LEGS OF THE HORSE, THEIR ACCIDENTS AND DISEASES. 355 



Bathe the leg with hot water with a handful of salt in it, for an hour 

 or two, having che water as hot as a man can bear his hand in. Then 

 bind the leg in woolen clothes to keep it thoroughly warm, let them 

 reach cjear to the body, and avoid all drafts. Restrict the diet to hay, 

 water and bran mashes till he is able to go to work again. As soon as the 

 soreness will a^Jow of exercise, give him a walk of a couple of hours twice 

 a day, increasing it from day to day. This may be kept up till all sore- 

 ness and inflammation are gone, when he may go to work again ; which 

 will be before all the swelling is gone from the leg, but the exercise will 

 help to reduce it. On coming in from work apply a wet bandage tight : 

 and give plenty of hand-rubl)ing when going out. Bring the horse back 

 to his feed gradually, and yvoid overfeeding. 



Prevention. — If a horse is working hard every day, and consuming large 

 quantities of very nutritious, heating food, the regular allowance should 

 be cut down one half when he is laid up for a single day or more. He 

 should receive a large, wet bran mash for supper on Saturday night, no 

 oats or corn at all, and only one-half, or two-thirds at most, of the regu- 

 lar allowance on Sunday. If this rule is followed no elephant leo-s will 

 ^^e found on Monday morning ; but if the full allowance of strong grain 

 is fed Saturday night and all day Sunday, the horse is liable to this and 

 tbany other disorders. 



V. Scratches or Cracked Heel. 



Scratches or cracked heels are simply chaps and cracks around the 

 heels and in the hollow of the pastern ; they correspond to chapped 

 hands in man. They are usually very simple, but sometimes arc quite 

 severe and require considerable perseverance to cure them. 



Causes. — Exposure to cold mud, snow, slush and ice-water without 

 proi)er care in fall, winter and spring. It is unknown in hot weather. 



How to know it. — The skin is swollen in the hollow of the pastern ; and 

 around the heels, cracks and chaps extend in all directions ; and larger 

 cracks will run around the leg where it is the most 

 flexed. When dry, they will be hot, sore to the touch, 

 and painful. Sometimes the flexion in moving will 

 cause the animal to raise the feet a couple of feet high 

 at first, but with exercise the soreness partially disap- 

 pears. 



What to do. — When the horse comes in, wipe off the 

 parts as nicely as possible, bandage them with flannel 

 to keep them warm, and when dry clean them thor- 

 oughly with a brush, not touching them with water at 

 all. Washing with warm water would do no harm cra.ckeu ueel, 

 if they were well dried afterward, but to be on the safe side it is better 



