day.
Moreover the oldest records, which enter into any detail of their construction,
describe them as in a very forward and perfect state.

At the siege of Troy, nearly three thousand years ago, they formed, according
to Homer, the cavalry of the Greeks and Trojans; and every officer or hero of
good blood possessed, at least, a pair of horses and a charioteer.

These chariots being built to run over broken ground, where no roads existed,
were made low and broad, and they were by no means badly contrived for
the purpose for which they were intended ; the wheels were constructed with
a nave and spokes, felloes and tires; and the pole a, appears to have been
fixed on the axle-tree, b, in the manner shown in fig. 26. The body of the

 

chariot was placed upon this frame. The team generally consisted, as we have

before stated, of a pair of horses, attached to the pole; six and even a greater

number of horses were, however, frequently harnessed abreast, but in that case
NWN
546 ON DRAUGHT.

a second pole was generally affixed to the axletree, so as to have a pair of horses
attached to each pole, and the axletrees themselves were always made nearly as
long as the whole width occupied by the horses.

They appear to have had light chariots for more domestic purposes, and four-
wheeled carriages for conveyance of heavy goods; and certainly King Priam,
when he went to the Grecian camp to ransom the body of his son Hector,
travelled with some degree of comfort and luxury: he rode himself in a “‘ beauti-
ful new- built travelling carriage,’ drawn by favourite horses, while the treasures,
intended as a ransom, were conveyed in a four-wheeled waggon drawn by
mules. All these details, as well as the mode of harnessing the horses, which
operation, it must be confessed, was performed by Priam himself and his sons,
are fully described in the twenty-fourth book of the Iliad.

That Homer was well acquainted with the construction of the spoked wheel
running freely upon the axletree, and, perhaps, even with the mode of hanging
the body of the carriage upon straps for springs, in the same manner as the
public coaches are to this day in many parts of France, and, till lately, even in
the neighbourhood of Paris, is evident from the passage in which he describes
Juno’s chariot. He there says, while Juno was putting the golden bits to the
horses, Hebe fastened on the wheels to the iron axles. ‘These wheels had
eight brazen spokes, and the felloes were of gold, and the tires of brass,”—
“‘ The seat was fastened with gold and silver cords.”

This, of course, gives us Homer’s ideas of perfection in a chariot.

All the epithets which could convey ideas of swiftness, were applied to these
chariots and to the horses, but we have no positive information as regards the
real velocity with which they would travel : as roads were scarce, and probably
at best merely tracks, much could not be expected from vehicles constructed
under such circumstances ; the wheels were small, from twenty to thirty inches
diameter, and all the parts of the chariots excessively heavy, so as to resist the
repeated shocks to which they were subject.

The chariots represented upon the Frieze of the Parthenon, before alluded
to, and which is probably upwards of 2200 years old, are very light in their
construction, and only want springs to be called gigs,

The advancement of all the branches of the mechanical arts has necessarily
introduced many improvements in the details of the construction of the wheel
itself, as well as in that-of the axle and the rest of the carriage, and by this
means no doubt increased very greatly the use and advantage of it; but it is a
remarkable fact, that these improvements have been confined exclusively to the
workmanship and mechanical detail, and that the principle has remained exactly
the same, and has not even received any addition during this immense lapse of time.

Upwards of 3000 years ago, the wheels appear to have been independent of
each other, and running upon fixed axles; we cansay no more of the most im-
proved wheel of the most finished carriage of the present day.

We are far from intending to cast any slight upon modern invention, or to com-
pare the groaning axletrees and creaking wheels of the ancients with the noiseless
Collinge’s axles of the nineteenth century ; but truth compels us to acknowledge
that a period of thirty centuries, more than half the time which is supposed to
have elapsed since the creation of the world, has produced no radical change nor
brought into action any new principle in the use of the wheel asapplied tocarriages.

The particular form and construction of the wheel, as well as of all the other
parts of the carriage, however, admit of great variety, and the draught is mate-
rially affected by their variation. We shall, therefore, after examining the action
of wheels in general, describe the mode of construction now adopted, and then
endeavour to point out the advantages and disadvantages of the various forms
which have been given to the different parts of it.
ON DRAUGHT. Raq

First let us examine the theory of it, and suppose it acting on a level plain.

The wheel being a circle, the centre will remain always at the same height,
and consequently will move parallel to the plane in a perfectly level line: if
any weight be attached to or suspended from its centre, this will also move in a
continued straight line without rising or falling, and consequently when once put
in movement, there is nothing to check its progress (neglecting for the moment
the slight resistance of the air), and it will require no force to keep it in motion
so long as the wheels continue to turn,

We have, therefore, in this case only to examine into the force necessary to
turn the wheels. The wheels, if left to themselves, would roll on with perfect
freedom, whatever might be their weight, or whatever weight might be attached
to them, provided nothing in the mode of attaching that weight impeded their
revolution; but in practice we cannot admit of the load revolving with the
wheel, and we have no means of suspending it to the wheel, except by means of
an axle fixed to the load, and passing through the centre of the wheel. This
axle presses upon the lower surface of the hole, and consequently when the
wheel revolves, causes a friction proportionate to the load upon the axle. This
friction is then the only source of resistance to the motion of a wheel,
under the circumstances here supposed ; and it is the action of this friction, the
degree in which this affects the draught, and by what means this effect is increased
and diminished, that we are now about to consider. ‘

Fig. 27. Let C, fig. 27, be the centre of a wheel, ot
which C D is the radius, and C A that of the
axle passing through the wheel, and which
being fixed to the load does not revolve with
the wheel.

If a force C B be applied to the centre of
the wheel, tending to advance it in the direc-
tion B, the point D being in contact with the
ground, the wheel is compelled to turn or

D roll, and the force CB in turning the wheel
acts with a leverage equal to C D, but the friction between the axle and the
wheel is at the point A, and in preventing the turning of the wheel it acts only
at the extremity of the lever CA; consequently if C D be ten times as great asC A,
the force CB need only be equal to one-tenth of the amount of the friction, and, as
a general rule, the radius of the axle and the friction remaining the same, the force
necessary to overcome the resistance arising from this friction will be inversely as
the radius or the diameter of the wheel, or, in other words, the draught will, in this
case, diminish exactly in proportion as the diameter of the wheel is increased.

The exact amount of resistance occasioned by friction will depend upon the
nature of the substances in contact at the axle, as well as upon the proportionate
dimensions of the wheel and axle. “, :

The friction between polished surfaces bears a certain proportion to the
pressure: if the pressure is doubled, the friction. will, within certain limits, be
also doubled; but the proportion between the friction and the pressure is only
constant so long as the same substances are employed: it varies very much with
different substances. ‘Thus with soft wood sliding upon soft wood, the friction
amounts to one-fourth or one-third of the pressure ; while between hard brass
and iron, the surfaces smooth and oiled, the resistance may be as low as 35 of
the pressure. The relative advantages, therefore, of different materials, as applied
to the axle and box of a wheel, is a point of much consequence. .

Metals, generally speaking, are the best adapted for this purpose. Owing to
their hardness, the friction between them is small, and they will bear without

injury a greater pressure, proportionably to the surface ; and, from Ma strength,
NN

 
58 ON DRAUGHT.

the axle may be of much smaller dimensions than if made of wood; and we have
proved that a reduction in the diameter of the axle causes a proportionate
reduction in the resistance caused by friction. In consequence of these advantages,
iron or steel axles, working in iron boxes, are now almost universally adopted.
The friction in this case, when the parts are in proper order, greased, and the
pressure upon them not excessive, amounts to about one-eighth, or, at the most,
one-fifth of the pressure or weight; suppose it one-sixth, and if the diameter of
the wheel is to that of the axle as 18 or 20 to 1, which is about the proportion
ina large two-wheeled cart, the whole resistance arising from friction at the axle
will be equal to 2 of +45, or of z5, which is equal to -45 and +4, respectively.
So that to move one ton would not, in the latter case, require a force of traction
greater than 1841bs. ; and having overcome this resistance, the force of traction
required remains nearly the same at all velocities; that is to say, friction is not
materially affected by velocity: therefore the resistance arising from it is not
sensibly augmented by a considerable increase in the speed. In practice, how-
ever, the friction at the axle is far from being the greatest impediment to the
motion of a carriage. We have hitherto, for the purpose of considering friction
alone, supposed the surface upon which the wheel moved as perfectly hard,
smooth, level, and plane: we need hardly say that such can never be the case
inaroad. The friction, however, remains, practically speaking, the same, and
the laws which govern the amount and the effects of it remain unaltered ; and we
have only to ascertain what is the additional resistance arising from other sources,
to obtain the whole draught of the carriage. We have already stated, when
pointing out the difference between the roller and the wheel, that the movement
of the latter was attended with two sources of resistance, viz., friction at the centre,
which we have considered, and another, which is common both to the wheel and
the roller, arising from impediments in the road, or the yielding of the materials.

The laws which affect the amount of this latter are, of course, the same in a
whee] as in a roller.

We have found that the power required to overcome it is inversely as the
square root of the diameter ; therefore, by increasing the diameter of the wheel,
the effect of friction, which is inversely as the diameter, diminishes much more
rapidly than that caused by impediments in the roads; and on ordinary roads,
with common carts, the amount of the latter is about three times as great as
that of the former, and when the roads are at all injured by weather or by
neglect, or if they are naturally heavy or sandy, it bears a much greater propor-
tion. A light four-wheeled cart, weighing, with its load, 1000lbs.,* was repeat-
edly drawn upon different sorts of roads ; the average of a number of experiments
gave the following results:

Force of Traction required

Description of Road. to move the Carriage.

Turnpike road,—hard, dry ‘ ‘ 3 3021bs.
Ditto dirty . . . . 39
Hard, compact loam . . . 53
Ordinary by-road_ . . ~ : - 106
Turnpike road—new gravelled . . 143
Loose, sandy road . . . . « 204

The friction at the axles, which were of wood, was, of course, nearly constant,
and probably absorbed at least J, of the weight, or 1241bs. of the force of
traction, leaving, therefore, for the resistance caused by the road in the different
cases, as under—

 

* The experiment was not made with a load of exactly 1000lbs., but the proportions of
the results are calculated to this standard. The public are indebted to Mr. Bevan for these as

well as for a great number of other highly useful and practical experiments upon the effects of
power in various cases,
ON DRAUGHT. 549

Force of Traction required to move. the

Description of Road. Carriage, independent of the Friction at the Axles,

Turnpike-road—hard, dry, about . - 18 lbs,
Ditto dirty . 7 . 26
Ditto new gravelled s : 130

Loose, sandy road . . . . igit

So that in the last case, one by no means of rare occurrence in many parts of
the country, the portion of draught immediately caused by the state of the
road was ten times as great as on a good turnpike-road, and about fifteen times
as great as that which arose from friction at the axles. It would be hopeless to
attempt to remedy this by increasing the size of the wheel: the experimeut
was made with wheels of the ordinary size. To double their diameter would
evidently be attended, in practice, with insurmountable difficulties ; and yet,
even if this were effected, it would barely reduce the total amount of the
draught by one-fourth ; but the form of the wheel may materially influence
the state of the road: we shall, therefore, proceed to consider the various forms
employed.

Some years ago, when the principal turnpike roads of the kingdom were at
many parts, at particular seasons of the year, in little better condition than that
on which the last experiment was tried, various attempts were made to reduce
the resistance, by using narrow wheels. These attempts, and the laws which it
was found necessary to enact to prevent the entire destruction of the roads, Icd,
at last, to curious results, having gradually caused the introduction of the worst.
formed wheel which could probably be invented, either as regards increasing
the draught or the destruction of the roads.

To understand these alterations clearly, we must describe the principal
features of the wheel now in use.

The general construction of it presents a striking instance of strength arising
from the judicious union of substances of very different qualities—wood and iron.

A strong circular frame of wood, composed of different segments, called
felloes, is bound together by a hoop, or several hoops of iron, called tires, which
thus, at the same time that it gives great strength, protects the outer surface
from wear,

The nave, a circular block of wood, is sustained in the centre of this frame
by the spokes, which, instead of being in the plane of the felloes, form a cone :
this is called the dishing of the wheel. The object of it is to give stiffness, ta
resist lateral shocks, as when the wheel slips sideways, into a rut or hole, A
reference to a comparative view of the wheel, with and without dishing, will
more clearly explain our meaning. Fig. 28, is a wheel with the spokes all in
one plane ; fig. 29, a wheel with a considerable degree of dishing.

 
550 ON DRAUGHT.

Here it is evident that a small pressure on the nave in fiy. 28, would have a
tendency to push it through, and would meet with but little resistance. In fig.
29, on the contrary, this force would be opposed at once by the direction of the
spokes, which form an arch, or dome, that cannot be flattened without bursting
the felloes, or tires. The dishing, therefore, gives the wheel a very great degree
of stiffness and strength, which it would not otherwise possess.

In consequence of this conical form, the necessity of keeping the lower spokes

: which support the weight as vertical as possible, has
required that the whole wheel should be placed oblique,
and the axle bent downwards, as in fig. 30: this, as
we shall hereafter show, is attended with very serious
evils. As a wheel is intended to roll upon the ground,
without friction, it is natural to suppose that the outer
surface of the tires should be cylindrical, as it is the
only form which admits of the wheel rolling freely in a
straight line; but it is nevertheless the form of this sur-
face, its breadth, and the degree of dishing which have
varied so much from the causes before mentioned, viz.,
the state of the roads, and to the consideration of which
we will now return.

A road, however much neglected and out of repair, will generally have, at a
certain depth, a hard bottom ; above this will be a coat of mud of loose stuff,
more or less deep, according to the material used, and the frequency of repair
or the quantity of wet to which it may be exposed. It is sinking through this,
until it reaches the hard bottom, that causes the resistance to the progress of
the wheel: whether the wheel be wide or narrow, it must squeeze or grind its
way tothe bottom of this mud; a narrow wheel evidently displaces less, and
therefore offers less resistance. The great object of carriers, then, was very
naturally to place as great a load as they could upon wheels which were as
narrow as possible, consistent with the necessary strength.

' It was soon perceived that the entire destruction of the roads would be the
consequence of this system, which had its origin in the bad state of the roads.
A certain width of tire proportionate to the load was therefore required by law.
The endeavour to evade this law was the cause of the absurd form of wheel
we are about to describe and to condemn.

In apparent obedience to the law, the felloes of the wheels were made of an
excessive breadth ; but to retain the advantages
of the narrow wheel, the middle tire was made
to project so far beyond the others, (see fig. 81,)
that it in fact constituted the wheel, the others
being added merely to give a nominal, and not a
real width. The enormous loads which it was
found advantageous to place on these wheels ren-
dered it necessary to give them a considerable
degree of dishing, to resist lateral shocks, and,
besides, the carriers were by this means enabled
to give a great width of floor to the carriage,
still keeping the vehicle in the common tracks or ruts, so that the wheels
ultimately assumed the form represented, fig. 32.

If such a machine had been constructed for the express purpose of grinding
the materials of the road to powder, or of serving asa check or drag to the
waggon, it might, indeed, have been judicious, but as a wheel it was mon-
strous. Yet this is the form of wheel upon which the contradictory opinions
referred to in the first page of this treatise were given before a Committees of

 

 
ON DRAUGHT. 551

the House of Commons. A carrier of Exeter was in favour of these wheels, and
in support of his opinion, adopts them to this
day. But afew days ago we saw one of his
waggons with whecls, which, although only
about twelve inches wide, were six inches
smaller at the outside than at the inside.
Such a cone, if set rolling and left to itself,
would run round in a circle of little morc
than twenty feet diameter. What must be
the grinding and the friction, then, when it
is constantly compelled to go on in a straight
line? yet enough has been written and said
upon this subject to convince, we should ima-
gine, the most prejudiced of the absurdity
of the system.

We shall repeat the principal arguments which were made use of at the
time of the inquiry mentioned.

