590 



CHAPTER XXVI. 



Nursing. 



the sick box clothing feeding sick horses laxative food 



nourishing food water — salt grooming exercise. 



THE SICK BOX. — If ijracticable, the horse should be placed by 

 himself in a loose box, which should be comfortable, scrupulously 

 clean, well bedded down, properly ventilated and free from draughts. 

 As sick horses are seldom able to feed heartily, they shoidd, as a 

 rule, be kept in a warm atmosphere, in which the waste of tissue will 

 be less than if the air were cold. Warmth being specially indicated 

 in diseases of the chest and air-passages, great benefit will be ob- 

 tained, in such cases, if the box is artificially heated by some means 

 which will not vitiate the air. Waxmth is also essential for the 

 proper treatment of many ailments, in which, keeping the skin in 

 healthy action is a necessary condition. Again, it is always better 

 to have the horse warm by raising the temperature of the atmos- 

 phere of his box, than by clothing, which is apt to fatigue and annoy 

 him. Means should be taken to prevent any heating apparatus em- 

 l^loyed, from rendering the air which the animal breathes, too dry. 



Thorough ventilation should be obtained without creating any 

 draughts. This is best done according to the principle advocated 

 by Parkes, and exemplified by the plan of ventilating an ordinary 

 room by raising the lower sash of the window a few inches, and 

 closing up the open space below the bottom of the sash by a board. 

 Ventilation will then be obtained between the two sashes without a 

 draught, i.e., without the existence of a direct current of air. 



The foregoing remarks on ventilation have been made with special 

 reference to temperate and cold climates. In tropical countries, a 

 draughty position would often be preferable to a sheltered one. 



Unless the horse requires to be tied up, or is in slings, he should 

 be kept, as a rule, in a loose box, so that he may lie down, or move 

 about as he chooses. 



