DONKEYS. 121 



of one ounce of the former to one pint of the latter, or Avith 

 a lotion composed of one part creolin, five parts glycerine, and 

 one hundred parts water, should be applied, say, every two 

 hours. Three-quarters of an ounce of bicarbonate of potash, 

 dissolved in the drinking- water, should be administered once 

 a day. The complaint appears in winter, especially in wet and 

 raw weather. The practice of clipping the legs predisposes 

 horses to contract mud-fever, and the same applies to the 

 washing of the legs in winter. The latter practice must, there- 

 fore, be avoided. 



String-halt.. — This comj^laint causes the horse ali'ected 

 by it to lift one hind leg abnormally high when moving, and 

 to flex the hock joint unduly. It is incurable, and usually 

 gets worse with age. It considerably detracts from the market 

 value of a horse. Horses affected with stringhalt may be per- 

 fectly able to do fast work, and can in all cases perform slow- 

 work. 



CHAPTER XXIII. 



DONKEYS. 



Although donkeys are very frugal, and will content them- 

 selves with' comparatively little and rough food, they require 

 to be well fed on suitable food if they are to be kept in lit 

 condition for doing hard work. As is the case with horses and 

 ponies, donkeys must be kept in good working condition by 

 proper feeding, in order to be up to their work, and good work- 

 ing condition can only be maintained by giving a sufficient 

 allowance of corn. 



