BOOK VI. XXX. 1-4 



drink, and then by degrees foods of this kind must be 

 reduced by mixing bran with barley until it be- 

 comes accustomed to a diet of beans and pure barley. 

 The bodies of horses require a daily rubbing down 

 just as much as those of human beings, and often to 

 massage a horse's back with the pressure of the hand 

 does more good than if you were to provide it most 

 generously with food. Chaff ought to be spread on 

 the ground where horses stand. It is also very im- 2 

 portant to maintain the vigour in their bodies and 

 feet ; we shall secure both these objects if we conduct 

 the herd at suitable times to their stable, to their 

 watering-place and to exercise, and if care is taken 

 that they are stabled in a dry place, so that'their hoofs 

 are not wetted. This we shall easily avoid if the 

 stable is floored with boards of hard wood, or if the 

 ground is carefully cleaned from time to time and 

 chaff thrown over it. 



Beasts of burden generally fall ill from fatigue or 3 

 from the heat, and sometimes also from the cold and 

 when they have not passed urine at the proper time, 

 or if they sweat and then drink immediately after 

 having been in violent motion, or when they are 

 suddenly spurred into a gallop after they have 

 stood for a long time. Rest is the cure for 

 fatigue, provided that oil or fat mixed with wine is 

 poured down the throat. For a chill, fomentations 

 are applied, and the loins moistened with heated oil, 

 and the head and spine soaked with tepid fat or 

 ointment. If the animal does not pass urine, the 4 

 remedies are almost the same ; for oil mixed with 

 wine is poured over the flanks and loins, and if this 

 has not produced the desired effect, a small sup- 

 pository made of boiled honey and salt is applied to 



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