OR, HORSE DOCTOR. 57 



dress the place with oil of turpentine, spirits of tar, and 

 common tar. Lay no hot drjang drugs on, unless proud 

 flesh rise. 



Sometimes corns on the heels cause a horse to be lame ; 

 cut them out, and dress tlie place with aquafortis. There is 

 another fault which blacksmiths are guilty of, and which is a 

 great hurt to a horse, that is. cutting or paring the heel down 

 too much. The heel being best to come at, they clap the 

 paring-laiife there and cut them down, when there is no need 

 to take any off them at all. The heels are the greatest sup- 

 port of the horse, and by paring them too thin, botu corns 

 and lameness in the back sinews are produced. 



Before a blacksmith begins to shoe a valuable horse, es- 

 pecially a road-horse, he should examine how he stands and 

 how he goes. If he go low, heavy shoes should be used ; 

 but if he go high, light ones. If he turn his toes out, he 

 will cut with the heel, and if he turn them in, will cut with 

 the spurn. If ho h;) ve a thin, flat foot, he should Jiave broad 

 shoes ; but if a hollow, dished foot, narrow o.ies. If the 

 crust be tlun, and the vein near, small nails shoald be used. 

 Some horses are hoof-bound — that is, have straight heels 

 which pinch the vein between the hoof and the coffin. When 

 this is the case, thin the soles of the feet till the blood springs 

 through, and then put on screw-shoes, and screw the feet out. 

 Let the screw-shoes stay on a fortnight. You may screw the 

 feet out more than half an inch. 



The next thing to be considered is gravel risiag from the 

 bottom to the top of the foot, and breaking out at the cor- 

 net How many twitter-bones have been Ihus formed that 

 might have been prevented ! "When the gravel comes up to 

 the top of the foot, take away the sole at the boitom, and the 

 hoof at the top, and mix equal parts of oil of turpentine and 

 oil of origanum, and bathe the top part of the foot. This 

 will prevent a twitter from forming. 



A Twitter-Bone. 



A Twitter-bone makes a horse very lame, aud not fit for 

 work. It keeps throwing a tough white matter out of what 

 is called a pipe. In order to cure it, first find out where the 

 pipe leads. This you may do with a piece of round lead, the 

 size of a small quill-barrel. Have the following ready, viz. : 

 V^ an oimce of Sublimato, Ln fine powder. 

 1 ounce of Spirits of Salt. 

 Add juice of oue lemon when Sublimate is dissolved. 



Mix all together, and syringe a squirt full into the pipe 

 when you take the lead out j and when yoa draw out the 



