132 



F AL 



FAR 



that being the weakest and thin- 

 nest ; and proceeds from the dry- 

 ness of the hoof, but especially 

 when a horse is ridden in dry, 

 sandy, or stony ground, in hot 

 weather, or in frosty vveather,\vhen 

 the ways are flinty and hard. It is, 

 likewise, caused by bad shoeing, 

 and all other accidents whereby a 

 horse becomes hoof bound : For 

 the narrowness of the heels ,i. 1 

 brittleness of the quarters, contin;- 

 ally expose a horse to all the said 

 accidents. 



" This accident is both danger- 

 ous and painful ; for as often as a 

 horse sets his foot to the ground, 

 the chink widens ; and when he 

 lifts it up, the sharp edges of the 

 divided hoof wound tbe tender 

 flesh that covers the col^iii bone, 

 which is for the most part followed 

 with blood ; and it must of course 

 be apt to render a horse lame, as it 

 is very dithcuil to form a re-union. 

 To 1 3rT)edy this imperfection. First, 

 drnv,' the < ' "'le length of the cleft 

 withyu...r ^'rauing uou, then anoint 

 the hoof wiih tar, honey. audsiuM, 

 molten together ; for notuuig can 

 be more proper for tbe hoof; and 

 lay a tinn pledgit dipt in the same 

 along the cleft. After this, take 

 rope-yarn, such as the sailors use, 

 which is no other than hemp moist- 

 ened in melted tar, and spun loose : 

 Apply the yarn all down the hoof, 

 beginning at the coronet and de- 

 scending downwards, one lay after 

 another, as close as the binding of 

 the hoops of wine casks, laying a 

 smooth pledgit of flax behind, to 

 keep it from fretting the heel. — 

 This should be opened once in 



three or four days, that the clefts 

 may be drest. And to prevent any 

 inconveniency that may happen by 

 the opening, a thin staple may be 

 also contrived with points like 

 horse-shoe nails, cast olf obliquely; 

 to take a slender hold, the plate of 

 it crossing the cleft, where part of 

 the shoe js cut oir(as it must be 

 under the cleft) and the nails com- 

 ing out on each side of the cleft,on 

 the upper part, to be clinched as 

 the other nails. By this method a 

 cleft in any part of the hoof may be 

 easily cured, if the horse be not 

 very old, or diseased." Gibson's 

 Farriery. 



FARCY, a disease in horses, si- 

 milar to the scurvy in men, and 

 arising from a similar cause. The 

 farcy is caused in horses from their 

 being for a long time confiiied to 

 dry meal. And as the scurvy in 

 men is cured by a diet of green 

 vegetables ; so the farcy in horses 

 ma) be cured by turning them into 

 a good fresh pasture. But it is on- 

 ly in the bcgmiiing oi the disease 

 that it can be so easily cured. — 

 Gibson prescribes bleeding, and 

 moderate purging ; and afterwards 

 doses of antiniony. See his Far- 

 riery. Mr. Mills calls it a cording 

 of the veins, and the appearance of 

 small tumours in several parts of 

 the body. Mr. Bartlet deems this 

 distemper easy of cure, when it 

 appears on the head only. Mr. 

 Bourgelat says, a decoction of the 

 woods, antimony, powder of vipers, 

 with some mercurial preparations, 

 are looked upon as so many spe- 

 cifics in this disease — and that hem- 

 lock will cure it. 



