THE HORSE : ITS KEEP AND MANAGEMENT. 79 



Another thing which people have to guard against is 

 what is commonly called " the thrush." This is a running 

 or discharge of a thick matter from the centre of the foot 

 out of the frog. It cannot always be said what brings it on. 

 Sometimes overfeeding with corn and too little exercise 

 will do it. The discharge is very offensive, and if not 

 attended to spreads over the foot, the centre of the frog 

 always appears as though it were rotten, and it naturally 

 affects the foot very much if it is allowed to grow. Now I 

 always look upon the thrush in a horse's foot as an outlet 

 of Nature, and if it is stopped all at once it will break out 

 somewhere else, or the animal will be ill. I have known 

 cases where horses have become quite blind through the 

 thrush being stopped quickly. It is the same as a sore 

 upon a person's finger or body, there is a certain amount of 

 matter comes from the wound, and so it is with the thrush 

 in horses' feet. A person can always tell when it is coming 

 on, as the foot begins to smell. Both the foot and centre 

 of the frog should be cleaned out once a day with a hook, 

 and sometimes it will be noticed there is moisture on the 

 hook which smells badly : that is the thrush just com- 

 mencing. Now this should not be stopped at once by 

 any means. The dressing should be of that nature so that 

 it does not close up the wound, but has the power to draw 

 the moisture out, and prevent its spreading over the frog 

 when it does come out. When a horse begins to show 

 symptoms of thrush it is well to use simple remedies. I 

 will give one which I have found very useful. Put two table- 

 spoonfuls of chloride of lime with a pint-and-half of water, 

 and if it smells very badly, and the moisture begins to 