Mr. Cummins took great pains, by constructing models, to show that conical
wheels were not adapted for rolling in a
straight line, by making a small conical

wheel run over longitudinal bars, as in

Jig. 33. It was seen that if the middle
part of the tire rolled upon the centre
bar without moving it, the bar A was
pushed backwards, while the bar C was
pushed forwards ; clearly showing if, in-
stead of sliding bars, the wheel had

ea” moved upona road, how much it must
have ground the road, and what a small
portion of the tire was truly rolling.

That such must have been the case is
indeed, easily proved without a model.
We will take only three different parts of
the wheel and consider them as inde-
pendent hoops of different diameter; if these hoops are compelled to go the
same number of revolutions, the large one will evidently gain upon the second,
while the third will be left far behind. Now, if, instead of being independent
of each other, they be fixed to the same axle, and compelled to revolve
together, the large one not being able to advance faster than the others, must
tear up the ground. The smaller one, on the contrary, being dragged forward
faster than it would naturally roll, must drag up the ground ; and this is what
must take place, and does, with any but a cylindrical wheel, and that to a very
considerable extent.

Suppose, for instance, a conical wheel, of an average diameter of four feet
six inches ; that is to say, that the centre advances about fourteen feet to every
revolution of the wheel. If the inner tire be six inches larger in diameter
than the outer tire, the circumference of it will be about eighteen inches greater ;
therefore, at each revolution of the wheel the inner tire would naturally advance
eighteen inches more than the outer tire: but they are compelled to go over
the same distance of ground. The one or the other, therefore, must have dis-
turbed the ground, or, what is nearer the truth, upon every fourteen feet of
road run, the former has passed over nine inches less ground than the development
of its circumference, the latter nine inches more—the one pushing back the
ground, the other dragging it forward, or, which would be equivalent to the

 

 
552 ON DRAUGHT.

dragging of the load with the wheels locked—a distance of four and a half
inches upon every fourteen.

Every child knows that the front wheel of a carriage goes oftener rorind than
the hind whee]. If, then, the front wheel were obliged to make only one revo-
lution to every revolution of the other, but still impelled at the same rate, it
must be partly dragged over the road. If these wheels be placed side by side,
instead of one being in front of the other, the effect must be the same.’ Now,
suppose them to be the outer and inner tire of the same wheel, the circumstances
are not thereby altered: the smaller circle and the larger circle cannot both
roll upon the ground. A conical wheel is then constantly twisting the surface
upon which it rests, and hence arises a very considerable resistance, as well as
destruction to the roads.

If these arguments are not sufficient to decide the point completely, let the
reader bear in mind simply, that a cone, when left to itself, will always roll in
a circle. The frustum of a cone, AB, fig. 34, is only a portion of the entire

cone, ABC, which will roll round
A Fig. 34. the point C ; if this entire cone
po ee be completely severed at the
~~ point B, the two parts will still
as. , continue to roll round the same
fs a point, and if the portion BC be
So ee now abstracted, the motion of
the remainder will not be altered.
If a wine-glass or decanter—anything which is not of the same size at the two
parts which are in contact with the surface on which it rests, be rolled upon a
table, those who are not already too familiar with the fact to require an illus-
tration of it, will immediately see the truth of this statement. If, then, a wheel
thus formed would naturally quit the
straight line ; when compelled to follow
it, it is clear that exactly the same effect
must be produced as when a cylindrical
mill-stone, as in fig. 85, which, if left to
itself, would proceed in a straight line, is
compelled to follow a curved line, and is
constantly twisted round the centre C,
it would grind everything beneath it to
powder. Yet these travelling grind-
stones were in use upwards of twenty
years, to the destruction of the roads, and at a great expense of power to those
who have persisted in employing them.

The increased strain upon the axles, from this constant tendency of the wheel
to be twisted outwards, with the consequent friction, is a source of resistance
absorbed and rendered comparatively inconsiderable, by the far greater friction
on the ground: but it is not the less a cause of great increase of draught, and
the union of all these serious disadvantages justifies, we think, our assertion,
that such a wheel is as injudicious a contrivance as could possibly be invented.
We trust they will not long continue to disgrace our wheelwrights, and injure
our roads.

The cylindrical form is the only one which ought to be admitted. As a wheel
musi, however, always be liable to sink a little into the road, and cannot be
expected always to bear perfectly flat upon the ground, the surface of the tires
should he slightly curved, and the edges rounded off, as in fig. 86. As the
rounding is rendered necessary by the yielding of the road, its degree must
depend upen the state of the road, and the form of the wheel may approach

    

a

 

 
ON DRAUGHT. 553

more nearly to the true cylinder, in proportion as the roads
approach nearer to perfection in point of hardness and. flat-
ness. When the roads are good, a very little dishing will be
sufficient, and a slight inclination of the wheel from the vertical
will make it correspond with the barrel or curve of the road,
which is now generally very trifling.

: Next to the form, the breadth of the wheel is the point requir-
mg most consideration: it is one, however, which depends entirely
upon the state of the road. .

We have seen, that the displacement or crushing of the materials
forming the upper surface of the road is one of the principal causes
of resistance. If the whole mass of the road were formed of a
yielding substance, into which the wheel would sink to a depth
exactly proportionate to the weight bearing upon it, it is probable
that great breadth would be advantageous, so that the wheel
might form a roller, tending to consolidate the materials rather than cause any
permanent displacement ; but, in the improved state of modern roads, it may
safely be considered that such is never the case.

A road, as we have before stated, always consists of a hard bottom, covered
with a stratum, more or less thick, of soft, yielding material. A wheel, even
moderately loaded, will force its way through, and form arut in this upper
coating. The resistance will be nearly proportionate to the breadth of this rut ;
the depth of it will not increase in the ratio of the pressure. In considering,
then, simply, the case of a single wheel or a pair of wheels forming two distinct
ruts, it is evident that it should form as narrow a rut as possible, but that it
should not in any degree crush or derange the core or hard basis of the road.
When a rut is thus formed, a small track or portion of the road is for a time
rendered clean and hard, and consequently capable of bearing a greater load than
before, arid with less injury. It is, then, highly important in a four-wheel
carriage that the hind wheels should follow exactly in the track of the front
wheels. If rollers were necessary for the road, as if, for instance, it was merely
a bed of clay, then indeed, but only in such a case, might it be judicious to cause
the wheels to run in different tracks, as has been proposed, and was at one time
carried into effect under the encouragement of an act of Parliament. Such
wheels were called straddlers: they might have been necessary tools for the
preservation of such roads as then existed, but the increased draught soon taught
the public to evade the law which encouraged them.

Mr. Deacon, one of the principal carriers in England, in an excellent practical
work on wheel-carriages, published in 1810, describing these wheels, says, “If
the axle of a six-inch wheel is of that length to cause the hind wheels to make
tracks five inches outside the tracks of the fore-wheels, and nine-inch wheels
seven inches outside, they are then called straddlers, and are allowed to carry a
greater weight than if not so. The original intent of these was most excellent ;
but the effect has been defeated by the carrier or other person not only making
the bed or axle contrary to what was intended, but also by carrying with them
a false collar, with a joint therein, to put on and take off at pleasure ; so that
they have no great difficulty in making the wheels straddlers a little before they
come to a weighing-machine, and making them not so when they have passed
the same.”

On modern roads such an arrangement would hardly be beneficial, even to
the road itself, and would nearly double the amount of draught. ;

Too great care and precaution cannot be taken to insure the wheels running
in the same track. Let it be remembered that, on a good road, the forming the
tut is the cause of three-fourths, and oftener five-sixths, of the whole resistance,

 
554 ON DRAUGHT.

Narrow wheels, therefore, running in the same track, without doubt offer the
least resistance, provided there is surface sufficient to bear the weight, without
destruction to the foundation of the road.

Six inches in breadth of the flat or cylindrical part, a 6, fig. 86, independent
of the rounded edges, will be quite sufficient, in a wheel of ordinary size, to bear
aton without injury to the roads, if in good condition ; and according as the
weight upon each wheel is more or less than this, the breadth should be pro-
portionably increased or diminished.

The most simple innovation upon the original wooden wheel is the cast-iron
nave. This we should think must be much less liable to wear than the wooden
nave, which is literally honeycombed with the mortices for the spokes; and a
wheel of this sort can be repaired by the most ordinary wheelwright, provided
he has one of the castings at hand.

We should strongly recommend that these naves should be made with a
double row of sockets for the spokes, so as to cross the dishing of them in the
same manner as those of the wrought iron wheels described above ; and we
think they would then form a strong, durable, and economical wheel. There
might be some danger from the effects of wet or damp remaining in the cast-iron
sockets, and attacking the wood; but we should think a small hole bored into
the socket to allow the moisture to escape, and common precaution in painting
these parts, would prevent any evil consequences.

With respect to the size of wheels, we have shown that wheels of large
diameter certainly offer less resistance than small ones; but expense and weight
cause a limit to this. From 4 ft. 9 in. to 5 ft. 6 in. is a good size for cart-
wheels, and is about the limit where any great increase of diameter would cause
more inconvenience and expense than would be compensated for by any advan-
tage gained ; and if much less in diameter than this, the draught is unnecessarily
augmented.

Yet the front wheels of a waggon are always below this standard ; rarely
exceeding four feet, and frequently much less. This is a serious evil attending
the use of four wheels ; it is an arrangement originally made for the purpose of
enabling the front wheels to lock under the body of the waggon, which may thus
turn in a small space.

Now it rarely happens that a waggon is required to turn short round, and it
cannot cause any serious inconvenience if it be rendered altogether incapable of
doing so.

In this respect a great improvement has taken place within a few years. In
the place of those moving mountains which were formerly dragged slowly along
upon immensely heavy and broad, but low, wheels, we now see, particularly
on the roads leading northward from London, a great number of light, well-
built waggons, with much larger wheels, especially the front wheels, which,
instead of being small enough to turn under the floor of the waggon, are about
four fect six inches in diameter. As those waggons are used principally on
the road, and are never required to turn in a small compass, but a very small
action is allowed to the fore axle, and the floor and body of the waggon is con-
tinued from end to end of nearly the same width.

A waggon with part of the floor and body cut away, so as to form a sort of
recess for the front wheels to turn into, allows of considerable movement; and
by this arrangement there is nothing to prevent the front wheel being made of
large diameter, as in the case just described. Our present object, however, is
not to enter into a detailed description of how we should build a waggon, but
simply to recommend the use of large front wheels, as tending much to diminish
the draught. An intelligent wheelwright will always know how to construct a
waggon so as to admit of this.
ON DRAUGHT. 553

more nearly to the true cylinder, in proportion as the roads
approach nearer to perfection in point of hardness and flat-
ness. When the roads are good, a very little dishing will be
sufficient, and a slight inclination of the wheel from the vertical
will make it correspond with the barrel or curve of the road,
which is now generally very trifling.

Next to the form, the breadth of the wheel is the point requir-
ing most consideration: it is one, however, which depends entirely
upon the state of the road.

_ We have seen, that the displacement or crushing of the materials
forming the upper surface of the road is one of the principal causes
of resistance. If the whole mass of the road were formed of a
yielding substance, into which the wheel would sink to a depth
exactly proportionate to the weight bearing upon it, it is probable

a 6 that great breadth would be advantageous, so that the wheel
might form a roller, tending to consolidate the materials rather than cause any
permanent displacement; but, in the improved state of modern roads, it may
safely be considered that such is never the case.

A road, as we have before stated, always consists of a hard bottom, covered
with a stratum, more or less thick, of soft, yielding material. A wheel, even
moderately loaded, will force its way through, and form arut in this upper
coating. The resistance will be nearly proportionate to the breadth of this rut ;
the depth of it will not increase in the ratio of the pressure. In considering,
then, simply, the case of a single wheel or a pair of wheels forming two distinct
ruts, it is evident that it should form as narrow a rut as possible, but that it
should not in any degree crush or derange the core or hard basis of the road.
When a rut is thus formed, a small track or portion of the road is for a time
rendered clean and hard, and consequently capable of bearing a greater load than
before, and with less injury. It is, then, highly important in a four-wheel
carriage that the hind wheels should follow exactly in the track of the front
wheels. If rollers were necessary for the road, as if, for instance, it was merely
a bed of clay, then indeed, but only in such a case, might it be judicious to cause
the wheels to run in different tracks, as has been proposed, and was at one time
carried into effect under the encouragement of an act of Parliament. Such
wheels were called straddlers: they might have been necessary tools for the
preservation of such roads as then existed, but the increased draught soon taught
the public to evade the law which encouraged them.

Mr. Deacon, one of the principal carriers in England, in an excellent practical
work on wheel-carriages, published in 1810, describing these wheels, says, “If
the axle of a six-inch wheel is of that length to cause the hind wheels to make
tracks five inches outside the tracks of the fore-wheels, and nine-inch wheels
seven inches outside, they are then called straddlers, and are allowed to carry a
greater weight than if not so. The original intent of these was most excellent ;
but the effect has been defeated by the carrier or other person not only making
the bed or axle contrary to what was intended, but also by carrying with them
afalse collar, with a joint therein, to put on and take off at pleasure ; so that
they have no great difficulty in making the wheels straddlers a little before they
come to a weighing-machine, and making them not so when they have passed.
the same.”

. On modern roads such an arrangement would hardly be beneficial, even to
the road itself, and would nearly double the amount of draught. ;

. Too great care and precaution cannot be taken to insure the wheels running
in the same track, Let it be remembered that, on a good road, the forming the
rut is the cause of three-fourths, and oftener five-sixths, of the whole resistance.

 
556 ON DRAUGHT.

It is impossible to decide generally upon the comparative merits of the
different arrangements, because the result depends entirely upon the circum-
stances of the case.

We may, however, endeavour to unite in some degree the advantages claimed
by both. The draught of a cart is less than that ofa waggon for several reasons:
amongst others, because the wheels are larger and the horse produces more
effect, because his force is applied immediately to the resistance. A light waggon
with large front wheels would not be much inferior in point of draught to the
cart, and two horses abreast in double shafts would work with equal advantage
to the single horse; while an additional horse may always be applied when an
excessive load or the state of the roads should require it.

All that we have said with respect to the size and contrivance of wheels is
equally applicable to light carriages as to heavy, and we shall now proceed to
consider the different modes of placing thé loads upon the wheels.

It might appear at first sight that this would not affect the amount of the
draught ; that provided a weight to be moved were placed upon the wheels, and
the wheels put in motion, that nothing more could be required. Upon a
perfectly level smooth plane, and with a constant force of traction, this would,
indeed, be the case; but, in practice, the conditions are entirely altered. Im-
pediments are continually met with, which obstruct the progress of the wheels,
and the draught is constantly varied by the different inclinations of the road:
it is, therefore, necessary to study the means by which impediments can be
easiest cvercome, and by which the resistance thus caused will affect the animal,
which is the source of power, in the least disadvantageous manner.

We have already stated that impetus is necessary to overcome an obstruction,
and that elasticity in the direction of the movement is destructive of the full
effect of impetus.

When, therefore, the wheel of a carriage comes in contact with any impedi-
ment, it is most essential that the whole of the impetus or momentum which
the carriage has already obtained, should be brought into full action, to force
the wheel forward. To effect this, no elasticity should intervene between the
wheel and the load, at least in the direction of the motion, that is, longitudinally ;
otherwise, as we instanced in the case of catching a cricket-ball, a force which
would be quite irresistible if opposed by a rigid resistance, is checked with ease
by a very little degree of elasticity ; so with a wheel meeting a small stone, if
the load were so placed, or hung upon the wheels, as to allow free or elastic
action longitudinally, that is, in the direction of the movement, the wheel being
stopped against the stone, the whole load would be gradually checked, and
brought to a full stop ; whereas, if this same load had been fixed firmly to the
wheel, its impetus would have carried the wheel over the stone, with very little
loss of velocity.

