85 



\ious cold having ^veakeiied the parts, the warmtli is 

 only a temptation, or a drawing of the blood and 

 juices to that part; and the limbs hence suell, and 

 grease follows. Does a horse work violently, and 

 yet gets but little food, he falls into a state of debi- 

 lity ; that is, he becomes thin and weak. Now his 

 weakness is general and universal ; but those parts 

 the farthest from the source of life, from the spring 

 of the whole, and the fountain of animal warmth, — 

 A\hicli source, spring, and fountain, is the heart; — 

 the parts, as I have said, that are the farthest re- 

 moved from this, which are the hind legs, will, it is 

 evident, suffer the most ; and hence the blood accu- 

 mulates in them, the parts not having strength to pro- 

 pel their contents ; and from this accumulation cracks 

 take place, and grease follows. Standing in wet litter 

 may bring it on ; and the obliquity of the stall, like- 

 wise, by weakening the parts. A very common cause 

 of it is the washing horses' legs without rubbing them 

 dry. This is a most common but a most erroneous 

 practice. The moisture becomes a continual poultice, 

 and hence brings on a determination of iluids to those 

 parts. 



Grease, it may be gained from this, may be the efiect 

 of too full condition, or it may be occasioned by too 

 little ; that is, by weakness. It therefore becomes 

 essentially necessary, whenever a case of grease oc- 

 curs, to consider whether it is brouglit on by the 

 exertion being greater than the support, or the sup- 

 port greater than the exertion ; for, in the one case, 

 we must feed the horse hberaily, and lessen his work ; 

 but, in the other, v^e must diminish his food, and in- 

 crease his exercise. 



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