198 ELEMENTS OF HIPPOLOGY. 



too rapid evaporation. The latter is accomplished by the vasel- 

 ine, which evaporates very slowly. 



In the treatment of open sores or cuts, every effort should 

 be made to prevent infection and the consequent suppuration. 

 It may be safely asserted that suppuration in an open wound or 

 sore is always the result of neglect. Abscesses and internal 

 ulcers become infected by germs brought to them, usually by 

 the blood itself. A severe bruise, for instance, may develop 

 into an infected sore without any noticeable external sign of its 

 presence, but a cut can always be seen, and, if the antiseptics 

 and suitable bandages are at hand, it should not be allowed to 

 fester. An excellent antiseptic wash is made of one part of car- 

 bolic acid to twenty parts of water. This will smart when ap- 

 plied. The addition of one part of glycerine will allay the 

 smarting to a certain extent, without destroying the germ- 

 destroying properties of the carbolic acid. 



Thrush is a direct result, usually, of bad stable manage- 

 ment, but as it does not cause lameness or become prominently 

 noticeable until it is in quite an advanced stage, it is frequently 

 found in old, poorly-drained stables with bad floors, in spite of 

 careful attention to the horse's feet. 



A horse affected with thrush should be taken to the black- 

 smith's shop, where all the ragged and diseased portions of the 

 frog should be cut away. The frog should then be cleaned thor- 

 oughly and sprayed with equal parts of carbolic acid and water — 

 a very radical treatment, but one that Farrier Lee swears by. 

 The frog is then dusted with powdered bluestone and packed 

 with pine tar and oakum. A leather sole is then laid on and 

 held in place by the shoe. This treatment will be of no avail 

 unless the unsanitary cause of the disease is removed; it will 

 stay its progress, but it will not cure it. 



Another very good treatment for thrush is to apply a powder 

 composed of equal parts of sulphate of zinc, bluestone, and sul- 

 phate of iron. The zinc sulphate is an astringent and it also 



