438 HOT AND COLD APPLICATIONS AND SHOEING. 



be so great as to raise or break the hairs." John Stewart, " Stable Econ- 

 omy" p. 118. 



HOT AND COLD APPLICATIONS. 



" Hot water makes the best fomentation, and is only open to the objec- 

 tion that its use demands from servants an amount of time and trouble 

 which they are not very willing to give, unless closely superintended. 



" Fomentations, to be really useful, should be continued for at least one 

 or two hours at a time. The temperature of the water should not exceed 

 1 06 degrees, or hardly as hot as the hand can comfortably bear. The tem- 

 perature must be kept up to this point by the frequent addition of small 

 quantities of hot water. 



" Cold water bathing of the legs is in many cases beneficial. The cold 

 gives tone to and braces up the structures, which may have become weak or 

 deficient in vital energy. The value of cold as a tonic has not been, we 

 think, sufficiently appreciated in such cases. A good jet for this purpose 

 may be made by attaching a gutta-percha or rubber tube to the ordinary 

 water-cock. If the necessary appliances are not available, an ordinary 

 watering-pot with a rose will answer the purpose fairly well. In cases of 

 sprain of the tendons or ligaments below the knee or hock . . . water 

 may be allowed to trickle for two hours at a time twice or three times dur- 

 ing the day. If the weather be cold the water may be made slightly tepid. 

 When a force of water from a jet or hose is used, the application should 

 never be continued for more than a few moments at a time. In both cases 

 the part must be afterwards dried and bandaged." Sir F. Fitzwygram, 

 " Horses and Stables" p. 96 et seq. 



SHOEING. 



The art of properly making and applying shoes to the 

 horse's feet is neither so difficult in its practical operation 

 nor so confusing a subject theoretically considered, providing 

 the attempt to offset physical defects is eliminated. Un- 

 fortunately the horse's foot is one of his most vulnerable 

 points, and in consequence the farriers have become ex- 

 perimental practitioners in the veterinary science so far as it 



