ON PHYSIC. 145 



promotes the operation of the medicine ; and a light 

 dose of physic, of six or seven drachms, given to a 

 horse thus prepared, seldom or ever fails in purging 

 hmi freely the following morning, when he may be 

 walked out, and treated as circumstances may require. 

 Now, although this method of physicking horses may 

 appear to many of my readers as rather resorting to 

 strong measures to get the medicine to act, yet, if the 

 physic is not giv^en too strong, no danger is to be ap- 

 prehended. But notwithstanding this, there is an ob- 

 jection to this mode of physicking a horse; for by 

 producing two such formidable evacuations, imme- 

 diately following each other, I have known them car- 

 ried to such an extent, as now and then materially to 

 affect the constitution. It is true the groom has ob- 

 tained his point. By setting, sweating, and physick- 

 ing, he has brought the horse very light; but from such 

 treatment, (more particularly should the physic have 

 been given a little too strong), a horse becomes too 

 much debilitated ; and were not such horses hearty 

 feeders, they would be a long time recovering their 

 fornier strength : I should therefore recommend grooms 

 not to have recourse to this mode of physicking horses 

 oftener than they can possibly avoid. "*' 



Having thus spoken of the necessity there is of 

 giving physic to craving strong horses, I shall now 

 proceed to point out the advantages obtained from the 

 effects it produces on the constitutions of such horses. 



A horse of the above description may have a dose 

 of physic given him a short period before he runs; it 



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