In the first case, it would be necessary for the horses to drag the load over
the stone by main force; in the latter, they would only have to make up by
degrees for the loss of velocity which the mass had sustained in passing over the
stone. The total quantity of power required will indeed be the same in either
case ; but in the one, the horses must exert it in a single effort, while in the
other, this momentary exertion is borrowed, as it were, from the impetus of the
mass in motion, and being spread over a greater space of time, as far as the
horses are concerned, only augments in a small degree the average resistance.
It is thus that the fly-wheel of a steam-engine in a rolling-mill accumulates
power, sometimes for several minutes, till it is able to roll, with apparent ease,
a large mass of metal which, without the effect of the fly-wheel, would stop
the engine immediately ; or, to mention a case more to the point, in the opera-
tion of scotching a wheel, a large stone, and even a brick, will render almost
ON DRAUGHT. 557

immoveable a waggon which, when in motion, would pass over the same stone
without any sensible alteration of speed. It is most essential, therefore, that the
effect of the momentum of the load should in no way be reduced by any longi-
tudinal elasticity, arising either from the injudicious application of springs, or
weakness in the construction of the carriage.

The action of impetus, and the effect of an injudicious mode of hanging the
load, is of course more sensible at high than at low velocities, and in a carriage
hung upon springs, than in a waggon without springs ; but although not so sen-
sible to the eye, it nevertheless affects the draught materially even in the latter
ease. Carriages hung upon springs, as in fig. 87, which are called C springs,

—
Ma MOMMY

 

 

 

 

and which admit of very considerable longitudinal movement in the body of the
carriage, are notoriously the most heavy to pull ; and cabriolets, which are hung
in this manner, are expressively called, in the stable, horse-murderers, and
require heavy powerful horses to drag them ; while lighter animals are able to
drag much greater weights in stanhopes and spring-carts, which do not admit of
this elasticity.

This is one of the reasons why the draught of a two-wheeled cart is less than
that of a waggon. Ina cart, the horse pulls at once on the shafts, which are
fixed immediately both to the load and to the axletree, so that not only the
impetus of the load, but also of the horse, acts directly and without elasticity
upon the wheel. Jn a waggon, owing to the smallness of the front wheels,
there is a considerable space between the fore-axle and the floor of the waggon,
which is filled up with pieces of timber, called bolsters : this admits of consider-
able play in the parts, and except in new-built or very strong waggons, there is
never that firm connexion between the load and the wheels which we have
stated to be necessary. Large wheels would bring the axletrees much nearer
the floors of the waggons, and, therefore, admit of a much stronger and firmer
mode of attachment, which would be found to produce a very considerable effect
in diminishing the draught. Sees

We have been very particular in confining our observations to longitudinal
elasticity, or yielding in the direction in which the power is applied, and in which
the progressive movement takes place ; because elasticity in any other direction,
instead of increasing the draught, tends very much to diminish it. Let us sup-
pose the load placed upon perfectly easy springs, which allow it to move freely
in every direction, except longitudinally, when any one of the wheels comes in
contact with a stone, the elasticity of the spring will allow it to run over the
stone without sensibly raising the load which is upon it ; and the force which is
required to pull the wheel over the stone, will be restored again by the descent
558 ON DRAUGHT.

ofthe wheel from the stone, which will tend to impel the mass forward, with
exactly the same force as was required to draw it up to the top of this impedi-
ment. Without this elasticity it would be necessary to raise the whole load with
a sudden jerk, and thus instantaneously impart rapid movement to the whole
mass, which would absorb much power, and which would by no means be
returned by the Icad falling down from the stone. We see, therefore, that the
use of springs is to enable the wheels to rise and fall according to the inequalities
of the ground, while the load continues one constant equable motion. The
advantages of this action are very clearly pointed out, in a letter addressed to
the Committee on the Highways of the Kingdom, by Mr. D. Giddy, and given
in the Appendix to their first Report, printed in the year 1808 ; and this letter
explains so clearly, and in such few words, the whole theory of wheels, as well
as springs, that we think we cannot do better than quote it at length :—

“ Taking wheels completely in the abstract, they must be considered as
answering two different purposes.

“ First, they transfer the friction which would take place between a sliding
body and the rough uneven surface over which it slides, to the smooth, oiled
peripheries of the axis and box, assisted by a leverage in the proportion of the
diameter of the wheel to the axis.

“Secondly, They procure mechanical advantage for overcoming obstacles, by
introducing time proportioned to the square roots of their diameters, when the
obstacles are small as compared with the wheels ; and they pass over transverse
ruts or hollows, small in the same comparison, with an absolute advantage
proportioned to their diameters, and a mechanical one proportionate to the square
roots of these diameters.

“ Consequently wheels, thus considered, cannot be too lurge; in practice,
however, they are limited by weight, by expense, and by experience.

“ With reference to the preservation of roads, wheels should be made wide,
and so constructed, thet the whole breadth may bear at once; and every portion
in contact with the ground, should roll on without any sliding.

“ It is evident, from the well-known properties of the cycloid, that the above
conditions cannot all unite, unless the roads are perfectly hard, smooth, and flat ;
and the felloes of the wheels, with their tire, are accurate portions of a cylinder.
These forms, therefore, of roads and wheels, would seem to be asymptotes,
towards which they should always approximate, but which, in practice, they are
never likely to reach.

“ Roads must have some degree of curvature to throw off water, and the
peripheries of wheels should, in their transverse section, be as nearly as possible
tangents to this curve; but since no exact form can be assigned to roads, and
they are found to differ almost from mile to mile, it is presumed, that a small
transverse convexity given to the peripheries of wheels, otherwise cylindrical,
will sufficiently adapt them to all roads; and that the pressure of such wheels,
greatest in the middle, and gradually diminishing towards the sides, will be less
likely to disarrange ordinary materials, than a pressure suddenly discontinued at
the edges of wheels perfectly flat.

“‘ The spokes of a wheel should be so arranged, as to present themselves ina
straight line against the greatest force they are in common cases likely to sustain.
These must evidently be exerted in a direction pointed towards the carriage,
from lateral percussions, and from the descent of either wheel below the level of
the other; consequently, a certain degree of what is termed dishing, must be
advantageous, by adding strength; whilst this form is esteemed useful for
protecting the nave, and for obviating the ill effects of expansions and con-
tractions,

“The line of traction is theoretically best disposed, when it lics exactly parallel
ON DRAUGHT. 559

to the direction of motion ; and its power is diminished at any inclination of
that line, in the proportion of the radius of the wheel to the cosine at the angle.
When obstacles frequently occur, it had better, perhaps, receive a small incli-
nation upward, for the purpose of acting with most advantage when these are
to be overcome, But it is probable, that different animals exert their
strength most advantageously in different directions; and, therefore, practice
alone can determine what precise inclination of the line is best adapted to horses,
and what to oxen. These considerations are, however, only applicable to
cattle drawing immediately at the carriage; and the convenience of their
draft, as connected with the insertion of the line of traction, which continued,
ought to pass through the axis, introduces another limit to the size of the
wheels.

“ Springs were in all likelihood first applied to carriages, with no other view
than for the accommodation of travellers: they have since been found to answer
several important ends. They convert all percussions into mere increase of
pressure ; thus preserving both the carriage and the materials of the roads from
the effect of blows; and small obstacles are surmounted when springs allow the
frame and wheels freely to ascend, without sensibly moving the body of the
carriage from its place.

“If the whole weight is supposed to be concentrated on springs very long,
extremely flexible, and with the frame and wheels wholly devoid of inertia,
this paradoxical conclusion will most certainly follow: that such a carriage may
be drawn over the roughest road without any agitation, and by the smallest
increase of force.

“It seems probable that springs, under some modification of form and material,
may be applicable with advantage to the heaviest waggon.”

And there can be no doubt, that, in the words of the writer, the application
of springs would be highly advantageous. At high velocities, as we have before
said, the effect of springs is still greater. What we have instanced as regards
springs, is generally well known and understood. All stage-coaches, and many
travelling-carriages, hang upon grasshopper springs, which allow of perpen-
dicular without any longitudinal action. It would be much to the interests of
horse masters if the mode of suspending post-chaises were a little more attended
to. The more elasticity, or in other words, the more action, there is in grass-
hopper springs, the more effect it will produce in diminishing the draught: with
a C spring a very contrary effect is produced.

A carriage hung upon C springs may certainly be made the most comfortable
to the rider, but all the ease that can be required, and much more than is found
in the generality of post-chaises, may be obtained by well-constructed grasshopper
springs, and with considerable advantage to the horses.

The practice of loading coaches as high as possible to make them run light,
as the coachmen have found by experience, is only a mode of assisting the
springs. The mass being placed at a greater height above the wheels, at the
extremity of a long lever, is not so easily displaced laterally by any motion of
the wheels, which, therefore, rise and fall on either side as they run over the
stones, acting only on the springs, which restore the full pressure and velocity
in descending, from the obstacle which was imparted to them in ascending, and
without producing any sudden concussions upon the load, which swings to and
fro with long easy movements. It is possible, also, that the weight, being thus
swung from side to side, may, upon good roads, diminish the draught, as it is in
fact generally running upon two of the wheels; while, in the other direction, it.
equally admits of the front and hind wheels successively passing over any impe-
diments ; and yet, by the manner in which it is fixed upon the springs, it docs
not admit of any longitudinal elasticity
560 ON DRAUGHT.

The fact of coaches thus loaded running light, has been clearly proved by the
failure of what were called Safety Coaches, in which the only difference con-
sisted in placing the load very low. These coaches, although completely
answering their purpose of safety, were discontinued solely, we believe, from
their being found destructive of the horses. .

Experiments, nevertheless, have been made to prove that this was only an
idle prejudice of coachmen ; but universally received opinions, even if leading
to erroneous conclusions, generally have some good foundation ; and coachmen,
although they may not have been so much so at the time these experiments
were published (in 1817), are certainly now rather an intelligent class of men.
We should, therefore, prefer risking a theory, if a theory were necessary, in
support of their prejudices rather than in opposition to them. The experiments
alluded to were not, in our opinion, made under the circumstances which occur
in practice. Small models (the wheels being seven inches in diameter) were
drawn along a table across which were placed small strips of wood to represent
the obstructions met with in a road; but these strips of wood came in contact
with each pair of wheels at the same time, and never caused any lateral motion.
They produced, therefore, a totally different effect from that which takes place
in a road, where the action rarely affects more than one wheel at a time ; con-
sequently, in the model, the wheels, in passing over an obstruction, threw the
whole weight backwards in a direction exactly opposite to the movement
required; while, in practice, the carriage is generally thrown sideways, which
does not affect its forward motion.

The conclusions drawn from these experiments are, therefore, as might be
expected, at variance with practical results, and directly contrary to the opinions
of those whose daily experience ought to enable them to judge correctly.

The effects, also, of velocity and momentum must be difficult to imitate in
models.

The advantage of placing the load high will not, however, equally apply at
low velocities, still less when springs are not used: it may frequently, indeed,
in the latter case, produce quite a contrary effect.

In a rough road, the increased force with which the load would be thrown
from side to side might prove very inconvenient, and even dangerous, and would
certainly be liable to increase the resistance when the front wheels meet with
any obstruction: but this, it must be particularly remembered, is only true in
the case of low velocities and carriages without springs,

We have now considered in succession the various parts of the vehicle for
conveying the weight, and shown in what manner they affect the draught, and
how they should be constructed so as to diminish as much as possible the amount
of this draught. We have endeavoured to point out the advantages and neces-
sity of attending to the construction and size of the wheel. Thus it should be
as nearly cylindrical and vertical as possible, and of as large a diameter as can
conveniently be admitted. ~ 2dly, That there should be a firm, unyielding con-
nexion in the direction of the movement between the power employed, the
weight moved, and the wheels: in other words, that the force should always
act directly and without elasticity both upon the load and upon the wheels ; and
that the impetus or momentum of the load, when in movement, should always
act in the same manner, without elasticity, in propelling the wheels j—and
lastly, that it is highly advantageous to interpose as much elasticity as possible
by means of springs in a vertical direction between the wheels and the body, so
that the former may rise and fall over stones or irregularities in the road without
communicating any sudden shocks to the load; and we believe that the proper
application of springs in all cases, even with the heaviest loads, would be found
productive of great good effect.
ON DRAUGHT. 561

Attention to these points will tend to diminish considerably the amount of
draught. As far as regards friction at the axles, and the resistance in passin
over obstacles in the road, it will assist the favourable application of the ae
of traction when obtained from animal power; but that which we have shown
to be the most considerable source of resistance is unfortunately least affected by
any of those arrangements. We allude to the resistance arising from the yielding
or crushing of the material of the road: wehave seen that on a good turnpike-road
the draught was increased in the proportion of thirty to forty, or about one-
third, by the road being slightly dirty ; and that, on a heavy, sandy road, the
draught was increased to 205, or nearly seven times. Springs will not affect
this ; and even increasing the diameter of the wheel will be of very slight assist-
ance; nothing but removing at once the prime source of this evil, improving
the roads, can remedy this. We are thus naturally led to the third division of
our subject, viz., the road or channel of conveyance. In considering this as a
branch of the subject of draught by animal power, we shall merely point out
what are the principal desiderata in the formation of a good road, and what are
the evils principally to be avoided. To enter into all the details of their
construction, dependent as it is on the different materials to be found in the
neighbourhood, their comparative cost, the quality of the ground over which
the road is made, and many other points, would be to enter upon a much more
extensive field than is at all required for the proper consideration of the subject
of draught by animal power. The requisites for a good road are all that we shall
indicate.

Channel of conveyance, in a general point of view, would include canals, roads,
and railways. Of the first, however, we shall say little ; their construction does
not materially affect the amount of draught, and we have already examined the
mode of applying the power, and the quantity of effect produced: we shall
proceed therefore at once to the question of roads.

The inquiry into the best form and construction of wheel carriages has taught
us what we might indeed have foreseen, that perfection in a road would be a
plain, level, hard surface: to have learned this only would not have advanced us
much, ae such perfection is unattainable; but we have learned also the comparative
advantages of these different qualities of hardness, smoothness, and level. We
have come to the conclusion, that slight alterations of level which shall vary the
exertion required of the animal, without at any time causing excessive fatigue,
are rather advantageous for the full development of his power than otherwise ;
that the inconvenience of roughness is obviated by the use of springs; and
that even when the ordinary carts and waggons without springs are used,
still the resistance arising from mere unevenness of surface, when not excessive,
is not nearly so great as that which is caused by the yielding of the substance
of the road. Hardness, therefore, and consequently the absence of dust
and dirt, which is easily crushed or displaced, is the great desideratum in
roads.

To satisfy this condition, however, smoothness is to a certain degree requisite,
as the prominent parts would be always subject to abrasion and destruction : for
the same reason, even if for no other, ruts and every thing which can tend to
form them must be avoided.

A road should, in its transverse section, be nearly flat. A great curvature or
barrel, as it is termed, is useless ; for the only object can be to drain the water
from it: but if there are ruts, or hollow places, no practicable curvature will
effect this; and if the road is hard and smooth, a very slight inclination is,suffi-
cient. Indeed, an excess of curvature is not only useless with the present
construction of carriages, but facilitates the destruction of the road; for there
are few wheels perfectly cylindrical: yet these, when running on a barrelled or

00
562 ON DRAUGHT.

curved road, can bear only upon one edge, as in fig. 38. a nue wheels
; i still in use, although much in-
Mie nae clined at the axle, are never
sufficiently so to bring the lower
surface of the wheel even, hori-
zontal, and therefore are con-
stantly running upon the edge,
as in fig. 39, until they have
formed a rut coinciding with
their own shape. In a barrel-
led or curved road, the niischief
done will, of course, be great
in proportion to this curvature. This form is, therefore, mischievous as well as
useless. Six inches’ rise in the centre of a road of twenty feet wide, is more
than sufficient to ensure drainage, if drainage is not effectually prevented by
ruts or hollow places, and less than this will suffice where the road is good, and
is kept in proper order.

