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DISEASES OF THE SKIN AND EARS. 241 







TREATMENT. 



The treatment will necessarily vary somewhat, according 

 to the circumstances in which the horse, and the person 

 using him, happen to be placed. If at home, the first and 

 essential thing to do is to let the animal rest. Do not put 

 a saddle on him until he is entirely well. In all stages of 

 the complaint, use the corrosive liniment, which will readily 

 heal the sore, in all cases, if the horse is exempt from serv- 

 ice under the s.addle. Continue to apply it daily, with a 

 little mop, always drying it in well with a hot iron, until 

 the cure is completed. 



But it may be the traveler's misfortune, when far away 

 from home, to find that the back of his horse has become 

 badly galled with the saddle, and this in warm weather 

 especially; or perhaps the skin of the back is scalded from 

 the use of a woolen blanket, forming a worse sore than even 

 saddle galls. At any rate, his horse is in no condition to 

 bear the saddle ; yet he must ride the poor creature, or else 

 dispose of him at a sacrifice, and hurry forward by some 

 other mode of conveyance. In such a predicament, the 

 knowledge of some means, either to cure the sore back or 

 to remove pressure from it, when the saddle is being worn, 

 would be not merely of pecuniary benefit, but, to every hu- 

 mane person, it would prove a source of real pleasure. 



Such means we can easily suggest. As soon as the con- 

 dition of the back is discovered, wash the sore with clean, 

 cold w^ater, and, when dry, cover it entirely over with a 

 piece of adhesive plaster. This must first be heated, of 

 course, until the salve with which it is coated has been 

 melted, and it must then be applied as quickly as possible, 

 and pressed down with the hands. The best plan is to carry 

 «ome live coals from the fire, or a hot iron, close to the 

 horse, and there heat the plaster. If the back is greatly 

 swollen, and matter has formed, cut a hole in the center of 

 the plaster, before putting it on, so that the matter can 

 escape readily. 

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