340 HOKSE POBTKAITUBE. 



more exercise. There is a great improvement in the 

 appearanca of his limbs, and they now look as well as 

 though he had gone through the orthodox courses of 

 physic, which would have further weakened the tone of 

 his stomach. The thickening of the integuments can never 

 entirely be got rid of. Firing would be beneficial, but I 

 very much dislike to make a horse undergo the torture of 

 the iron, unless in cases that imperatively demand the 

 application. 



PUPIL. With the recollections of the Injuns and their 

 red-hot iron scrapers so fresh in my mind, I could not 

 bear to see a horse fired. Clipper's legs being so much 

 better than I ever saw them, I am in hopes they will now 

 stand the work. 



PRECEPTOR. Percival, in concluding an essay on the 

 strain of the flexor tendons, after recommending the iron 

 in extreme cases, says : " By the firing-irons have horses, 

 originally worth their hundreds of pounds sterling, been 

 raised from the knacker's price to then: former value. By 

 the iron has many a broken-down hunter, and many a 

 racer, been joyously restored to his station and rank in 

 the field where his proudest laurels have been won." 

 Percival is high authority in everything pertaining to 

 horse surgery, and his opinions are worthy of consideration. 

 Before I would have the operation of firing performed, I 

 would consult the best veterinarian within reach, and only 

 resort to it as the last chance. Thanks to the introduction 

 of chloroform, we can do away with the pain attending the 

 application of the cautery, and whenever a painful operation 

 has to be undergone, the relief it gives should be taken 

 advantage of. If it were necessary, I would rather live on 

 one meal a day for a month, than debar a horse from the 

 benefits of this agent, when undergoing a painful opera- 

 tion. 



We have yet time, before the feeding hour, to see how 