The hardness of the surface, the most important feature, will of course
principally depend upon the materials used, and the formation of the road, and
still more upon the state of repair in which it is kept. It is easy to form a good
road when the foundation is already laid by the existence of an old one: level-
ling the surface,—applying a covering of eight or ten inches in thickness of
broken stones,—having as few round or smooth surfaces as possible, the hardest
that can be obtained,—and above all things securing good drainage, both from
the surface and from the bottom, is all that is required: but constant repair and
unremitting attention are necessary to keep a road thus formed in good condition.

These repairs and attention do not consist in laying on at certain intervals
of time large quantities of materials, but in constantly removing the sand
which is formed, and which, in wet weather, holds the water, and prevents
drainage ; in filling up as quickly as possible, with fresh materials, any ruts or
hollows ; and particularly in keeping clear all the drains, and even in scraping
small drains from ruts, or such parts of the road as may contain the water, and
which it may not be possible immediately to fill up.

By attention to these points, those who are interested in the preservation of
the roads, and the expenses attending it, will find that economy will ultimately
be the result ; and those who are interested in diminishing the labour and
expense of draught, we shall only refer again to the table (page 548) of the
resistances of a waggon upon different roads, from which they will see, that a
horse upon a clean road will do one-third more than upon one slightly muddy ;
more than four times as much as upon new-laid gravel ; and nearly seven times
as much as upon a heavy sandy road.

No arguments that we can put forward can at all strengthen the effect that
such facts must produce ; and we shall, therefore, quit the subject of roads,
and conclude our observations on draught by a few words explanatory of the
object of rail-roads and their effects as regards diminishing draught.

The great desideratum in the formation of a good road is the facilitating the
rolling of the wheels. We have shown that, for this purpose, a hard, smooth
surface is necessary ; and, as this is only required for the wheels, two longi-
tudinal tracks, of such surface, of proper width, are sufficient for the mere
passage of the carriage. If, therefore, there is a considerable traffic between two
points along a line of road, without much interruption from crossing, all the
qualities of a good road may he obtained in a very superior degree, by having
two parallel rails, or tracks of wood or iron, raised a little above the general level
of the ground. This isa yail-road. It evidently affords the means of attaining any

  
* ON DRAUGHT. 563

degree of perfection in those essentials for a good road—hardness and smoothness
of surface for the wheels to roll upon. It requires, however, that the carriages
should be all nearly alike, as regards the width and form of the wheels; and
experience has proved that such a road is not generally worth constructing,
unless the traffic is sufficient to allow of carriages being built expressly for that
or similar roads. This being the case, the form and dimensions of the rails,
and the general construction of the carriages, are uncontrolled by any other
consideration than that of diminishing draught.

A considerable improvement upon this point may, therefore, be expected in
the railway over the common road. A railway, as now constructed, consists
simply of two parallel bars of iron, having a flat upper surface of about two
and a half inches wide. With the exception of this surface, the forms adopted
for the bars are various, depending principally on the mode selected for sup-
porting them, some resting on and secured to blocks of stone, placed at intervals of
about three feet—-others secured in like manner to “sleepers,” or beams of wood
which are placed transversely, resting on the ground ; while according to a third
system the bars are secured along their whole length to longitudinal timbers.
The wheels at the present time, generally made of wrought iron, and from 8 to
4 feet in diameter, are made slightly conical with a flange about one inch deep on
the inner side. This slight flange, and the cone of the wheel which is also very
slight, are found sufficient to keep the wheels from running off the rails, even at
the highest velocities. This brief description is sufficient to give a general idea
of the construction of railways, which is all that is necessary for our present
purpose. It will be easily conceived that hard, cast-iron wheels, running upon
smooth edges of iron in this manner, can meet with but little resistance except
that arising from friction at the axle. Accordingly we find, upon a well-con-
structed railway in good order, that the resistance at moderate velocities does
not exceed, in any sensible degree, that which must arise from this cause. It
has been found that a force of traction of 1lb. will put in motion a weight of
200,800, and even, in some cases, 350|bs. : so that a horse, exerting an effort of only
125lbs., would drag on a level 12 or 14 tons. This is ten or twelve times the
average effect of his work upon a good common road, and, as it arises entirely
from the hardness and smoothness of the surface, we cannot conclude our
observations by a more striking and unanswerable argument than this, in proof
of the immense advantages and saving of expense which would result from
greater attention to the state of the roads.
IN DEX.

ABYSSINIAN horse, account of the, 18.
Acetabulum, description of the, 354.
Acetic acid, its properties, 495.

Acini, description of, 297.

Action of the hackney described, 86; high,
not indispensable in the hackney, 87.

Adeps, properties of, 496.

Ethiop’s mineral, an alterative, 510.

&thusa cynapium, poisonous, 291.

Age, natural, of the horse, 202; of the
horse as indicated by the teeth, 195;
other indications of, 202.

Air, a supply of pure, necessary for the
health of the horse, 456.

Alcohol, its medicinal properties, 496.

Alfred, his attention to the improvement
of the horse, 54.

Aloes, Barbadoes, far preferable to Cape,
496; description of the different kinds
of, ib.; principal adulterations of, 497;
tincture of, its composition and use, ib.

Alteratives, the best, 497; mature and
effect of, 498.

Alum, the use of, in restraining purging,
498 ; solution of, a good wash for grease,
ié. ; burnt, a stimulant and caustic for
wounds, 7d,

American horse, description of the, 41.

Ammonia, given in flatulent colic, 498;
vapour of, plentifully extricated from dung
and urine, most injurious to the eyes
and lungs, 498.

Anchylosis of bones, what, 227.

Anderson, Dr., his account of the Galloway,
102.

Animal poisons, an account of, 290.

Animal power compared with that of the
steam-engine, 520; its advantage over
mechanical, except where velocity is re-
quired, 523.

Animals, zoological divisions of, 106.

Anise-seed, its properties, 498.

Anodyne, opium the only one to be de-
pended on, 498.

Antea-spinatus muscle, description of the,
331.

Antimonial powder, a good febrifuge, 499.

Antimony, black sulphuret of, method of
detecting its adulterations, 499; used as
an alterative, ¢d.; tartarized, used as a nau-
seant, diaphoretic and worm medicine, id.

Antispasmodics, nature of, 499.

Apoplexy, nature and treatment of, 138.

Aqueous fluid, an, why placed in the laby-
rinth of the ear, 122; humour of the
eye, description of the, 130.

aaah breed, the, introduced by James I.,

Arabia, not the original country of the horse,
21; few good horses there even in the
seventh century, 22.

Arabian horse, history of the, 21; Bishop
Heber’s description of, 26; comparison
between, and the Barb, 24; general form
of, 23 ; qualities of, id. ; scanty nourish-
ment of, 27 ; treatment of, id.; varieties
of, 25.

Arabs, attachment of, to their horses, 26;
value their mares more than their horses,

27.
ae form of the skull, advantage of,
18.

Arm, description of the, 333; action of,
explained on the principle of the lever,
328, 333; extensor muscles of the,
333, 334; flexor muscles of the, 334;
full and swelling, advantage of, ib.;
should be muscular and long, 333;
fracture of the, 411.

Arsenic, medical use of, 499; treatment
under poison by, 292.

Arteries, description of the, 214; of the
arm, 333; of the face, 172; neck, 214 ;
shoulder, 326.

Ascaris, account of the, 308.

Ascot course, length of the, 74.

Astragalus, account of the, 360.

Athelstan, his attention to the improvement
of the horse, 54.

Atlas, anatomy of the, 210.

Attechi, the, an Arabian breed, 22.

Auscultation, the importance of, 252.

Australian horse, description of the, 32.

Axle, friction of the, dependent on the
material employed, 561.

Back, general description of the, 2263
Proper form of the, tb.; long and short,
comparative advantages of, 227; ana-
tomy of the, 226; muscles of the,
229,

Backing, of the colt, 444 ; a bad habit of the
horse, usual origin of it, ib.

Back-sinews, sprain of the, 342 ; thickening
of the, constituting unsoundness, 490.

Balls, the manner of giving, 500; the
manner of making, ib.

Barb, description of the, 18, 20,72; com-
parison between, and the Arabian, 24.

Barbs or paps, treatment of, 206.

Bark, Peruvian, the properties of it, 500.

Barley considered as food for the horse, 467
566

Barnacles, use of the, as a mode of re-
straint, 431.

Bar-shoe, description and use of, 426.

Barrel, proper shape of the, in the hunter,
81.

Bars, description and office of the, 374 ;
proper paring of, for shoeing, 376 ; folly
of cutting them away, 375 ; removal of, a
cause of contraction, 375 ; corns, i.

Basilicon ointment, 500.

Bay horses, description of, 481 ; Malton,
account of him, 68.

Beans, good for hardly worked horses, and
that have a tendency to purge, 467, 471 ;
should always be crushed, 468.

Bearing-rein, the use and abuse of, 190.

Beet, the nutritive matter in, 471.

Belladonna, extract of, 500.

Berners, Juliana, authoress of the first
book on hunting, 83.

Bible, history of the horse in the, 2.

Biceps femoris, account of the, 357.

Bile, account of the, 296, 297.

Birman horse, account of the, 32.

Bishoping the teeth, description of, 200.

Biting, a bad habit, and how usually ac-
quired, 445.

Bit, the, often too sharp, 190 ; the ancient,
10; sometimes got into the mouth, 446.

Bitting of the colt, 322.

Black horses, description and character of,
99, 481.

Bladder, description of the, 314; inflam-
mation of, symptoms and treatment,
315; neck of, 7d.; stone in the, id.

Bleeding, best place for general, 248, 431 ;
directions for, 215, 248; from veins
rather than arteries, 214; finger should
be on the pulse during, id.; importance
of, in inflammation, ib.; at the toe de-
scribed, 249; comparison between the
fleam and lancet, 248.

Blindness, usual method of discovering,
131; discovered by the pupil not dilat-
ing or contracting, ib. 5 of one eye, 131.

Blistering all round at once, barbarity and
danger of, 433,501; after firing, absurd-
ity and cruelty of, 432-450. :

Blisters, best composition of, 4325; the
different kinds and uses of, ib.; best mode
of applying, 1b. ; caution with regard to
their application, 432; the principle
of their action, 500; use of, in in-
flammation, 432 ; comparison between
them and rowels and setons, 437.

Blood, change in after bleeding, 249;
changes in during respiration, 236;
coagulation of, 248; horses, very subject
to contraction, 387 ; spavin, nature and
treatment of, 247.

Bloody urine, 314.

Bog spavin, nature and treatment of, 247,
363.

Bole-Armenian, medical use of, 501.

Bone-spavin, nature and treatment of, 363.

Sots in the stomach, natural history of,
288 ; not usually injurious, 289.

INDEX.

Bournou horse, description of the, 20.

Bowels, inflammation of the, 301.

Brain, description of the, 109, 118; its
cortical and cineritious composition, 119;
the office of each, ib.; compression of
the, 136; pressure on the, id.; inflam-
mation of the, 141.

Bran, as food for the horse, 467.

Breaking in should commence in the second
winter, 321; description of its various
stages, ib.; necessity of gentleness end
patience in, 321, 322; of the farmer's
horse, 321; of the hunter or hackney,
320; the South American, 38; cruel
Arabian method of, 27.

Breast, muscles of the, 231.

Breathing, the mechanism of, 236.

Breéding, 91; as applied to the farmer’s
horse, 91; qualities of the mare of as
much importance as those of the horse,
91, 317; the peculiarity of form and
constitution inherited, 317; in-and-in,
observations on, 319.

Brewers’ horses, account of them, 100;
portrait of one, id.; account of their
breed, 101.

Bridle, the ancient, 10.

Broken down, what, 342.

Broken knees, treatment of, 486; method
of judging of the danger of, 486; when
healed, not unsoundness, but the form
and action of the horse should be care-
fully examined, 486.

Broken wind, nature and treatment of, 276 ;
influenced much, and often caused by the
manner of feeding, 278; how distin-
guished from thick wind, éd.

Bronchial tubes, description of the, 220.

Bronchitis, nature and treatment of, 266.

Bronchocele, account of, 258.

Bronchotomy, the operation of, 219.

Brood mare, description of the, 317; should
not be too old, 7b.; treatment of, after
covering, 319 5 after foaling, 320.

Brown horses, description of, 481.

Bryony, dangerous, 291.

Buccinator muscle, description of the, 172.

Bucephalus, account of, 9.

Burleigh, Lord, his opinion of hunting, 83.

Busbequius, his interesting account of the
Turkish horse, 36.

Cassacg, the nutritive matter in, 471.
Czecum, description of the, 295.
Calamine powder, account of, 517.
Calculi in the intestines, 305. ;
Calkins, advantages and disadvantages of,
421; should be placed on both heels, id.
Calmuck horse, description of the, 48.
Camphor, the medical use of, 501.
Canadian horse, description of the, 41.
Canals, advantages and disadvantages of,
538; smallness of power requisite for
ae transmission of goods by them,
Canal-boat, calculation of the draught of,
539 ; the ease of draught of, might be in-
{NDEX,

creased by a different mode of applyin
the power, 538. eae

Canker of the foot, nature and treatment
of, 401.

Cannon, or shank-bone, description of
the, 339,

Canter, action of the horse during, 527.

Cantharides, form the best blister, 290,
501; given for the cure of glanders, 290,
502.

Cape of Good Hope, the horses of, 21.

Capillary vessels, the, 243.

Capivi, balsam of, 504.

Capped hock, nature and treatment of,
352; description of, 352, 366; although
not always unsoundness there should be
a special warranty against it, 486.

Capsicum Berries, their stimulating effect,
502.

Carbon of the blood got rid of in respira-
tion, 268.

Carbonate of iron, a mild tonic, 507.

Carraways, a good aromatic, 502.

Carriage-horses produced by crossing the
Suffolk with a hunter, 99.

Carriages, two and four wheeled, comparison
between, 557; light, should have no
longitudinal elasticity in the hanging or
springs, i.; disadvantage of C springs
in, id.; hung on straps or springs in the
time of Homer, 535.

Carrots, excellent effects of in disease, 470;
the nutritive matter in, 471.

Carts, two-wheeled, computation of the
friction of, 5553 can perform propor-
tionably more work than waggons,
555 ; easier loaded, and do not so much
injure the roads, 7b.; require better
horses and more attendants, ib.; the
horse sooner knocked up, and injured
by the shocks of the shafts, ib. ; on good
roads and for short distances, superior to
waggons, ib. ; with two horses, disadvan-
tage of, ib.; have less draught than
waggons, reason why, ib.

Cartilages of the foot, description and action
of the, 379; ossification of the, 402, 489;
a cause of unsoundness, 489.

Caruncula lacrymalis, the, 163.

Cascarilla Bark, a tonic and aromatic, 502.

Castley, Mr., on restiveness in the horse,

“440.

Castor-oil, not a purgative for the horse,502.

Castration, method of, 324; proper period
for, 1b. ; the operation by torsion, 325.

Cataract in the eye, nature of, 132 ; cannot
be operated on in the horse, ib. ; method
of examination for, 7b. ; the occasional
appearance and disappearance of, 166.

Catarrh, description and treatment of, 251;
distinguished from glanders, 253; dis-
tinguished from inflammation of the
lungs, 251; epidemic, 258.

Catarrhal fever, nature and treatment of,
251.

Catechu, a good astringent, method of
giving, and aduiterations of, 502.

567

Catheter, description of one, 316.

Caustic, an account of the best, 502,

Cavalry horse, description of the, 92
anecdotes of the, 93,

Cawl, description of the, 298.

Cerebellum, description of the, 118.

Cerebrum, description of the, 118.

Chalk, its medicinal use in the horse, 502.

Chaff, attention should be paid to the good-
ness of the ingredients, 464; best com-
position of, id.; when given to the hard-
worked horse, much time is saved for
repose, 465; quantity of necessary for
different kinds of horses, 464.

Chamomile, a mild tonic, 502.

Channel of the jaws, what, 194.

Charcoal, useful in a poultice, and as an
antiseptic, 503.

Charges, composition and use of, 503.

