372 THE HORSE. 



lepea;. generally in the alimentary canal; therefore a few mashes, anJ a 

 mild dose of physic, are first indicated, and, simple as they appear to he, 

 they often have a very beneficial elfect. The regular action of the bowels 

 being re-established, that of all the organs of the frame will speedily follow. 

 [f tiie horse cannot be spared for physic, alteratives may be administe'-ed. 

 There is no better alterative for being hide-bound and having an unthrifty 

 coat than that which is in common use, and which we have so often recom- 

 mended, levigated antimony, nitre and sulphur; and given, in these 

 cases, in doses of two drachms of the first, three of the second, and four 

 >)f the last, and repealed every night in a mash, or in the form of ball. 

 The peculiar effect of the antimony and sulphur on the skin, of the 

 sulphur on the bowels, and of the nitre on the urinary organs, will be here 

 advantageously combined. 



Should the horse not feed welt, and there be no indication of fever, a 

 slight tonic may be added, as one drachm of gentian, and half a drachin of 

 ginger; but in the majority of cases attended by a lofty condition and an 

 unthrifty coat, and hide-bound, tonics and aromatics should be carefully 

 avoided. Tlie cause of the impaired action of the vessels being removed, 

 the powers of nature will generally be sufficient, and had better be let 

 alone. There are not any more dangerous medicines in common use in 

 the stable, and especially in cases like tliese, than tonics and cordials. 

 They often arouse to fatal action a tendency to kvev that would otherwise 

 have slept, or they produce a state of excitement near akin to fever, and 

 apt to degenerate into it. By the stimulus of a cordial the secretions may 

 be suddenly roused, and among them, this unctuous secretion from the 

 pores of the skin, so necessary to apparent condition ; but the efTect soon 

 passes over, a repetition of the stimulus is necessary — the habit is soon 

 formed — the dose must be gradually increased, and in the mean time the 

 animal is kept in a state of dangerous excitement, and the powers of 

 nature must be eventually impaired. 



Friction may be employed with advantage in the removal of hide-bound. 

 [t has repeatedly been shown that it is one of the most efficacious instru- 

 ments we can use to call into exercise the suspended energies either of the 

 absorbent or secreting vessels. Warmth may likewise be employed, not 

 warmth of stable, which has been shown to be so injurious, and that in a much 

 more important way than the mere want of condition, but warmth of 

 clothing. But before this can be fully considered, the hair by which the 

 skin is covered must be described. 



THE HAIR. 



The hair is the natural clothing of all our domestic quadrupeds. It la 

 some protection from violence, and more so from cold ; and it varies with 

 the climate in which they live. It springs from below the skin. There 

 are found on the cellular and fatty substance, immediately in contact with 

 the internal surface of the skin, numerous little bulbs, which penetrate into 

 and pass through the true skin, and which arriving at the cuticle, the hair 

 protrudes from the summit of them. The hair itself, when examined 

 through a microscope, is seen to be a little tube, containing a pulpy matter, 

 which runs through the whole length of it, by whicii probably the hair is 

 fed and rendered pliant; and the loss of which under disease may add to 

 the hard and unthrifty feeling of the coat of a horse out of condition. 

 There is no essential difference in the structure of the hair m difTeren 

 parts, as the mane, the tail, and the body, except that the former is larger, 

 longer, and stronger. 



