216 THE ADVENTURES OF A GENTLEMAN 



entirely discharged. A kick or a bruise should re- 

 ceive the same treatment if the contusion is consider- 

 able ; and especially in the case of broken knees. 

 In this case a horse is often more blemished by the 

 treatment than by the accident itself. If the joint 

 is much injured, a cure is generally hopeless; it 

 would be more humane as well as more prudent to 

 destroy the animal at once ; but if the wound does 

 not affect the joint, (and on this point the farrier 

 alone can give certain information,) it should be 

 carefully and tenderly washed out with a sponge and 

 warm water, and then poulticed for two or three 

 days ; and after this the inflammation will probably 

 have subsided, and ointment should be applied ; not 

 gunpowder and grease : every country blockhead re- 

 commends this to promote the growth of the hair ; it 

 has no such effect, and on the contrary, it often 

 irritates and retards the cure of the wound. Lard 

 alone, or with a little mixture of alum, will be much 

 better ; care, however, should be taken to apply the 

 ointment in the direction of the hair ; otherwise 

 when the cure is effected, the hair will grow in an 

 uneven or inverted form, and will make the blemish 

 more apparent. 