Chariots, the first account of the use of, 3;
in Solomon’s time, 6; the Grecian, 12 ;
description of that of Priam, 546; that
of Juno described, ib.; on the frieze
of the Parthenon, description of, #.;
used by the Egyptians 1500 years be-
fore the Christian era, 545; at the siege
of Troy, ib.; description of the ancient,
ib.; of the ancients, could not move
with much velocity, id.

Chest, anatomy of the, 221; proper form
of the, 222, 224; cut of the, 221; the
importance of depth of, 222; narrow
and rounded, comparison between, 223 ;
the broad chest, 225; founder, descrip-
tion of, 231,

Chestnut horses, varieties of, 480.

Chillaby, friendship between him and «&
cat, 72.

Chinese horse, description of the, 32.

Chinked in the chine, what, 227.

Chloride of lime, an excellent disinfectant,
511 ; of soda, useful in unhealthy ulcers,
515.

Chorea, 154.

Choroid coat of the eye, description and
use of the, 129.

Chyle, the formation of, 294.

Ciliary processes of the eye, description of
the, 130.

Cineritious matter of the brain, nature and
function of the, 119.

Circassian horse, description of the, 29.

Cleveland Bay, description of the, 94,

Clicking, cause and remedy of, 451.

Clipping, recommendation of, 476.

Clips, when necessary, 421.

Clover, considered as an article of food,
470, 471.

Clysters, the composition and great useful-
ness of, 503; directions as to the admi-

*nistration of, 503. :

Clydesdale horse, description of the, 99.

Coaches, calculation of the power of horses
in drawing according to their speed,
531; loaded high, run lighter, especially
in rapid travelling, 559; safety, heavy
draught of, 560.
568

Coach-horse, description of the, 93; best
breed of, 94.

Coat, fine, persons much too solicitous to
procure it, 461.

Cocktail horse, mode of docking, 439.

Coffin-bone, description of the, 377 ; the
lamellee, or leaves of, 378; fracture of,
417.

Coffin-joint, sprain of, 350.

Cold, common, description and treatment
of, 251.

Colic, flatulent, account of,300.; spasmodic,
description and treatment of, 299.

Collar, the best method of attaching the
traces to the horse, 537 ; proper adapta-
tion of to the shoulder, 532.

Colocynth, is poisonous, 291.

Colon, description of the, 295, 296.

Colonel, portrait of, 66; account of his
performances, 77.

Colour, remarks on, 479.

Colt, 2arly treatment of the, 320.

Complexus major, description of the, 213 ;
minor, description of the, id,

Concave-seated shoe, the, described and
recommended, 422.

Conestoga horses, description of the, 42.

Conical wheels, compared with flat ones,
550; extreme absurdity of, 551; strange
degree of friction and dragging with them,
ib.; afford great resistance and destroy
the road, #b.; are in fact travelling
grindstones, 552.

Conium maculatum, poisonous, 291.

Conjunctiva, description of the, 128; ap-
pearance of, how far a test of inflamma-
tion, id.

Consumption, account of, 279.

Contraction of the foot, nature of, 384,
486; the peculiarity of the lameness
‘produced by, 387; how far connected
with the navicular disease, 386; is not
the necessary consequence of shoeing,
ib. ; produced by neglect of paring, 385 ;
wearing the shoes too long, 384 ; want of
natural moisture, ib. ; the removal of the
bars, 385; not so much produced by litter
as imagined, 386 ; the cause rather than
the consequence of thrush, 384; best mode
of treating, 388; rarely permanently
cured, ¢b.; does not necessarily imply
unsoundness, 486 3 although not neces-
sarily unsoundness, should: have a spe-
cial warranty against it, 486; blood
horses very subject to, 387.

Convexity of the eye, the proper, not auf-
ficiently attended to, 129.

Copaiba, account of the resin, 504.

Copper, the combinations of, used in vete-
rinary practice, 504.

Corded veins, what, 185. cad

Cordials, the use and abuse of, in the horse,
504,

Cornea, description of the, 128; mode of
examining the, ib. ; its prominence or
flatness, 2b, ; should be perfectly trans-
parent, 129,

INDEX.

Corns, the nature and treatment ef, 398 ;
produced by cutting away the bars, 7. ;
not paring out the foot between the crust
and bars, ib.; pressure, ib.; very dif-
ficult to cure, 399 ; constitute unsound-
ness, 486,

Coronary ligament, description of the, 374 ;
the crust principally produced from, ib. ;
ring, description of the, id.

Coronet, description of the, id.

Corrosive sublimate, treatment under poi-
son by, 292; agood tonic for farcy, 292,
510.

Corsican horse, account of the, 45.

Cortical substance of the brain, description
and fraction of, 119.

Cossack horse, description of the, 48;
beaten in a race by English blood horses,
48.

Cough, the nature and treatment of, 273;
constitutes unsoundness, 486; the occa-
sional difficulty with regard to this, 491.

Cow hocks, description of, 367.

Cradle, a safe restraint upon the horse when
blistered, 433.

Cramp, the nature and treatment of, 151.

Cream-coloured horses, account of, 4803
peculiarity in their eyes, 130.

Cream of tartar, a mild diuretic, 513.

Creasote, its use in veterinary practice, 505.

Crib-biting, description of, 449 ; causes and
cure, 450 ; injurious to the horse, 450;
constitutes unsoundness, 450, 487.

Cricket ball, the action of catching a, 529.

Cricoid cartilage of the windpipe, the, 217.

Cromwell, Oliver, his stud of race-horses,
64.

Cropping of the ear, absurdity of, 121.

Croton, the farina of, used as physic, 505.

Crusaders, the improvement of the horse
neglected by them, 57.

Crust of the foot, description of the, 372 ;
composition of the, 373; consisting
within of numerous horny plates, 375 ;
proper degree of it, slanting, 373; pro-
per thickness of the, #5. ; brittleness of,
remedy for, 375; the cause of sandcrack,
390.

Crystalline lens, description of the, 132.

Cuboid bones, description of the, 360.

Cuneiform bones, description of the, 117,
360. ;

Curbs, nature and treatment of, 362;
hereditary, 92; constitute unsound-
ness, 487.

Cuticle, description of the, 473.

Cutis, or true skin, account of the, 474,

Cutting, cause and cure of, 349, 451 ; con-
stitutes unsoundness, 488; away the foot,
unfounded prejudice against, 385.

Danpvzirr, the, nature of, 473.

Darley Arabian, account of the, 68.

Dartmoor ponies, description and anecdote
of, 104.

Deacon, Mr., his opinion on the forms
of wheels, 518, 553.
INDEX,

Denham, Major, interesting account of the

._ loss of his horse, 27.

Depressor labii inferioris muscle, descrip
tion of the, 173.

Desert horses, account of the, 20.

Diabetes, the nature and treatment of, 313.

Diameter of wheels, the effect of increasing
the, 558.

Diaphoretics, their nature and effects,

Diaphragm, description of the, 232; rup-
ture of, 234 ; its connexion with respira-
tion, 235.

Digestion, the process of it described, 286.

Digestives, their nature and use, 505.

Digitalis, highly recommended in colds and
all inflammatory complaints, 506.

Dilator magnus lateralis muscle, descrip-
tion of the, 173; naris lateralis muscle,
description of the, id.

Dishing of wheels described, and effect of,
550 ; both inward and outward effect of,
554.

Distressed horse, treatment of the, 84.

Diuretic medicines, the use and abuse of,
506.

Docking, method of performing, 437.

Dogs, danger of encouraging them about
the stable, 144,

Doncaster course, the length of, 74.

Dongola horse, description of the, 17.

Draught, theory of, 518; has not been suf-
ficiently explained, 518, 526 ; implies the
moving power, the vehicle, and the road,
518; the moving power particularly
considered, ib.; considered in respect of
the resistance, 523 ; calculation of, ac-
cording to velocity and time, ib.; much
influenced by the direction of the'traces,
528 ; the line of, should be parallel to
the direction of motion, 529; in cattle
should pass through the axle of the
wheels, 530; in bad roads may have a
slight inclination upward, id. ; resistance
of, should be as much as possible firm
and inelastic, 529 ; how increased by the
state of the road, 561; of boats, difficulty
of, increasing rapidly with the velocity,
538 ; calculation of the power of, #b. ; of
the sledge, 539 ; of the roller, #b. ; horse,
the heavy, 98; horses, the inferior ones
about the metropolis, wretched state of,
102.

Dray horse, proper form of the, 100; the
largest bred in Lincolnshire, 101 ;
usually too large and heavy, id.

Drinks, how to administer, 507 ; compa-
rison between them and balls, id.

Dropsy of the chest, 283; of the heart,
240.

Drum of the ear, description and use of
the, 122,

Dun horse, account of the, 480. :

Duodenum, description of the, 294; dis-
eases of the, i5.

Dura mater, description of the, 118,

Dutch horse, description of the, 53.

569

Ean, description of the external parts, 121;
internal parts, ib.; bones of the, des-
cription and use of, 122; labyrinth of
the, «3. 3 indicative of the temper, 75.;
clipping’ and singeing, cruelty of, id. ;
treatment of wounds or bruises of, 168 ;
cruel operations on the, #5.

East Indian horse, description of the, 30.

Eclipse, the pedigree and history of, 69;
account of his proportions, 71.

Edward IT. introduced Lombardy horses
into England, 58.

Edward III., the breed of horses much
improved by, é.; introduced Spanish
horses, ib. » had running horses, 4d.

Egypt, account of the horse of, 3-16.

Elasticity of the ligament of the neck,

Elaterium, poisonous, 291.

Elbow, the proper form and inclination of,
336; capped, 333; fracture of, 412
punctured, 334,

Elizabeth, Queen, the number and value of
horses much diminished when she reigned,
62; a staunch huntress, 83.

Emetic tartar, used as a nauseant, diapbo-
retic, and worm medicine, 499.

Enamel of the teeth, account of the, 195.

English horse, history of the, 53; first
crossed by the Romans, 54 ; improved
by Athelstan, 7b.; William the Con-
queror, 55; John, 57.

Ensiform cartilage, the, 224.

Entanglement of the intestines, description
of, 306.

Enteritis, account of, 301.

Epidemic catarrh, nature and treatment of,
258; malignant, nature and treatment
of, 264,

Epiglottis, description of the, 217.

Epilepsy, nature and treatment of, 154.

Epsom salts, used as a purgative, 511.

Epsom course, the length of, 74.

Ergot of rye, the action of, 515.

Ethmoid bone, description of the, 118.

Ethiopian horse, account of, 18.

Euphorbium, the abominable use of it,
291.

Ewe-neck, unsightliness and inconvenience
of, 213.

Exchanges of horses stand on the same
ground as sales, 493.

Exercise, directions for, 462; the neces-
sity of regular, ib. ; want of, producing
grease, 371; more injury done by the
want of it than by the hardest work,
463.

Exmoor pony, description of the, 104.

Expansion shoe, description and use of the,
426.

Expense of horse, calculation of the an-
nual, 535.

Extensor pedis muscle, description of the,
359,

Eye, description of the, 123; cut of the,
127; fracture of the orbit’ of the, 136;
healthy appearance of the, 126; diseases
570

of the, 162; inflammation of, common,
163 ; ditto, specific, 164; ditto, causes,
165; ditto, medical treatment of, 164,
166 ; ditto, untractable nature of, 166 5
ditto, consequences of, 165, 166; ditto,
marks of recent, 488; ditto, consti-
tutes unsoundness, 488; ditto, here-
ditary, 165; method and importance
of examining it, 129, 132; indicative of
the temper, 123; the pit above, indicative
of the age, 111; muscles of the, 134,

Eyebrows, substitute for, 124.

Eyelashes, description of, 124; folly of
singeing them, 125.

Eyelid, description of, 124, 125.

Eyelids, diseases of the, 162.

Exostosis on the orbit of the eye, 136.

Face, description of the, 169 ; cut of the
muscles, nerves, and blood-vezsels of, 172.

Falling in of the foot, what, 383.

False quarter, nature and treatment of, 393.

Farcy, a disease of the absorbents of the
skin, 185, 186; connected with glan-
ders, 185; both generated and infectious,
187 ; symptoms of, 187; treatment of,
187; buds, what, 186; the effect of
cantharides in, 188 ; diniodide of copper,
188.

Farmer’s horse, description of the, 91; fit
for riding as well as draught, ¢d. ; the gene-
ral management of, éd.; no blemished or
unsound mare to be used for breeding, 92.

Feeding, high, connected with grease, 371;
regular periods of, necessity of attending
to, 471; manner of, has much influence
on broken wind, 278,

Feeling of the mouth, constant, indispen-
sable in the good rider, 87.

Feet, good, importance of, in the hunter,
82; the general management of, 473 ;
attention to, and stopping at night, re-
commended, ib.

Felt soles, description and use of, 427.

Femur, fracture of the, 412.

Fetlock, description of the, 348.

Fever, idiopathic or pure, 246 ; symptoms
of, ib. 3 symptomatic, 247.

Fibula, description of the, 358.

Finland horse, description of the, 51.

Firing, the principle on which resorted to,
434; mode of applying, ib. ; should not
penetrate the skin, 436; absurdity and
cruelty of blistering after, 435-3 horse
should not be used for some months
after, 436.

Fistula lacrymalis, 125 ; in the poll, 210.

Fits, symptoms, causes, and treatment of,
154.

Flanders horse, description of the, 10]
our heavy draught horses advantageously
crossed with it, 101.

Fleam and lancet, comparison between
them, 248.

Flemish horse, account of the, 53.

Fleur-de-Lis, account of her performances,

INDEX,

Flexor of the arm, description of the, 33 ;
metatarsi muscle, description of the,
359; pedis perforatus, the perforated
muscle, description of the, 335, 359;
pedis perforans, the perforating muscle,
description of the, 336, 342, 359.

Flying Childers, an account of him, 67, 68,

Foal, early treatment of, 320; early hand-
ling of, important, id.; importance of
liberal feeding of, ib.; time for weaning,
4b.

Fomentations, theory and use of, 508.

Food of the horse, observations on, 463 ;
a list of the usual articles of, 466 ;
should be apportioned to the work, 465.

Foot, description of the, 372 ; the original
defence of, 11; diseases of the, 380;
canker, 4013; corns, 398; contraction,
384 ; false quarter, 393 ; founder, acute,
3805; chronic laminitis, 382; inflam-
mation, 380; navicular joint disease,
389; overreach, 392; prick, 396;
pumiced, 383; quittor, 394; sandcrack,
390; thrush, 400; tread, 392 ; weakness,
403; wounds, 396.

Forceps, arterial, the use of, 249.

Forehead, the different form of, in the ox
and horse, 118.

Fore-legs, description of, 325 5 diseases of
them, 340 ; proper position of them, 352.

Forge-water occasionally used, 508.

Forrester, an example of the emulation of
the horse, 76.

Founder, acute, symptoms, causes, and
treatment of, 380; chronic, nature and
treatment of, 382.

Foxglove, strongly recommended in colds,
and all fevers, 506.

Fracture of the skull, treatment of, 136;
general observations on fractures, 404;
of the skull, 406; orbit of the eye, id. ;
nasal bones, id.; superior maxillary or
upper jaw-bone, 407 ; inferior ditto, é. ;
spine, 408 ; ribs, 409; pelvis, 410; tail,
ib. ; limbs, 411; shoulder, ib.; arm,
ib.; elbow, 412; femur, id. 5; patella,
413; tibia, ib.; hock, éb.3 leg, 414;
sessamoid bones, ib.; pastern, éb. ; lower
pastern, 415; coffin bone, 417 3 navicu-
lar bone, #5.

French horse, description of the, 43.

Friction, comparison of, in the wheel and
roller, 540 ; on the axle, dependent on
the material employed, 561; is not ma-
terially increased by the velocity, id. 3
reduced, as the diameter of the axle is
diminished, 4b. ; inversely as the diameter
of the wheel, #d.

Frog, horny, description of the, 376; sen-
sible, description of the, 376, 378; ditto,
action and use of the, 376; pressure,
question of the, i.; proper paring of,
for shoeing, 377; diseases of the, id.

