NURSING 



Nursing. — As in the case of mankind, so it is in that of 

 horses, a good nurse is always a most valuable ally of the 

 professional attendant in cases of sickness, and occasionally 

 the more important of the two. Hence the immense worth 

 of a thoroughly reliable stable hand, who can be depended 

 upon to keep his eye throughout the night upon a sick horse, 

 and attend gently to his patient as directed. Some men 

 possess a perfect faculty for nursing, and this often seems 

 to be recognised and appreciated by their charges, who allow 

 them to do almost anything with them. Above all things 

 nursing, to be efficacious, should be gentle and persistent. 

 This does not imply that a sick horse should be constantly 

 bothered by unnecessary attentions, but rather that his 

 wants should be attended to regularly, and with as little noise, 

 fuss, or inconvenience to himself as possible. A careless man 

 will enter the box hastily and leave the door open, thus 

 admitting a current of cold air which may seriously affect 

 the invalid. He will forget that the animal is in pain and 

 handle him roughly, or may intentionally disturb him to 

 see if he is going on all right. The gruel may be all in 

 lumps, the hay tea or bran mash made of tepid instead of 

 boiling water, or the poultices may be cold. Fomentations 

 or hand - rubbing may be carelessly applied, or shirked 

 altogether, medicine may be carelessly measured or not 

 administered at the proper hours ; in fact, a score of things 

 may be done or left undone which may cost the sick horse 

 his life. Unfortunately, too, it sometimes happens that a man 

 who in other respects is an ideal nurse, is the possessor of 

 ideas of his own, and therefore secretly drugs his patient, or 

 treats him in other ways according to his own judgment, 

 and in opposition to the instructions of the veterinarian in 

 charge of the case. This sort of man is hopeless, as his 

 zeal overrides his obedience to orders, and he cannot there- 

 fore be trusted, as, unfortunately, if he is found out, it 

 is usually too late. In short, a sober, kindly-hearted man 

 who can be relied upon not to go to sleep and neglect his 

 charges, and who can be depended upon to do as he is told 



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