158 CHAPTER 17. 



made of equal parts of moist bran, linseed meal, olive oil; or of boiled 

 carrots or turnips mixed with bran. For ill conditioned sores linseed 

 answers best. If a sore is painful, opium may be added to any of the 

 above. To soften the horn in inflammation of the feet, vinegar may 

 be added to the bran. A poultice may be made an astringent dressing 

 by the addition of sulphate of zinc. 



Poultices, though very convenient in the human subject, are not 

 equally applicable in the horse, because they are not easily fixed, except 

 on the feet. A poultice, unless made large, dries too rapidly, and is then 

 apt to cause irritation instead of soothing. On the other hand, if made 

 large it is heavy and difficult to secure. The poultice must not be tied 

 so tight as to arrest the circulation or to leave a mark. With this view, 

 a broad tape or a piece of list should be used instead of a string. An 

 old stocking with part of the foot cut off makes a good poultice bag for 

 the lower part of the leg. 



The substance of which the poultice is intended to be made should be 

 steeped in hot water in a cloth. The water must then be permitted to 

 drain off. 



314. Fomentations. 



Warm water makes the best fomentation, and is only open to the objec- 

 tion that its use demands from servants an amount of time and trouble 

 which they are not very willing to give, unless closely superintended. 

 Directions as to the mode of applying fomentations have been given in 

 the chapter on nursing. 



315. Spongiopiline. 



For sprains and bruises, when the skin is not broken, a thick woollen 

 substance covered with oilcloth, called Spongiopiline, which is manufac- 

 tured for the purpose, forms a good, but still inferior, substitute for the 

 more troublesome operation of fomentation. It should be soaked in hot 

 water, and on account of its thickness and impervious covering will long 

 retain both heat and moisture. 



316. Cold applications. 



Cold applications resemble fomentations in so far as that their action 

 is local, but in other respects their action is diametrically different. They 

 constringe, harden, and brace up the parts to which they are applied. 

 They reduce the calibre and increase the tone of the distended or relaxed 

 superficial blood-vessels, rouse them to increased action, and excite them 

 to absorb the effused products of hyperaemia. They also lower the heat 

 of the part to which they are applied. Hence their value in the treat- 

 ment of sprains after the first heat and tenderness have passed away, and 

 also in reducing bruises and removing simple superficial circumscribed 

 inflammation. 



Of cold applications cold water is the most common and convenient. 



