178 UNASKED ADVICE. 



blemish to follow ; also the horse need not be cast, 

 which is a great point gained. Many horses have 

 injured themselves for life in struggling when thrown 

 down; the back has often been damaged in this 

 way. Splints generally go away of themselves sooner 

 or later; if they interfere with the sinew, the same 

 ointment would suit them as has been mentioned 

 above. I think I have already said that a cabbage 

 leaf is a mild but effective sweating blister for a splint. 

 Sore backs are a tremendous nuisance when they 

 occur in a hunting stable, and some horses are much 

 more liable to them than others. For their prevention, 

 the stuffing of the saddle should be carefully looked to ; 

 the back of the horse, under the saddle, should never be 

 clipped ; and the saddle should not be taken off too soon 

 after the horse comes in. When the skin is broken the 

 clothing must be kept off the place, and salt and water 

 applied. This, with time, generally effects a cure. A 

 " sit-fast" is better attended to by the veterinary surgeon. 

 Lately a contrivance which promises to do away with 

 sore backs has been invented ; it is a leather saddle 

 cloth, polished and smooth on the side which touches the 

 horse, and I was lately assured by a gentleman that a 

 horse of his had recovered from a sore back that is, 

 that the back had healed without rest, and merely by 

 the use of this article under the saddle ; but I presume 

 that the sore had begun to heal over before the horse 

 was ridden. As a prevention I think it will be found 

 capital. Stubs and thorns are peculiarly the property of 

 hunters, and a great bore they are. A stub in the foot 

 or fetlock demands more scientific treatment than the 

 groom can give, and so may a thorn if it be allowed to 

 remain in. After a day's hunting the legs and joints 



