308 THE HORSE 



and calomel ; twenty-four hours afterwards give another 

 ball of 3 drs. of aloes." 



Prevention is ever better than cure, and when horses are 

 in the fields at the season the bot-fly is engaged in laying 

 her eggs, the animals should be visited night and morning 

 and every egg removed from their coats. A sharp knife 

 quickly effects a clearance, but they are difficult to remove 

 with only the finger and thumb, for they adhere very closely 

 to the hair, and it is by no means easy to get them off. 



Sanding. 



This is a condition of affairs peculiar to very sandy, gritty 

 soils, but in a dry summer, when the pastures are very 

 shrunk, horses are apt to swallow some of the sand by 

 reason of their biting so close to the ground. The result is 

 anaemia, and finally diarrhoea, and if not attended to fatal 

 consequences may ensue. If there is any doubt about the 

 cause, the condition is easily detected by rubbing some of 

 the droppings between the finger and thumb, which will 

 feel gritty to the touch. The remedy is to remove the 

 animal elsewhere ; but first of all to treat it in the stable, 

 giving bran mashes, and small doses of Linseed Oil, until it 

 is well. 



Mange, and Eing-worm. 



Although these two affections differ greatly, the former 

 being the work of a parasite and the latter being of a 

 vegetable origin, the superficial appearance in many respects 

 is so much alike that they are mentioned here together, since 

 the only really effectual treatment, to be absolutely relied 

 upon, is the same for both. In the wilder parts of 

 Ireland, nearly thirty years ago, both ailments were so rife 

 that it was impossible not to have frequent outbreaks in 

 the stable ; for the horses had often to be put up in strange 

 stables, whilst new purchases frequently began to show 

 signs of being infected, soon after they arrived home. Many 

 recipes were prescribed by different professional advisers, 

 and tried, but when a case was obstinate the one remedy 

 which always had to be fallen back upon was Tincture of 



