4G0 HANDY-BOOK OP HUSBANDRY. 



usually effect a cure. Strains and bruises are best treated by sim- 

 ple fomentations of hot water, to which a little vinegar may with 

 advantage be added ; and if the strain is in the pastern joint the 

 foot should be placed in a pall full of water, which should be kept 

 by repeated additions as hot as the animal will bear. After the 

 removal of the foot from the pail, the part should be covered with 

 thick bandages of cloth, or wound with straw ropes ; and very 

 warm water should be frequently poured upon it. 



Farriery includes various operations, such as castration, nicking, 

 bleeding, clipping and singeing, trimming the hair, etc.; and ample 

 directions concerning its processes are given by Herbert, Youatt, 

 Stewart, Spooner, and others. The following are Mr. Youatt's 

 directions for castration : — 



" The period at which this operation may be best performed 

 " depends much on the breed and form of the colt, and the pur- 

 " pose for which he is destined. For the common agricultural 

 " horse, the age of four or five months will be the most proper 

 " time, or, at least, before he is weaned. Few horses are lost 

 " when cut at that age. Care, however, should be taken that the 

 "weather is not too hot nor the flies too numerous. 



" If the horse is designed either for the carriage or for heavy 

 " draught, the farmer should not think of castrating him until he 

 " is at least a twelvemonth old ; and even then the colt should be 

 " carefully examined. If he is thin and spare about the neck and 

 " shoulders, and low in the withers, he will materially improve by 

 " remaining uncut another six months ; but if his fore-quarters 

 " are fairly developed at the age of a twelvemonth, the operation 

 " should not be delayed, lest he become heavy and gross before, 

 " and perhaps has begun too decidedly to have a will of his own. 

 " No specific age, then, can be fixed j but the castration should 

 " be performed rather late in the spring or early in the autumn, 

 " when the air is temperate, and particularly when the weather 

 " is dry. 



" No preparation is necessary for the sucking colt, but it may 

 " be prudent to bleed and to physic one of more advanced age. 

 " In the majority of cases, no after-treatment will be necessary, 



