OR, HORSE DOCTOR. 57 



dress the place with oil of turpentine, spirits of tar, and 

 common tar. Lay no hot drying drugs on, unless proud 

 flesh rise. 



Sometimes corns on the heels cause a horse to be lame ; 

 cut them out, and dress the place with aquafortis. There is 

 another fault which blacksmiths are guilty of, and which is a 

 great hurt to a horse, that is, cutting or paring the heel down 

 too much. The heel being best to come at, they clap the 

 paring-knife there and cut them down, when there is no need 

 to take any otf them at all. The heels are the greatest sup- 

 port of the horse, and by paring them too thin, both corns 

 and lameness in the back sinews are produced. 



Before a blacksmith begins to shoe a valuable horse, es- 

 pecially a road-horse, he should examine hoAv he stands and 

 how he goes. If he go low, heavy shoes should be used ; 

 but if he go high, light ones. If he turn his toes out, he 

 will cut with the heel, and if he turn them in, will cut with 

 the spurn. If he have a thin, flat foot, he should have broad 

 shoes ; but if a hollow, dished foot, narrow ones. If the 

 crust be thin, and the vein near, small nails should be used. 

 Some horses are hoof-bound — that is, have sti'aight heels 

 which pinch the vein between the hoof and the coflSn. When 

 this is the case, thin the soles of the feet till the blood springs 

 through, and then put on screw-shoes, and screw the feet out. 

 Let the screw-shoes stay on a fortnight. You may screw the 

 feet out more than half an inch. 



The next thing to be considered is gravel rising from the 

 bottom to the top of the foot, and breaking out at the cor- 

 net. How many twitter-bones have been thus fonned that 

 might have been prevented ! AVhen the gravel comes up to 

 the top of the foot, take away the sole at the bottom, and the 

 hoof at the top, and mix equal parts of oil of turjjentine and 

 oil of origanum, and bathe the top part of the foot. This 

 will prevent a twitter fi-om forming. 



A Twitter-Bone. 



A Twitter-bone makes a horse very lame, and not fit for 

 work. It keeps throwing a tough white matter out of what 

 is called a pipe. In order to cure it, first find out where the 

 pipe leads. This you may do with a piece of round lead, the 

 size of a small quill-barrel. Have the following ready, viz. : 

 % an oimce of Sublimate, in fine powder. 

 1 ounce of Spirits of Salt. 

 Add juice of one lemon when Sublimate is dissolved. 

 Mix all together, and syringe a squirt full into the pipe 

 •when you take the lead out ; and when you draw out the 