Frontal bones, description of the, 110;
sinuses, description of the, 112; ditto,
perforated to detect glanders, 113.

Furze, considered as an article of food, 471.
INDEX.

GALL, account of the, 297 3 bladder, the
horse has none, 297,

ee: the action of the horse during,

Galloway, description of the, 102; anee-
dotes and performances of the, 102.

Gall-stones, 311.

Gaucho, the South American, description
of, 38; his method of taking and break-
ing the wild horse, ib. ; his boots, curious
manufacture of, 39.

Gentian, the best tonic for the horse, 508,

Gibbing, a bad habit, cause of, and means
of lessening, 444.

Gigs, formation of, 206.

Ginger, an excellent aromatic and tonic,
508, 517.

Glanders, nature of, 176, 180 ; symptoms,
113, 177, 183; slow progress of, 177,
180; appearances of the nose in, 113,
177,179 ; detected by injecting the fron-
ta] sinuses, 113; how distinguished from
catarrh, 179 ; ditto from strangles, 179 ;
connected with farcy, 178, 181; treat-
ment of, 1845; causes, 181; both
generated and contagious, 182 ; oftenest
produced by improper stable manage-
ment, 181, 182 ; mode of communication,
182, 183; prevention of, 184; ac-
count of its speedy appearance, 181.

Glands, enlarged, it depends on many
circumstances whether they constitute
unsoundness, 488.

Glass-eye, nature and treatment of, 167.

Glauber’s salt, its effect, 516.

Glutei muscles, description of the, 356.

Godolphin Arabian, an account of the, 72.

Goulard’s extract, the use of it much over-
valued, 511.

Gracilis muscle, description of the, 355,
359.

Grains, occasionally used for horses of slow
work, 467.

Grapes on the heels, treatment of, 371.

Grasses, neglect of the farmer as to the
proper mixture of, 469.

Grasshopper springs, description of, 557 ;
would be advantageously adopted in post-
chaises, b.

Grease, nature and treatment of, 369;
cause of, ib.; farmer’s horse not so sub-
ject to it as others, 370; generally a mere
local complaint, 369.

Greece, early domestication of the horse
in, 8; the horse introduced there from

_, Egypt, ib.

Grey horses, account of the different shades
of, 479.

Grinders, construction of the, 196.

Grinding, of the food, accomplished by the
mechanism of the joint of the lower jaw,

_ 194; swallowing without, 449.

Grogginess, account of, 349.

Grooming, as important as exercise to the
horse, 461; opens the pores of the skin,

_ and gives afine coat, #. ; directions for,
462.

571

Grunter, the, description of, 279; is ua-
sound, 487.

Gullet, description of the, 286; foreign
bodies in, 288.

Gum-arabic, for what purposes used, 494,

Gutta serena, nature and treatment of, 167.

Hants, vicious or dangerous, 440.

Hackney, description of the, 86; its proper
action, 87 ; anecdotes of the, 89 ; coaches,
account of, 95,

Heematuria, 314.

Hair, account of the, 474 ; question of cut-
ting it from the heels, 371.

Hamilton, Duke of, the Clydesdale horses
owe their origin to him, 99.

Harnessing, the best mode as regards
draught, 537; method of, in the time of
Homer, 535

Haunch, description of the, 353; wide,
advantage of, ib. ; injuries of the, id. ;
joint, singular strength of it, ib. ;
also of the thigh bones, advantage of the
oblique direction of, 4d.

Haw, curious mechanism of the, 126;
diseases of, 163; absurdity and cruelty
of destroying it, 127. «

Hay, considered as food, 464; mowburnt,
injurious, 469; old preferable to new, id.

Head, anatomy of the, 110 ; the numerous
bones composing it, the reason of this,
110; section of the, 111 ; importance of
the proper setting on of, 88; beautiful
provision for its support, 116.

Head, Captain, his account of the South
American horse, 38.

Healing ointment, account of the, 517.

Hearing of the horse, the very acute, 121.

Heavy black horses, account of, 99.

Heart, description of the, 239 ; its action
described, id. ; inflammation of the, 240 ;
dropsy of the, 240.

Heber, Bishop, his account of the Arabian,
26

Heels, question of cutting the hair from
them, 371; low, disadvantage of, 403 ;
proper paring of, for shoeing, 418;
washing of the, producing grease, 371.

Hellebore, white, used in inflammation of
the lungs and fevers, 508 ; black, its
use, 508.

Hemlock, given in inflammation of the
chest, 509.

Henry VIII., tyrannical regulations con-
cerning horse, by him, 60; the breed
of the horse not materially improved by
him, 61.

Hepatic duct, the, 297.

Hernia, the nature and treatment of, 308.

or ae the nature and treatment of,
476.

High-blower, a description of the, 254,
279; is unsound, 487.

Highland pony, description of the, 104,

Hind legs, description of the, 353.

Hind wheels should follow the precise
track of the fore ones, 553,
572
Hip-joint, the great strength of the,
354,

Hips, ragged, what, 353.

Hissar, the East India Company’s sale of
horses at, 30.

Hobbles, description of the best, 430.

Hock, the advantage of its numerous sepa-
rate bones and ligaments, 366; capped,
352, 366; cow, 367 ; description of the,
360; enlargement of the, nature of and
how affecting soundness, 362, 488; in-
flammation of the small bones of, a fre-
quent cause of lameness, 362; the prin-
cipal seat of lameness behind, 362;
lameness of it, without apparent cause,
366; fracture of, 413.

Hogs’ lard, properties of, 496.

Holstein horses, account of the, 52.

Homer, his account of the method of har-
nessing horses, 535.

Hoof, cut of the, 372; description of the,
373.

Horizontal direction of the traces when
proper, 538.

Horn of the crust, secreted principally by
the coronary ligament, 375 5 once sepa-
rated from the sensible part within, will
never again unite with it, 375.

Hornet, sting of the, 290.

Horse, the first allusion to him, 1; not
known in Canaan at an early period, 2;
description of, in early times, 14, 16;
American, 41 ; not the native of Arabia,
45; Arabian,21; Armenian, 6; Austrian,
47; English, 53; Barb, 18; Birman,
32; Bournou, 20; Cappadocian, 6 ;
first used in the cavalry service, 3;
chariot races formed part of the Olym-
pic games, 12; calculation of the annual
expense of, 521; Chinese, 32; Circas-
sian, 29; was trained to draught before
he was mounted, 5; Coach, proper form,
qualities, breed of, 93; the different
colours of the different breeds, 479;
Corsican, 45; Cossack, 34; Dongola,
17; Dutch, 53; when first domesticated
in Egypt and Canaan, 2; not domesti-
cated until after many other animals, 2 ;
not found in Egypt in the very early
periods, 1; East Indian, 30; the flesh
of, eaten, 34; English, history of, 53;
farmers’, 91, Finland, 513 Flemish, 53 ;
his fossil remains found in every part
of the world, 1; French, 43 ; the general
management of, 456 ; among the Greeks,
4; heavy black, 99; early employed in
hunting the ostrich, 1; heavy draught,
98 ; tyrannical regulations respecting, by
Henry VIII., 60 ; grey, the, of Sir Edward
Antrobus, 82; hiring, early regulations
of, 55,57; Hungarian, 48; Iceland, 50;
Trish, 105 5 Italian, 45 ; sublime account
of, by Job, 2; much improved by John,
57; Lombardy, when first introduced
into England, 58; market, first account
of, 56; Mecklenburg, 52; Nubian, 17 ;
Parthian, 7; Portuguese, 43; Russian,

INDEX,

48; Prussian, 53; Norwegian, 51; Fer-
sian, 8,28; the early price of,5; English,
not used for the plough in early times,
56; power, calculation of, 5,37; price
of, in Solomon’s time, 5; prices of, at
different periods, 55, 63 ; ridden, the first
account of, 2; sagacity of, 89; can see
almost in darkness, 130 ; Sardinian, 45;
South American, 37 ; ditto, instinct and
sagacity of, 37 ; management of, in South
America, 38 ; Spanish, 42 ; Swedish, 51 ;
Tartarian, 33; Thessalian, 9; Toork-
oman, 35; Turkish, 36; wild, 34, 37;
English, improved uncer William the
Conqueror, 55; zoological description of,
106 ; immense number of, in the armies
of some ancient eastern monarchs, 3;
numerous in Britain #t the invasion of
the Romans, 53.

Howell the Good, his laws respecting the
horse, 55.

Humerus, description of the, 332.

Hungarian horse, description of the, 48.

Hunter, the, general account of, 80;
proper degree of blood in, it.; form
of, 81; spirit of, 82; anecdotes of,
84; management of, 83; symptoms of
dangerous distress in, 84; management
of the, when distressed, 85 ; summering
of, 85 ; shoe, description of the, 425.

Hydrocyanic acid, poisoning by it, 291 $ its
occasional good service, 495.

Hydrothorax, symptoms and treatment of,
283.

IcELanp horse, description of the, 50.

Ileum, description of the, 295.

Inflammation, nature of, 243; treatment
of, 244 ; hot or cold applications to, guide
in the choice of, 245; importance of
bleeding in, 244, 431; when proper to
physic in, 244; of the bowels, 301;
ditto, distinction between it and colic,
299; brain, 1415; eye, 163; foot, 380;
kidneys, 312; larynx, 252 ; lungs, 268;
stomach, 288 ; trachea, 253 ; veins, 215.

Influenza, nature and treatment of, 258.

Infusions, manner of making them, 510,

Insanity, 160.

cet ah muscles, description of the,

Intestines, description of the, 293.

Introsusception of the intestines, treat-
ment of, 306.

Invertebrated animals, what, 106.

Iodine, usefulness of, in reducing enlarged
glands, 510,

Tranee horse, description of the, 30.

Iris, description of the, 131.

Trish horse, description of the, 105. _

Iron, the carbonate of, a mild and useful
tonic, 507 ; sulphate of, a stronger tonic,
508; ditto, recommended for the cure
of glanders, ib.

Italian horse, description of the, 45.

Itchiness of the skin should always be
regarded with suspicion, 484,
INDEX,

James L, established the first regulations
for racing, 63; introduction of the Ara-
bian blood by him, 63.

James’s powder, 499,

Jaundice, symptoms and treatment of, 311.

Jaw, the lower, admirable mechanism of,
192; upper, description of, 191,

Jejunum, description of the, 295.

John, the breed of horses improved by, 57.

Jointed shoe, the description and use of, 426.

Jugular vein, anatomy of the, 249,

Jumper, the horse-breaker, anecdotes of
his power over animals, 441,

Juniper, oil of, use of, 510.

Juno, her chariot described, 546.

Kapiscu1, an Arabian breed of horses, 22.

Kicking, a bad and inveterate habit, 446.

Kidneys, description of the, 311; inflam-
mation of, symptoms and treatment of,
312.

King Pippin, anecdotes of him as illus-
trating the inveterateness of vicious
habits, 441.

Knee, an anatomical description of the,
336; tied in below, 342; broken, treat-
ment of, 337, 486.

Kochlani, an Arabian breed of horses, 22.

Knowledge of the horse, how acquired, 109.

LanyrintH of the ear, description and use
of the, 122.

Lachrymal duct, description of the, 125;
gland, description and use of the, id.

Lamelle or laming, horny, account of the,
375 ; fleshy, account of the, i6.; weight
of the horse, supported by the, #5.

Lameness, shoulder, method of ascertain-
ing, 326; from whatever cause, un-
soundness, 488. .

Lampas, nature and treatment of, 192;
cruelty of burning the bars for, id.

Lamine of the foot. See Lamelle.

Lancet and fleam, comparison between them,
248.

Lapland horse, account of the, 50.

Laryngitis, chronic and acute, 252.

Larynx, description of the, 217; inflamma-
tion of the, 252.

Lasso, description of the, 38.

Laudanum, the use of in veterinary practice,
512.

Lead, the compounds of, used in veterinary
practice, 511; extract of, its power much
overvalued, ib.; sugar of, use of, 511;
white, use of, #5.

Leather soles, description and use of, 427.

Leg, cut of the, 158; description of the,

” 339; fracture of the, 416.

Legs, fore, the situation of, 325; hind, ana-
tomical description of the, id.; of the
hackney, should not be lifted too high,
87; swelled, 367.

Levator humeri muscle, description of the,
213, 330.

Lever, muscular action explained on the
principle of it, 328.

573

Ligament of the neck, description and elas-
ticity of the, 116.

Light, the degree of, in the stable, 460.

Lightness in hand, of essential consequence
in a hunter, 81.

Limbs, fracture of the, 411.

Lime, the chloride of, exceedingly useful
for bad smelling wounds, &c. 511; the
chloride of, valuable in cleansing stables
from infection, 511.

Lincolnshire, the largest heavy black horses
bred in,101.

Liniments, the composition and use of, 511.

Linseed, an infusion of, used in catarrh,
468,511; meal forms the best poultice,
Bll, 514.

Lips, anatomy and uses of the, 188; lips
the hands of the horse, 188.

Litter, the, cannot be too frequently re-
moved, 459; proper substances for, 460;
contraction not so much produced by it
as some imagine, 386. __..

Liver, the anatomy and use of it, 296; dis-
eases of the, 309.

Liverpool, account of the course at, 75.

Locked jaw, symptoms, cause, and treat~
ment of, 147.

Loins, description of the, 228,

Lombardy horse, the, when introduced into
England, 58.

Longissimus dorsi muscle, description of
the, 229,

ce considered as an article of food,
470.

Lumbricus teres, the, 307.

Lunar caustic, a very excellent application,
499,

Lungs, description of the, 238 ; symptoms
of inflammation of the, 268; causes
of, #b.; how distinguished from ca-
tarrh and distemper, 269, 270; treat-
ment of, 270, 272; importance of early
bleeding in, 272; blisters preferable to
rowels or setons in, 273; consequences
of, 273, 275, 279.

Maonness, the symptoms and treatment
of, 1438, ~

Magnesia, the sulphate of, 511.

Mahratta horse, account of the, 31.

Mallenders, the situation of, 352; the
nature and treatment of, 367.

Mammalia, the, an important class of ani-
mals, 106.

Manchester, account of the course at, 75.

Mane, description and use of the, 2, 214.

Mange, description and treatment of, 482;
causes of, 483 ; ointment, recipes for, #5. ;
highly infectious, 484; method of puri-
fying the stable after, #b.

Manger-feeding, the advantage of, 464.

Mare, put to the horse too early, 317, 319;
deterioration in, 318; her proper form,
ib.; breeding in-and-in, 319; time of
being at heat, 320; time of going with
foal, ib.; best time for covering, ib.; ma-
nhagement of, when with foal, 319; ma-
574

nagement of, afte: foaling, 320; more
concerned than the horse in breeding, 91;
preferable to gelding for the farmer, 91 ;
selection of, for breeding, 92.

Mark of the teeth, what, 196.

Markham’s Arabian, an account of, 63.

Marsk, the sire of many of the New-forest-
ers, 103.

Mashes, importance of their use, 512; best
method of making them, #d.

Masseter muscle, description of the, 172,
194.

Maxillary bones, anatomy of the, 191;
fractures of, 407.

Meadow grasses, the quantity of nutritive
matter in, 471,

Mechanical power, objections to the use of,
524,

Mecklenburg horses, account of, 52.

Medicines, a list of the most useful, 494.

Medullary substance of the brain, its nature
and function, 112, 119.

Megrims, cause, 137; symptoms, éb. ;
treatment, 138; apt to return, 138,

Melt, description of the, 297.

Memory of the horse, instances of, 89.

Mercurial ointment, the use of, in veteri-
nary practice, 509.

Mercury, its use in epidemic catarrh,
262.

Merlin, the sire of many of the Welsh po-
nies, 103.

Mesentery, description of the, 294.

Metacarpals, description of the, 339.

Midriff, description of the, 232.

Moistere, want of, a cause of contraction,
385.

Mojinniss horse, description of the, 30.

Moon-blindness, the nature of, 164.

