THE HORSE : ITS KEEP AND MANAGEMENT. 95 



animal is worked the skin comes off and leaves a raw 

 place. When a horse has been standing in the stable 

 for a fortnight or three weeks, no matter what sort of 

 animal it is, the safest way is to rub its shoulders with 

 salt water, which hardens the skin very much. Where 

 the hair and skin have come off nothing will do it more 

 good than washing the place with a little water and 

 fullers' earth. Wipe the wound dry before putting this 

 on. A small piece of goose grease put on the place is a 

 very good remedy, then if a little fullers' earth is 

 sprinkled over the top of that, it causes the skin to 

 harden almost at once. This treatment is good for the 

 cure of almost any sores which may come on horses. 



Many of the animals are lamed through careless 

 shoeing. Farriers often get so accustomed to nailing on 

 the shoes that they occasionally prick the animals. 

 Particular care should be bestowed in shoeing horses 

 which run, even more than on farmers' horses and those 

 which draw heavy loads and only walk. When a horse 

 is being shod it is well not to have too much of the sole 

 of the foot cut away. Some blacksmiths pare it off 

 almost close, but this is wrong. Owners of horses should 

 always take particular care of their animals in this respect, 

 and see that the farrier or blacksmith does not pare its 

 foot down too close. I have seen them cut down so that 

 the blood veins could be seen, and in some instances the 

 feet have bled. Now this is very wrong, because the shoe 

 only covers part of the foot, and although it keeps the 

 latter from the ordinary road or ground, when the 



