PHYSIC— CLYSTERS— BACK-RAKING. 447 



with his left hand beneath the jaw, and with his right he forcea 

 the lip of the horn into the side of the mouth, and, raising the 

 small end, pours the contents in. If the horse is violent, a twitch 

 must be placed on the nose, and held by the assistant. The horn 

 must not be passed far into the mouth, or any unnecessary violence 

 used, for fear of producing a cough ; in which case, the hand must 

 be instantly lowered, A neglect of this precaution will probably 

 cause some of the liquid to pass into the larynx. 



CLYSTERS 



Are most valuable agents, if properly administered. The 

 best syringe for the purpose is Read's, by which any quantity may 

 be thrown up ; and in colic, some gallons of warm water are some- 

 times required to produce the desired eflfect. For an ordinary 

 opening clyster, a handful or two of common salt may be dissolved 

 in five or six quarts of warm water. 



BACK-RAKING 



Is EFFECTED by passing the greased hand and arm into the 

 rectum, and withdrawing any hardened faeces which may have 

 accumulated there. When the quantity of these is great, the hand 

 must be passed several times, until it cannot reach any more. 

 Whenever physic is given to an unprepared horse, as is sometimes 

 necessary in severe disease, this precaution should never be 

 neglected. Mr. Gramgee, of Edinburgh, is of opinion that this 

 operation is more safely and easily performed by the aid of instru- 

 ments, supporting his views by the assertion that the introduction 

 of the hand gives unnecessary pain. On one or two occasions I 

 have certainly seen a shoulder of mutton at the end of a human 

 arm, and this would perhaps cause some little difficulty; but no 

 hand of average size is nearly so large as the mass of dung usually 

 passed; and those who are not above doing a dirty job when duty 

 requires it^ well know by experience that the hand and arm may be 

 passed to the shoulder without giving any pain whatsoever. In- 

 struments are useful when they cannot be dispensed with, but they 

 are always liable to cause laceration. 