Moulting, the process of, 478; the horse
usually languid at the time of, 478; no
stimulant or spices should be given, 479 ;
mode of treatment under, 479.

Mounting the colt, 323.

Mouth of the horse, description of the
bones of, 190; should be always felt
lightly in riding, éb. ; importance of its
sensibility, d.

Mowburnt hay injurious, 469.

Muriatic acid, its properties, 495.

Muscles of the back, description of the,
229 ; breast, ditto, 231; eye, ditto, 134;
face, ditto, 172 ; neck, ditto, 211; ribs,
ditto, 224; shoulder-blade, 325 ; lower
bone of the shoulder, 325; the advan-
tageous direction of, more important
than their bulk, 326, 328.

Muscular action, the principle of, 333.

Mustard, the use of, 512.

ae the use of, for canker and wounds,
512.

Nasatis labii superioris muscle, descrip-
tion of the, 173. “

Nasal bones, fracture of, 406.

—— gleet, 175.

—-—~ polypus, 173

INDEX,

Naves, cast iron, to wheels, advantage of,
5543 description of the best construction
of, é.

Navicular bone, description of the, 379;
the action and use of it, ib.

Navicular joint, disease, nature and treat-
ment of the, 389; how far connected
with contraction, 390 5 the cure very un-
certain, ib.; fracture of, 417.

Neapolitan horse, description of the, 45.

Neck, anatomy and muscles of the, 211,
212; description of the arteries of the,,
214; description of the veins of the,
2153 bones of the, 211; proper con-
formation of the, 21]; comparison be-
tween long and short, 212; loose, what,

Nerves, the, construction and theory of,
109; spinal, the compound nature of,
120; of the face, 172.

Neurotomy, or nerve operation, object and
effect of it, 156; manner of performing
it, 158; cases in which it should or
should not be performed, 159 ; a vestige
of the performance of it, constitutes un-
soundness, 489.

Newcastle, the Duke of, his opposition to
the introduction of the Arabian blood,
63.

New-forester, description of the, 103.

Newmarket, races established at, by Charles
I., 64; description of the different courses
at, 74.

Nicking, the method of performing, 438 ;
useless cruelty often resorted to, 439.

Nimrod, his objection to clipping, 476.

Nitre, a valuable cooling medicine, and
mild diuretic, 513.

Nitric acid, for what employed, 495.

Nitrous ether, spirit of, a mild stimulant
and diuretic, 512.

Norman horse, description of the, 44.

Norwegian horse, description of the, 51.

Nose, description of the bones of the, 169,
170; spontaneous bleeding from, 170;
the importance of its lining membrane,
171, 250; the nose of the horse slit to
increase his wind, 172.

Nosebag, importance of the, 471.

Nostrils, description of the, 169; peculiar
inflammation of the membrane of the,
113; the membrane of, important in
ascertaining disease, 173, 250 ; import-
ance of an expanded one, 171; slit by
some nations to increase the wind of the
horse, 172.

Nubian horse, account of the, 17.

Nutriment, the quantity of, contained in
the diferent articles of food, 471.

Oats, the usual food of the horse, 466, £71 5
should be old, heavy, dry, and sweet,
466 ; kiln-dried, injurious to the horse,
ib.; proper quantity of, for a horse, id.

Oatmeal, excellent for gruel, and sometimes
used as a poultice, 466.

Occipital bone, description of the, 114,
INDEX.

CEnanthe fistulosa, poisonous, 291,

Giopbagus, description of the, 286.

Kelly, Colonel, anecdotes of him, and
Eclipse, 70. ;
ad nerves, the importance of them,

Olive oil, an emollient, 512,

Olympia, the races at, 12,

Omentum, description of the, 298.

Opacity of the eye, the nature and treat-
ment of, 164.

Operations, description of the most import-
ant, 430; the dreadful ones, caused by
cruel treatment and driving, 96.

Ophthalmia, 164.

Opium, its great value in veterinary prac-
tice, 512 ; adulterations of it, 513.

Orbicularis muscle of the eye, description
of it, 134.

Orbit of the eye, fracture of, 136.

Os femoris, account of, 357.

Ossification of the cartilages, cause and
treatment of, 402.

Over-reach, the nature and treatment of,
393, 451; often producing sandcrack or
quittor, 452.

Ozena, account of, 175.

Pace, the effect of, in straining the horse,
96,

Pachydermata, an order of animals, 107.

Pack-horse, description of the, 104.

Pack-wax, description of the, 116, 210.

Palate, description of the, 216.

Palm-oil, the best substance for making up
balls, 513.

Palsy, the causes and treatment of, 154,

Pancreas, description of the, 311.

Paps or barbs, 206.

Parietal bones, description of the, 114.

Paring out of the foot for shoeing, direc-
tions for, 418; neglect of, a cause of
contraction, 385.

Parotid gland, description of the, and its
diseases, 173, 205.

Parsnips, the nutritive matter in, 471.

Parthenon, description of the chariots on
the frieze of it, 546.

Pastern, upper, fracture of, 414; lower,
fracture of, 415 ; description of the, 345,
349; bones of the, ib.; cut of the, 345 ;
proper obliquity of the, 347.

Patella or stifle bone, description of the,
358 ; fracture of, 413.

Pawing, remedy for, 452.

Payment of the smallest sum completes
the purchase of a horse, 491.

Peas, sometimes used as food, but should
be crushed, 468, 471.

Pectineus muscle, the, 356.

Pectorales muscles, description of the, 231,
331.

Pelvis, fracture of the, 410.

Pericardium, description of the, 239.

Peronzus muscle, description of the, 359.

Persian horse, description of the, 28;
management of, id

676

Persian race, description of a, 29.

Perspiration, insensible, no medicines will
certainly increase it, 478.

Peter the Great, the immense block of
marble constituting the pedestal of his
statue, how moved, 543.

Pharynx, anatomy of the, 209.

Phrenitis, 141.

Phthisis pulmonalis, description of, 279.

Physic balls, method of compounding the
best, 497; should never be given in
inflammation of the lungs, 238.

Physicking, rules for, 304.

Pia mater, description of the, 118.

Pied horse, account of the, 480.

Pigmentum nigrum, account of the, 129.

Piper, description of the, 279.

mt at the eye, the, indicative of the age,

Pitch, its use for charges and plasters, 513.

Pithing, a humane method of destroying
animals, 211,

Pleura, description of the, 236,

es the nature and treatment of, 238,

Pneumonia, the nature and treatment of,

Poisons, account of the most frequent, 290;
tests of the different ones, 293.

Poll-evil, the cause and treatment of, 210;
importance of the free escape of the
matter, 210.

Pony, varieties of the, 102.

Popliteus muscle, description of the, 359.

Porter, Sir R. Ker, his account of the Per-
sian horse, 28.

Portuguese horse, the, 43.

Post, the first establishment of it, 95.
Post-chaises, grasshopper springs would be
advantageously adopted for, 557, 558.
Postea spinatus muscle, description of the,

331.

Potash, the compound of, 513.

Potatoes, considered as an article of food,
470, 471.

Poultices, their various compositions, man-
ner of acting, and great use, 514.

Powders, comparison between them and
balls, 514.

Power of draught in the horse, illustrations
of, 97; calculation of, 521; compared
with that of the human being, 525; com-
pared with that of a steam-engine on
railways, 522; on common roads, 523;
on bad roads, ib. ; dependent on his
weight and muscular force, ib.; how
diminished when towing a boat on a
canal, 528; greater when close to his
work, ib. ; this depends on his’ strength,
and the time he can exert it, 529; the
diminution of, according to his speed, table
of, 530.

Pressure on the brain, effect of, 137.

Priam’s chariot, a description of, 545;
he harnessed his own horses, 546.

Prices of horses at differeat periods, 55,.
57, 58, 59,
576

Prick, in the foot, treatment of, 396; in-
jurious method of removing the horn in
searching for, 397.

Prussian horse, account of the, 53.

Prussic acid, treatment of poisoning by, 291.

Puffing the glims, a trick of fraudulent
horse-dealers, 111.

Pulling, the action of, explained, 525.

Pulse, the natural standard of the, 242;
varieties of the, ib.; importance of
attention to the, 243; the most con-
venient place to feel it, ib. ; the finger
on the pulse during the bleeding, id.

Pumiced feet, description and treatment of,
383; do not admit of cure, tb.; consti-
tute unsoundness, 489.

Pupil of the eye, description of the, 131 5
the mode of discovering blindness in it,
131.

Purchase, to complete the, there must be a
memorandum, or payment of some sum,
however small, 491.

Purging, violent, treatment of, 301.

Quarters of the horse, description of the,
356 ; importance of their muscularity
and depth, id. ; foot, description of, 374;
the inner, crust thinner and weaker at,
375 ; folly of lowering the crust, id.

Quidding the food, cause of, 452; unsound-
ness while it lasts, 489.

Quinine, the sulphate of, 500.

Quittor, the nature and treatment of, 394;
the treatment often long and difficult, exer-
cising the patience both of the practitioner
and owner, 395; is unsoundness, 489.

Rasigs, symptoms of, 143.

Race-courses, different lengths of, 74.

Races, early, mere running on train scent,
63; frequent cruelty of, 73, 77; differ-
ent kinds of, described, 73; regular,
first established at Chester and Stamford,
63; regulations for, established by James
I., 63; patronised by Charles I., 64;
Persian, description of, 29; the great
length of the old courses, 73; conse-
quences of the introduction of sbort
races, 74,75; the different lengths that
are run, 753 the racos at Smithfield, 56.

Race-horse, his history, 66; form, 67;
action, 73; emulation, 76.

Racks, no openings should be allowed
above them, 457.

Radius, description of the, 333.

Ragged-hipped, what, 353 ; no impediment
to action, id.

Railways, mechanical advantage of, 97,
542; they immensely increase the power
of the horse, 563.

Raking, the operation of, 514.

Rearing, a dangerous and inveterate habit,
447,

Recti muscles, of the neck, description of,
213; of the thigh, 355.

Rectum, description of the, 295, 296.

Reins, description of the proper, 189.

INDEX.

Resin, its use in veterinary practice, 514

Resistance in draught, observations on,
528.

Respiration, description of the mechanism
and effect of, 236.

Respiratory nerves, the, 120.

Restiveness, a bad habit, and never cured,
440 ; anecdotes in proof of its inveterate-
ness, 441,

Retina, description of the, 133.

Retractor muscle of the eye, description of
it, 134.

Rheumatism, 155.

Ribbed-home, advantage of being, 226.

Ribs, anatomy of the, 222, 224,

Richard Cceur-de-Lion, account of his
Arabian horses, 57.

Richmond, Duke of, his method of breeding
good carriage horses, 99.

Riding, directions for, 87.

Ringbone, the nature and treatment of, 351,
352; constitutes unsoundness, 489.

Roach-backed, what, 228.

Roads, how affected by different wheels,
550 ; how influencing the proper breadth
of the wheels, 560; the great extent to
which they affect the draught, 561; soft
and yielding, far more disadvantageous
than rough ones, #.; slight alterations
in their level advantageous, ib.; hard-
ness, the grand desideratum in, éb.;
should be nearly flat, i6.; necessity of
constant repairs and attention to them,
562; calculation of the degree by which
the resistance is increased by bad ones, id.

Roan horses, account of, 480.

Roaring, the nature of, 254, 279; curious
history of, 255 ; constitutes unsoundness,
487; from tight reining, 256; from
buckling in crib-biting, 256; treatment
of, 257.

Rollers, calculation of the draught of, 541 ;
how probably first invented or brought
into use, it. ; comparison of their power
with that of wheels, 545; mechanism
and principle of, 543 ; particular circum-
stances in which their use is advanta-
geous, ib. ; the weight moves with double
the velocity of them, and therefore fresh
rollers must be supplied in front, 543;
the immense block of marble at St. Pe-
tersburg, description of its being moved
on them, id.

Rolling, danger of, and remedy for, 452.

Roman nose in the horse, what, 169,

Rome, the ancient races at, 15.

ate ae can scarcely be dislocated,

Rowels, manner of inserting, and their
operation, 515; comparison between
them, blisters, and setons, 437.

Running away, method of restraining, 448.

Rupture, treatment of, 308; of the sus-
pensory ligament, 252.

Russian horse, account of the, 48,

a considered as an article of food,
470.
INDEX.

SADDLEs, the ancient, 10 ; the proper con-
struction of, 230 ; points of, 1b.

Saddle-backed, what, 227 ; galls, treatment
of, 230,

Saddling of the colt, 323.

Safety coaches, the heavy draught of, 560.

Sagacity of the horse, 89.

Sainfoin used as an article of food, 470.

Sal ammoniac, the medical use of, 498.

Saliva, its nature and use, 205.

Salivary glands, description of the, 205.

Sallenders, nature and treatment of, 367.

Salt, use of in veterinary practice, 515;
value of, mingled in the food of ani-
mals, 469.

Sandal, Mr. Percivall’s, 428,

Sandcrack, the situation of, 352; the
nature and treatment of, 390; most
dangerous when proceeding from tread,
392 ; liable to return, unless the brittle-
ness of the hoof is remedied, 393; con-
stitutes unsoundness, 490.

Sardinian horse, account of the, 45.

Sartorius muscle, description of the, 355.

Savin, dangerous, 291.

Scapula, description of the, 325.

Sclerotica, description of the, 128.

Scouring, general treatment of, 301.

Secale cornutum, the effect of, 515.

Sedatives, a list of them, and their mode
of action, 515.

Serratus major muscle, description of the,
222, 325, 330.

Sessamoid bones, admirable use of in ob-
viating concussion, 346; fracture of,
414,

Setons, mode of introducing, 436 ; cases in

which they are indicated, ¢b.; comparison.

between them and rowels and blisters,
437, ‘
Shank-bone, the, 339.
Shetland pony, description of the, 104.
Shoe, the concave-seated, cut of, 423; de-
scribed and recommended, 422 ; the man-
ner in which the old one should be taken
off, 418 ; the putting on of the shoe, 420;
it should be fitted to the foot, and
not the foot to the shoe, 420; descrip-
tion of the hinder, 422; the unilateral,
or one side nailed shoe, 424; the bar
shoe, 426; the tip, 426; the hunting,
425 ; the jointed, or expansion, 426.
Shoeing, not necessarily productive of con-
traction, 386; preparation of the foot
for, 417 ; the principles of, 418.
Short-bodied horses, when valuable, 82.
Shoulder, anatomical description of the,
$25; slanting direction of the, advan-
tageous, 326, 328 ; when it should be
oblique, and when- upright, 329; sprain
of the, 326 ; lameness, method of ascer-
taining, ib. ; fracture of the, 411.
Shoulder-blade, muscles of the, 325; why
united to the chest by muscle alone, #5. 5
lower bone of the, description of, 332 ;
‘muscles of the, 334,

577

Shying, the probable cause of,-133, 453;
treatment of, 453 ; on coming out of the
stable, description of, 454.

Side-line, description of the, 430.

Sight, the acute sense of, in the horse,

Silver, the nitrate of, an excellent caustic,

Singeing, recommendation of, 476.

Sinuses in the foot, necessity of following
them as far as they reach, 401.

Sitfasts, treatment of, 230.

oe of the horse, description of we,

Skin, anatomical description of the, 473 ;
function and uses of it, 474, 4753 pores
of it, 478; when the animal is in
health, is soft and elastic, 475.

Skull, anatomical description of the, 11] ;
arched form of the roof, 118; fracture
of the, 126, 406.

Smithfield market, early account of, 56.

Sledges, calculation of the draught of, 539 ;
description of the mechanism and use
of, 539 ; where more advantageous than
wheels, and where very disadvantageous,
540; calculation of the power of, i6.;
their advantage in travelling over ice and
snow, 541; Esquimaux, an account of
the, ib.

Slipping the collar, remedy for, 455.

Smell, the sense and seat of, 1715; very
acute in the horse, ib.

Snewing, Mr., his advocacy of clipping, 476.

Soap, its use in veterinary practice, 515.

Soda, chloride of, its use in ulcers, 515;

- sulphate of, éb.

