On the General Treatment of the Feet. 159 



and sand-cracksj which are to be met with in those stables^ where 

 the practice of oiling and stopping is still religiously adhered to. 

 This practice of oiling therefore^ ought to be laid aside entirely^ a 

 more rational mode of treating the Feet, should at once be generally 

 adopted, and the use of such kinds of stopping as consist of Grease, 

 Tar, Turpentine, and such like pernicious materials, be utterly dis- 

 carded. Instead of oiling the hoofs of Horses, let them be washed 

 night and morning, with plain water and a brush, after they have 

 been first carefully cleaned out with a picker. And, if this ©peration 

 be done at any time, when the fetlocks are dry, and it be peculiarly 

 desirable to preserve them so, it may be performed with a- piece of 

 sponge, instead of the water brush, in order to ensure the accurate 

 application of the water to the hoof alone. In hot weather, and, 

 indeed, after very severe journies at all seasons of the year, the ani- 

 mal will derive great advantage and refreshment from soaking hh 

 feet and legs, in warm water, especially, if the skin be rubbed dry 

 after the operation ; and in case some sort of stopping for the Feet 

 be insisted upon, a mixture of equal parts of clay and cov\'-dung, is 

 as good as any thing that can be applied-. 



If this mode of treating the Feet were generally adopted, along 

 with good principles of shoeing, we would seldom see running thrushes 

 which, though they rarely are the cause of lameness, are, neverthe- 

 less, generally a concomitant of contracted heels and quartern. And, 

 although no appli(*a4ion to a thrush can be of use, unless the fr<»g 

 get pressure upon the ground, without which, it cannot long re- 

 main healthy, yet, as people are generally anxious about some dres- 

 sing for a thrush, a little of the Oxymel of Verdigrease, formerly 

 called Mel (Egyptiacura, may be applied on a piece of tow, every 



