224 PHYSICKING 



PHYSICKING. 



Physicking the horse is often necessary — hut it has injured the 

 constitution and destroyed thousands of animals when unneces- 

 sarily or improperly resorted to. When the horse comes from 

 ffrass to dry feed, or from the open air to the heated stable, a 

 dose or two of physic may be necessary to prevent the tendency 

 to inflammation. To a horse that is becoming too fat, or has 

 surfeit, or grease, or mange, or is out of condition from inactivity 

 of" the digestive organs, a dose of physic is serviceable ; but the 

 periodical physicking of all horses in the spring and autumn, the 

 severe course of physic thought necessary to train them for work, 

 and the too frequent method of treating the animal when under 

 the operation of physic, cannot be too strongly condemned. 



A horse should be carefully prepared for the action of physic. 

 Two or three bran mashes given on that or the preceding day 

 are far from sufficient when a horse is about to be physicked. 

 Mashes should be given until the dung becomes softened. Five 

 drachms of aloes, given when the dung has thus been softened, 

 will act much more effectually and much more safely than seven 

 drachms, when the lower intestines are obstructed by hardened 

 dung. 



On the day on which the physic is given, the horse should have 

 walking exercise, or may be gently trotted for a quarter of an 

 hour twice in the day ; but after the physic begins to work, he 

 should not be moved from his stall. Exercise would then pro- 

 duce gripes, irritation, and, possibly, dangerous inflammation. 

 The common and absurd practice is to give the horse most exer- 

 .jise after the physic has begun to operate. 



A little hay may be put into the rack. As much mash should 

 be given as the horse will eat, and as much water, with the 

 coldness of it taken oR] as he will drink. If, however, he obsti- 

 nately refuses to drink warm water, it is better that he should 

 have it cold, than to continue without taking any fluid ; but in 

 such case he should not be suffered to take more than a quart at 

 a time, with an interval of at least an hour between each 

 draught. 



When the purging has ceased, or the physic is set, a mash 

 should be given once or twice every day until the next dose is 

 taken, between which and the setting of the first there should be 

 an interval of a week. The horse should recover from the 

 languor and debility occasioned by the first dose, before he is 

 iiarassed by a second. 



Eight or ten tolerably copious motions will be perfectly sufR 

 «"'ifciit to a.nswer every good purpose, although the groom or the 



