THE SUMMERING OF HUNTERS. 137 



head tied up to the rack high, to prevent his getting 

 his teeth to the irritated parts, for at least two daj^s ; 

 all straw should be cleared away from his legs also, 

 and he will afterwards have to wear cradles for a 

 time, to prevent his biting the parts, as when they 

 are healing, irritation (tickling) comes on. We must 

 also warn tlie horseman of the extreme danger of 

 blistering too large an area. Never more than two 

 legs should be blistered at any one operation. 

 Horses have been frequently killed by the irritation 

 and fever set up by blistering three legs at a time, 

 and few horses could survive having all four legs 

 blistered at once. Of course we mean when the legs 

 are each blistered extensively— the whole of the back 

 sinews in each for example. An area the size of a 

 thorough-pin might be blistered on all four legs at 

 once. Fever is often to some extent set up by 

 any blistering whatever, so that it is always 

 anticipated by giving a purging ball at the time of 

 blistering, which, of course, necessitates the horse's 

 living on bran mashes for two or three days. It is 

 best to give a bran mash the night before any opera- 

 tion which is so severe as to require physicing 

 accompanying it. Besides the danger of death from 

 irritation and fever, from blistering too large an area 

 at one time, we have another danger in cantharides 

 blister. When cantharides gets into the system by 

 being given by the mouth as a medicine, or rubbed 

 into the skin and taken into the system by the 

 absorbents, they are apt to cause inflammation of 

 the neck of the bladder, or inflammation of the 



