38 



THE MODERN SYSTEM 



thirsty) at some convenient pond. The Horse 

 should not be suffered to drink too much at a 

 time, which his extreme thirst might induce 

 him to do, but letting him have about ten 

 go-downs, ride on to another convenient 

 place, and let him have the like quantity, 

 and thus by degrees, let him quench his vio- 

 lent thirst before he confes home, which will 

 be better than letting him drink a vast quan- 

 tity of cold water at once. Should you not 

 have had an opportunity of giving the Horse 

 water in your course home, he must have 

 water with the chill off; and what is even 

 better than this, will be a bucket of chilled 

 water, into which put about a handful of 

 oatmeal, but not warm, and when his thirst 

 has been partly quenched, he probably will 

 eat. 



The legs, from excessive labour will, of 

 course, be weary, and often inclined to heat 

 and inflammation, particularly if the Horse has 

 been rode among brambles, thorns, or furze, 

 the greatest attention must be paid to them. 

 Hot water should always be ready against 

 Horses come in from hunting, for the purpose 

 of washing their legs ; for nothing is more 

 grateful and refreshing to our feet and legs, 

 when they burn with heat and Meanness, 

 than soaking them well in hot water j it 

 opens the pores of the skin, and draws the 

 heat and inflammation away, and will be 

 found as Cijualiy salutary to the Horse as to 

 ourselves. Let the water be hot, but not to 

 scald, or endanger bringing the hairs off; 

 bathe the legs well with the hot water, having 

 two pieces of MooUen cloth, one to remain in 

 the water, whilst you are applying the other 

 to the horse's leg, so that by alternately 

 changing them, you keep the leg constantly 

 warm. Apply these well round the fetlock 



joints and pasterns, and as the heat passes 

 off, renew your cloth with the one in the hot 

 water ; do this for at least three quarters of 

 an hour, after which wipe them as dry as you 

 can, by the application of a dry sponge ; then 

 carefully search with your hands if any bram- 

 bles or thorns are lodged in the skin ; for your 

 feeling will discover what your eye cannot 

 perceive, and the skin being relaxed by the 

 warm bathing, they will be the more easily 

 discovered, and be got out with less diffi- 

 culty. Whatever you discover of this kind, 

 must be picked out with care, so as not to 

 enlarge the apertures they have made, nor 

 break nor leave any part of them in ; for what 

 is left in must occasion inflammation, till 

 nature has expelled it, which she will do by 

 discharging, at first, an ichor from the aper- 

 tures, and consequently forming a wound; 

 so that much greater care is necessary in 

 extracting these foreign bodies than is first 

 thought of; for it frequently produces a 

 blemish from the scab or scratch occasi- 

 oned thereby, that the value of the Horse is 

 greatly deteriorated in consequence ; but if 

 carefully taken out in the first instance, 

 much pain, heat, and blemishes will be pre- 

 vented. 



In some instances I have known thorns to 

 penetrate so deep as to break within the skin, 

 and if such are not discovered, which I must 

 say is a great difficulty to do, an abscess will 

 form ; if such should be the case, immediately 

 on discovering it, take 



Linseed meal - - 4 oz. 

 Turpentine common 1 do. 



Mix well together with scalding water, and 

 apply warm to the part affected, in the shape of 

 poultice : this, in all probability, will occasion 



