302 TRAINING THE TROTTING HORSE. 



her a two-year-old trial of 2:25, and cured the curb into 

 the bargain. 



If the above treatment fails to have the desired 

 effect, the next resource is a regular blister. I have 

 found Gumbaldt's Balsam a very satisfactory blister, 

 and have also had good results from a mixture of lard 

 and red iodide of mercury, in the proportion of seven 

 parts of lard to one part of the iodide of mercury. In 

 applying a liquid blister it is not necessar}^ to clip the 

 hair or grease the leg. The amount of rubbing largely 

 governs the degree of severeness of any blister. To 

 apply the mercury blister I clip the hair, apply the 

 ointment, rubbing it with the palm of the hand for 

 about five minutes, adding more in the meantime as the 

 leo: absorbs it. Then I let it take its course until the 

 scab comes off, and grease the leg, which will preserve 

 the color of the hair. Should this prove ineffective, 

 after every trace of the first blister is gone, I repeat 

 the same treatment. I do not believe, however, in 

 indiscriminate blistering. It is to be resorted to spar- 

 inglv. "Blister and turn out" is a very common 

 recipe, and often a successful one — and in many cases 

 the success is really due to the rest, but is credited to 

 the 'blister. 



Cracked heels are annoyances that every trainer 

 encounters. The causes of this form of trouble are 

 various, and the cures are as numerous as the causes. 

 Sometimes bandaging may cause the eruption; 

 standing in a damp place and failing to properly 

 dry the legs after being washed in a common cause. 

 That cracked heels are sometimes traceable to bad con- 

 dition of the blood is also true, and some horses seem 



