234 THE HORSE 



An important part of the routine should be a search for 

 thorns, which can usually be detected by slowly passing 

 a light touch down the legs, paying especial attention to the 

 front of the knees, for a thorn in the knee will make its 

 presence most painfully known the next morning if it is not 

 discovered. When anything unusual is felt the character 

 is more surely determined by applying the nail to it, instead 

 of only feeling with the finger, and still further insight can 

 often be gained by damping the hair and skin with a wet 

 sponge. If it is certain the intruder is a thorn every 

 effort should be made to extract it at once ; but if this is 

 impossible a linseed poultice should be applied until the 

 next morning, when a renewed attack should be made 

 upon the thorn if it has not been drawn out by the poultice 

 in the meantime. When it is situated in such an awkward 

 place that a poultice cannot be well applied it may be 

 practicable to employ a water dressing instead, which 

 simply consists of wet folds of linen with a waterproof 

 covering outside, such as oiled silk, to retard the evaporation, 

 if spongio-piline is not available. It is preferable that the 

 linen should be steeped in water to which some antiseptic has 

 been added ; and it is obvious that if a plug of cotton-wool 

 or something similar be embedded within the folds, it will 

 act as a reservoir of moisture, and maintain the linen damp 

 for a longer period than would otherwise be the case. 

 Thorns frequently give serious trouble in the spring, when 

 the sap has begun to rise, for if this gets into the wound 

 a form of blood-poisoning, more or less severe, may ensue. 



When the feet are being washed notice should be taken 

 whether any over-reach has occurred, or other cuts are 

 evident ; and if any such are not so severe as to call for a 

 poultice, they should at least be touched with some anti- 

 septic. A simple and effective way of automatically doing 

 this is to mix a little soft soap in the water before begin- 

 ning to wash the feet, for soft soap is an active destroyer 

 of minute organisms, as witness the effect of an application 

 of it on the common green-fiy, when the gardener syringes 

 the rose-trees. 



Unless the animal should break out into heavy sweating 