Sole, the horny, description of, 375; de-
scent of, i4.; proper form of, ib. ; ma-
nagement of, in shoeing, 376; the sen-
sible, ib., 378; felt or leather, their use,
427.

Solomon imported horses from Egypt, 5.

Sore-throat, symptoms and treatment of,
252.

Soundness, consists in there being uo dis-
ease or alteration of structure that does
or is likely to impair the- usefulness of
the horse, 485 ; considered with reference
to the principal causes of unsoundness,
486.

South American horse, description of it,
37; management of it, 39.

Spanish horse, description of it, 42.

Spasmodic colic, nature and treatment of,
299.

Spavin, blood, the nature and treatment of,
247; is unsoundness, 490; bog, cause,
nature and treatment of, 247, 363 ; bone,
363; why not always accompanied by
lameness, 364; is unsoundness, 490,

Spavined horses, the kind of work they are
capable of, 365.

Speed, of the horse, produces rapid dimi-
nution of power, 529; and time of
labour, the most advantageous propor-

PP
578

INDEX.

tion of, 529, 530, 531; the sacrifice of * Stomach, description of the, 285,287 ; very

the horse in endeavouring to obtain it,
530.

Speedy-cut, account of, 341.

Sphenoid bone, description of the, 117.

Spinalis dorsi muscle, description of the,229.

Spine, description of the, 221; fracture
of, 408.

Spleen, description of the, 297, 311.

Splenius muscle, description of the, 212.

Splint, nature and treatment of, 340, 352 ;
when constituting unsoundness, 490;
bones, description of the, 340.

Sprain of the back sinews, treatment of,
342, 352; sometimes requires firing, 344;
any remaining thickening constitutes
unsoundness, 490; sprain of the shoul-
der, 326.

Spring steel-yard, the force of traction illus-
trated by, 519.

Springs to carriages, theory of their effect,
558; with some modifications might be
adapted to the heaviest waggons, 559 ;
great advantages of, inrapid travelling, #6.;
grasshopper, description of, ib. ; C, dis-
advantages of, ib.

Spur, the ancient, 11.

Stables, dark, an occasional cause of in-
flammation of the eye, 165; hot and
foul, a frequent one of inflammation of
the eye, 165; ditto, lungs, 456; ditto,
glanders, 181,182; should be large, com-
pared with the number of horses, 457 ;
the management of, too much neglected
by the owner of the horse, 457; the
ceiling of, should be plastered, if there
isa loft above, id, ; should be so con-
trived that the urine will run off, 459;
tne stalls should not have too much de-
clivity, 459 5 should be sufficiently light,
yet without any glaring colour, 460.

Staggers, stomach, symptoms, cause, and
treatment of, 138, 471; generally fatal,
139 ; producing blindness, 141; some-
times epidemic, ¢b., mad, symptoms and
treatment, 141.

Staling, profuse, cause and treatment of,
313.

Stallion, description of the proper, for
breeding, 317.

Stamford, races first established at, 63.

Starch, useful in superpurgation, 516.

Stargazer, the, 213.

Steam-engine, comparison of the, with the
exertion of animal power on railways,
523; common roads, 523; calculation
of the expense, 522; small, has little
advantage in expense over horse power,
524,

Steeple-chase, description and censure of
it, 86.

Sternum, or breast-bone, description of
the, 223, 331.

Stifle, description of the, 358; accidents
and diseases of the, 360.

Stirrup, the ancient, 11.

small in the horse, 287; inflammation
of the, 288; pump recommended in
apoplexy, 140.

Stone in the bladder, symptoms and treat-
ment of, 315 ; kidney, 314.

Stoppings, the best.composition of, and
their great use, 516.

Straddlers, wheels so called, description of,
553 5 objection to them, #d.; method of
evading the law concerning, 76.

Strain, uniform and constant in draught,
bad consequences of, 533.

Strangles, symptoms and treatment of,
206; distinguished from glanders, 179 ;
the importance of blistering early in,
208.

Strangury, produced by blistering, 433 ;
treatment of, 7d.

Strawberry horse, account of the, 480.

Stringhalt, nature of, 151 ; is decidedly un-
soundness, 153, 490.

Structure of the horse, importance of a
knowledge of, 109.

Strychnia, account of, 516.

Stylo-maxillaris muscle, description of the,
172.

Sublingual gland, description of the, 206.
Submaxillary glands, description of the,
205; artery, description of the, 173,
Sub-scapulo hyoideus muscle, description

of the, 172.

Suffolk punch, description of the, 98 ; ho-
nesty and continuance of the old breed, 98.

Sugar of lead, use of, 511.

Sullivan, the Irish whisperer, anecdotes of
his power over the horse, 441; the
younger, did not inherit the power of
his father, anecdote of this, 443.

Sulphate of copper, use of in veterinary
practice, 5045 iron, 507; magnesia,
511; zinc, 517.

Sulphur, an excellent alterative and ingre-
He in all applications for mange,
516.

aa of the hunter, consideration
of, 85.

Surfeit, description and treatment of, 481 ;
importance of bleeding in, id.

Suspensory ligament, beautiful mechanism
of the, 348; rupture of the, id.; sus-
pensory muscle of the eye, description
of the, 134.

Swallowing without grinding, 449.

Swedish horse, description of the, 51.

Swelled legs, cause and treatment of, 367 ;
most frequently connected with debi-
lity, 368.

Sweetbread, description of the, 297.

Sympathetic nerves, description of the,
121.

Tait, anatomy of the, 221; fracture of the,
410; docking, 437 ; nicking, 433.

Tar, its use in veterinary practice, 516.

Tares, a nutritive and healthy food, 469.
INDEX.

‘fartar, cream of, 513,

Tartarian horse, description of the, 33.

Tazsee horse, description of the, 33.

Team, disadvantages of draught in, ex-
plained, 523; their united power not
equal to the calculation of so many
horses, id.

Tears, the secretion and nature of the, 125;
how conveyed to the nose, éb.; some-
times shed by the horse from pain and
grief, 25.

Teeth, description of the, as connected
with age, 194; at birth, 194; 2 months,
195; 12 months, 195; 18 months,
196 ; the front sometimes pushed out,
that the next pair may sooner appear,
and the horse seem to be older than
heis, 197; 3 years, id.; 34 years, 198 ;
4 years, ib. ; 44 years, 199; 5 years, id. ;
6 years, 199 ; 7 years, 200 ; 8 years, 200;
change of the, 197 ; enamel of the, 195;
irregular, inconvenience and danger of,
202; mark of the, 196; frauds prac-
tised with regard to the, 198; diseases
of the, 202.

Temper denoted by the eye, 123; by the
ear, 121.

Temperature, sudden change of, injurious
in its effect, 456.

Temporal bones, description of the, 114.

Tendons of the leg, 340.

Tetanus, symptoms, causes and treatment
of, 147.

Thessalian horses, account of, 9.

Thick wind, nature and treatment of, 275,
278 ; often found in round-chested
horses, 276.

Thigh and haunch bones, description of,
354; form of,id. ; should be long and
muscular, id, ; description of the muscles
of the inside of the upper bone of, 354;
do. of the outside, 355 ; mechanical cal-
culation of their power, 356.

Thorough-bred horses, the quality of has
not degenerated, 67.

Thorough-pin, the nature and treatment of,
360; is not unsoundness, 490.

Thrush, nature and treatment of, 400; the
consequence, rather than the cause of
contraction, ib.; its serious nature and
consequences not sufficiently considered,
ib.; constitutes unsoundness, 491.

Thymus gland, the, 23].

Thyroid cartilage of the windpipe, descrip-
tion of the, 217.

Tibia, account of the, 358, 360; fracture
of, 413.

Tied in below the knee, nature and disad-
vantage of, 342.

Tinctures, account of the best, 516.

Tips, description and use of, 426.

Tobacco, when used, 517.

Toe, bleeding at the, described, 249.

Tongue, anatomy of the, 203 ; diseases of,
204; bladders along the under part of,
205.

379

“Tonics, an account of the best, 517; their

use and danger in veterinary practice, id,
Toorkoman horse, description of, 35.
Torsion, the mode of castration by, 325 ;

forceps, description of, 325.

Traces, the direction of them, very impor-
tant in draught, 531, 532; proper angle
of the, ib.; the proper inclination of
them, depending on the kind of horse
and the road, 533 ; they should be in-
clined downward on rough roads, ib. ;
inclined downward, the same as throw-
ing a part of the weight on the shafts,
534; direction of them, rarely attended
to, ib. ; the manner of affixing them iu
South America, 536. ;

Trachea, or windpipe, description of, 218;
inflammation of, 253.

Tracheotomy, 219 ; operation of, 220.

Traction, the force of, illustrated by refer-
ence to the spring steelyards, 519; the
proper line of, very important in draught,

Trapezius muscle, description of the, 329.

Trapezium bone, description of the, 337.

Travelling, different rate of, at different
times, 93 ; comparison of rapid and slow,
531.

Tread, nature and treatment of, 392 ; often
producing sandcrack or quittor, ib.

Tredgold, Mr., his comparison of moving
power in draught, 530.

Tsipping, an annoying and inveterate habit,
455

Trochanter of the thigh, description of the,

Trochlearis muscle, the, 135.

Trotter, the performance of the hackney as
one, 89.

Trotting, cruel exhibitions of, 90; action
of the horse during, 526; position of
the limbs in, unfaithfully represented in
the Elgin marbles, and the church of St.
Mark, 526.

Turbinated bones, description of the, 171.

Turkish horse, description of the, 36.

Turner, Mr. T., on clipping, 476.

Turnips, considered as an article of food,
471

Turpentine, the best diuretic, 312; a useful
ingredient in many ointments, 517.

Tushes, description of the, 198, 199.

Twitch, description of the, 431.

Uucenrsin the mouth, treatment of, 202, 204.
Ulna, description of the, 333.
Unguiculata, a tribe of animals, 107.
Ungulata, a tribe of animals, 107.
Unilateral shoe, 424,

Unsoundness, contraction does not always
cause it, 386; being discovered, the
animal should be tendered, 492; ditto,
but the tender or return not legally
necessary, ib.; the horse may be re-
turned and action brought for depreciation
in value, but this not advisable, ¢6.;
580

medical means may be adopted to cure
the horse, they are, however, better
declined, lest in an unfortunate issue
of the case they should be misrepre-
sented, 492.

Unsteadiness whilst mounting, remedy for,
447.

Urine, albuminous, 314; bloody, id.

Vastus muscle, description of the, 355.

Vatican, the obelisk in the, curious method
of moving it, 545.

Vehicles of draught, comparison of the
best, 556, 557.

Veins, description of the, 247; of the arm,
description, &c. 360; of the neck, ditto,
215; of the face, ditto, 172; of the
shoulder, ditto, 326; inflammation of
the, treatment of, 215.

Velocity, calculation of, 529, 53].

Vena portarum, the, 297.

Verdigris, an uncertain medicine, when
given internally, 504 ; a mild caustic, id.

Vermin, account of, 485.

Vertebree, the dorsal and lumbar, 221.

Vertebrated animals, what, 106.

Vices of horses, account of the, 440.

Vicious to clean, a bad habit that should
be conquered, 448 ; toshoe, a bad habit
that may also be conquered, tb.

Vinegar, its use in veterinary practice,
495.

Vines, Mr., his use of the Spanish fly in
glanders, 502.

Viper, account of the bite of, 290,

Vision, theory of, 130.

Vitreous humour of the eye, account of the,
133.

Vitriol, blue, use of, in veterinary practice,
504,

Waceon horse, the, 98.

Waggons, inferior horses may be used in
them, compared with carts, 555 ; horses
drawing, not so fatigued as in carts, 555 ;
require fewer drivers, and are not so
liable to accidents, ib.; with inferior
roads and ordinary horses preferable to
carts, ib.3; with large front wheels, ad-
vantage of, 554; particularly with two
horses abreast, éb.; reason why they
have more draught than two-wheeled
carts, 556.

Walking, movement of the legs in, 527;
different when drawing a load, id.

Wall-eyed horses, what, 131; whether they
become blind, id.

War-horse, description of the ancient, 57.

Warbles, treatment of, 230.

Warranty, the form of a, 491; breach of,
how established, i5.; no price will imply
it, i6.; when there is none, the action
must be brought on ground of fraud, éd.

Warts, method of getting rid of, 484.

ae of the heels, productive of grease,

INDEX.

Washy horses, description and treatment
of, 303.

Wasps, treatment of the sting of, 290.

Water, generally given too sparingly, 472;
management of on a journey, 1b.; the
difference in effect, between hard and
soft, ¢b.; spring, principally injurious
on account of its coldness, ib. ; stomach
of the horse, the, 295.

Water farcy, nature and treatment of,
187.

Water conveyance, smallness of power
required in, 538; resistance to, increases
with the square of the velocity, 539
power to be exerted in, increases as the
cube of the velocity, id.

Water-dropwort, poisonous, 291; hemlock,
poisonous, #b.; parsley, poisonous, td.

‘Wax used in charges and plasters, 517.

‘Weakness of the foot, what, 403.

Weaving indicating an irritable temper
and no cure for it, 456.

Weight, calculation of the power of the
horse to overcome, 97, 525, 528.

Wellesley Arabian, account of the, 72.

Welsh pony, description of the, 103.

Wheat, considered as food for the horse,
467,471; inconvenience and danger of
it, 467.

Wheels, the principle on which they act
explained, 518; effect of increasing the
diameter of the, 560; no‘record of the
time of their invention, 545; spoked,
known to Homer, 2b. ; little improvement
of the principle of, from the earliest
times, id.; principle of, on a level sur-
face, 546 ; theory of the degree of friction
attending them, 547 ; friction of on the
axle, dependent onthe material employed,
4b. ; consideration of the various forms
of, 549 ; dishing of, described, 550; ad-
vantages of, «0. $ conical and flat, calcu-
lation between the effects of, 555, 562 ;
obliquely placed, ill cansequences of,
551; narrow and broad, comparison be-
tween, 550; conical, strange degree of
friction and dragging with, 551; travel-
ling grindstones, 551; cylindrical, the
best form, ib. ; description of, and proper
rounding of the edges, 553; but influ-
enced by the state of the road, ¢d.; hind,
should follow the precise track of the
fore ones, ib. ; considered as to their
effect on the road, 5533; straddlers,
description of, and their effect, 553;
proper breadth of, in proportion to the
load, 554; with cast-iron naves, 554;
size of, ib.; advantage of large front
ones, 45.; should have the spokes so
arranged as to present themselves against
the greatest force, 558.

Wheezer, description of the, 279; is un-
sound, 487.

Whipping, sound, cruelty of, 97.

Whisperer, the, anecdotes of his power
over the horse, 441.
INDEX.

Whistler, description of the, 279; is un-
sound, 487.

White Turk, account of the, 64.

White lead, use of, 511; vitriol, its use in
veterinary practice, 517.
Wild horse, description of the, 34, 37.
William the Conqueror, improvement ef-
fected in the English horse by him, 55.
Wind, broken, nature and treatment of,
276 ; galls, description and treatment of,
344, 352; ditto, unsoundness when they
cause lameness, orarelikely to do so, 491;
thick, nature and treatment of, 275.

Windpipe, description of the, 218; should
be prominent and loose, 219.

Wind-sucking, nature of, and remedy for,
451.

Withers, description of the, 211, 228;
high, advantage of, 228 ; fistulous, treat-
ment of, 229,

581

Work of the horse, should not exceed six
hours per diem, 529, 530.

Worms, different kinds, and treatment of,
307.

‘Wounds in the feet, treatment of, 396.
Xenophon, his account of the horse, 14.
Yellows, symptoms and treatment of the,
Yor, the leaves of, poisonous, 291,

Zine, its use in medicine, 517.

Zoological classification of the
106.

Zygomatic arch, reason of the strong con.
struction of the, 114.

Zygomaticus muscle, description of the

horse

THE END,
ti LONDON:
PRINTED DY SPOTIISWOODE AND CO.
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