24 HORSES AND HOUNDS. 



If pulled up; or prevented taking liis fences in his accustomed 

 manner, lie will go at them sideways or any way, and a fearful 

 fall to his rider wall be the consequence. The Irish are generally 

 the best fencers, and for this reason, that they are broken to 

 take their leaps in a standing position. There are some, many 

 men I may say, who like to go fast at their leaps, being too 

 nervous to take them coolly ; and I have known many good and 

 hard riders with hounds, who cut very awkward figures without 

 this excitement. 



Great attention is required in having young horses properly 

 shod. The shoe should be neither so brittle as to break, nor so 

 soft as to bend ; the size and width of it must depend in some 

 measure upon the country. If a flinty one, strong and wide 

 shoes will be necessary ; if, on the contrary, a stone brash,^ or 

 sandy soil, a much lighter one will suffice. Yov ng horses, which 

 have a long stride, and are inclined to overreach, should be shod 

 short at the heel on the fore foot, and short aho on the toe of 

 the hind one ; the inside of the shoe should also be bevelled off. 

 Overreaches are sometimes very difficult to heal, and will throw 

 a horse out of work for a week or ten days. The grist and dirt 

 should bo first well washed off with warm water until the wound 

 is quite clean, Fryar s balsam should then be applied with a 

 linen bandage, and if bound up when fresh done, the wound 

 will probably heal at once without further trouble ; but should 

 it not be thoroughly cleansed before the bc;n;lage is applied, it 

 will not heal, and poultices will have afterw^ards to be made use 

 of. Proud flesh will then arise, which can be reduced, if exces- 

 sive, by being touched with caustic, or, in slight cases, a little 

 white sugar powdered and alum will be sufficient. The first and 

 grand remedy in all cases of strains and injuries, of almost any 

 kind, is the most simple— hot water. This should be freely ap- 

 plied, and if persevered in long enough, the most violent strains 

 or bruises will yield to this application alone. Injuries to the 

 hock joint are the most serious of all, and very often terminate 

 fatally, if not judiciously treated at first. Should the joint oil 

 escape, inflammation will often set in, and baffle the skill of the 

 most clever veterinary surgeon. For a broken leg there is sel- 

 dom any better remedy than a leaden ball,* although instances 

 have been known of a fracture being successfully reduced. A 

 fore leg may be set with a great deal of trouble, but there are so 

 many chances against its properly joining, that it is scarcely 

 worth the experiment. With the hind leg the case is hopeless. 



* To this I demur, liaA-ing seen several instances, in whicli the fracture has 

 been reduced, and the horse become active and useful for hack work. 



