376 STABLE MANUAL AND HORSE DOCTOR 



bowels, not only to assist digestion, but also to affect the 

 skin by sympathy : 



Cantharides, finely powdered . 5 grains. 



Pimento ..... 2 drachms. 



Sulphate of iron .... 2 drachms. 



If the horse refuse this powder in his food, it may be 

 made into a ball w^ith treacle, and given for a week or a 

 fortnight. Or a tonic alterative drink may be given. (See 

 Tonics in List.) 



LICE. 



The vicinity of a hen-roost is often the cause of this 

 annoyance. These parasites cannot be destroyed by the 

 same means as those of the horse, which die when anointed 

 with oil or grease, and washed off. When lice occur with 

 hidebound, they generally disappear with the disease. 



LARV^ IN THE SKIN. 



These annoyances are another result of turning an animal 

 out to grass, the fly whence the trouble is derived never 

 entering the stable. The insect rejoices in the freedom of 

 the field ; and man, by turning out his horse, finds the 

 creature a fitting spot for the deposit of its eggs. The 

 warmth of the animal hatches the larvae. No sooner is it 

 endowed with life, than, with the instinct of its kind, it 

 burrows into the skin. The integument of the horse, how- 

 ever thick it may appear, is soon pierced by the active little 

 maggot, which, thus snugly housed, retains its lodging until 

 the following spring. During the winter a small lump 

 denotes its abiding-place ; but as the second summer pro- 

 gresses, a tolerably large abscess is instituted. The interior 

 of the abscess, of course, contains pus. Upon that secretion 

 the insect lives and thrives. 



Such swellings are acutel}^ painful, and prove the sources 

 of much annoyance. They mostly occur upon the back. 

 The saddle cannot be laid on one of these tumours ; and, as 

 the spine supports much of the harness, the proprietor has 

 the vexation of beholding his horse rendered useless ; for 

 suflerins:, should service be o'-tactei-^. ciccasions the creature 



