28 HORSE-KEEPING FOR AMATEURS. 



tying the top of the stocking round the leg, but not too 

 tightly. After forty-eight hours of this treatment, foment 

 again with hot water, taking great care to well — but gently — 

 dry, after each application, till all the heat has disappeared. 

 Tiien apply a lotion of alum, dissolved in water; or, better 

 still, an ointment made of powdered alum, 2oz., to common 

 lard, 6oz., to be well rubbed into the heels for some time after 

 the cracks have apparently closed. The horse must be rested, 

 his corn reduced, and a diet of bran-mashes and carrots resorted 

 to ; a mild purge of aloes should be given at the outset. If, 

 after the cracks have disappeared, the legs remain hard and 

 swelled, they should be flannel-bandaged, but never, under 

 any circumstances, hlutered, as I have heard recommended 

 scores of times ; a more fatal mistake could not be made. 

 Green food, if the season admits, should be given, and a little 

 walking exercise after the worst of the soreness has subsided. 



Lice in the Tail. — The first thing to do is to immediately 

 discharge your groom. This state of things discloses such 

 laziness and dirt on his part as to make it impossible for 

 anyone who values his horses to keep him another hour. Pour 

 a little turpentine into the affected parts of the tail, and the 

 pests will soon disappear. 



Splints. — These are bony enlargements on the leg of the 

 horse. Unless occurring between the suspensory ligament and 

 the bone, they may never cause the slightest inconvenience. 

 Eunning the hand down the leg will in most cases discover 

 the splint, even if it is not visible to the eye. These 

 bony deposits nearly always occur in young horses, and dis- 

 appear with increasing years. If there is no lameness, it is 

 far better to " leave well alone." Should there, however, be 

 inconvenience, caused by reason of their situation, the new 

 remedy, " Ossidine," or, in lieu thereof, a little mercurial oint- 

 ment, well rubbed in (the hair being previously clipped close 

 round the part), will be found the best remedy. 



Chronic Rheumatism. — People seem to have taken a long 

 time in recognising how frequently this is a cause of lameness 

 in horses, and it is only in the comparatively recent books 

 published upon veterinary science that it is treated of in that 

 light. The same causes that work the mischief in human 

 beings are generally responsible here. The animal comes in 

 from a long day's hunting in the wet, or, perhaps, a bitter 

 nor'-easter has been blowing, and, although apparently sound 



