HORSES AND HOUNDS. 57 



themselves in this manner, and therefore are to be avoided. 

 When a young man, at Oxford, and not fully initiated into the 

 secrets of the jockey art, I got a most surprising fall from a big, 

 lumbering brute, with large feet, which I rode a mile or two on 

 the road by way of trial. Trotting him pretty briskly along to 

 try his paces, he came down on a sudden, without the least trip 

 or peck, as a hint of his intention, and gave me such a rattler 

 that I have not forgotten it to this hour. I have had a pretty 

 good loek out for speedy cuts ever since, having received a few 

 cuts about the face and knees upon this occasion. But the 

 worst part of the business was to follow. The brute broke his 

 knees, as well as mine, fearfully, and I was obliged to buy him, 

 as his owner, a very knowing old scoundrel, insisted it was all 

 my fault. For a month nearly he was laid up in the stable, and 

 I was glad to find a purchaser at any price, rather than ride him 

 again. 



Broken knees, however, are not always caused by faults in the 

 legs, feet, or action of a horse. In turning corners on slippery, 

 or hilly ground, in frosty weather, greasy roads, pavement, wood 

 pavement particularly (such is my horror and abomination), the 

 cleanest steppers may sometimes turn up, and no blame to 

 them. During frosty weather, horses' shoes should always be 

 roughed, as the term is, and when they have to travel much 

 over stones. In our hunting country, some parts of which are 

 very hilly, my horse's shoes were always either turned up or 

 grooved at the heel. A small steel point is best, as the grooves 

 soon fill up. Many accidents were avoided by this plan, as it 

 gave the horses a better purchase when going down hill at their 

 fences. The treatment required for broken knees is simple 

 enough when the skin is only abraded. Wash the part well 

 with warm water until all dirt or grit is removed, and then ap- 

 ply a linen bandage with tincture of myrrh and brandy mixed 

 in equal proportions for twenty-four hours. A salve composed 

 of lard and finely-powdered charcoal will be found sufficient 

 afterwards. Should there be any deep cuts, however, different 

 treatment will be necessary, or the horse may be lamed, or dis- 

 figured for life. In bad cases, professional aid should be called 

 in. Splints, or small excrescences on the bone under the knee, 

 are also another cause of lameness, particularly when situated 

 near the sinew, and the pain caused by striking them will occa- 

 sion the horse to fall. The best application for these is mercu- 

 rial ointment, to be rubbed in twice a day with the finger, not 

 smeared all over the leg, but carefully confined to the excre- 

 scence alone. They may be dispersed also by blister ointment. 



