MEDICAL ATTENDANCE. 367 



are too tight, they stop the circulation of blood, cut the skin, 

 and swell the leg. 



Blistering. — Blistering plasters are never applied to horses 

 We always use an ointment, of which rather more than a half 

 is well rubbed into the part to be blistered, while the remain- 

 der is thinly and equally spread over the part that has been 

 rubbed. When there is any danger of the ointment running 

 and acting upon places that should not be blistered, they must 

 be covered with a stiff ointment made of hog's lard and bees- 

 wax. 



The bedding is to be removed when the leg s blistered. 

 To prevent the horse from slipping upon the stones, they may 

 be covered with a little short litter, sawdust, or bark. 



The horse's head must be secured in such a way that he 

 can not reach the blister with his teeth. Put him into a nar- 

 row stall, and tie his head firmly to the rack. When a hind- 

 leg is blistered, fasten a small bundle of straw to each heel- 

 post : place it high up, opposite the haunch. It keeps the 

 legs off the posts, against which the horse is very apt to rub 

 them. 



When the blister has become quite dry, the head may in 

 general be freed, and the horse let down. But sometimes it 

 remains itchy after it is dry, and the horse rubs it. In that 

 case he must be tied up again. If he get very tired, and 

 threaten to go down on his haunches, put the beads on his 

 neck, let go the head, give a good bed, and let the horse rest 

 all day, a man watching him, if the beads are not sufficient to 

 keep away the teeth. At night he may again be tied up, if 

 there be any fear of his rubbing the blister. 



When the blister is quite dry, put some sweet oil on it, and 

 repeat it every second day. Without orders from the veteri- 

 narian, the blister is not to be washed off, either soon or late. 

 Give it plenty of oil and time, and it will fall off as the new 

 hair grows. By washing, the raw skin is often exposed, the 

 hair torn out, and the horse blemished. 



Medical Attendance. 



The people who know, or pretend to know, anything about 

 the diseases of horses, may be divided into three classes : — 



Owners and their stablemen form one class. They stand 

 at the bottom of the list, having just sufficient knowledge to 

 prove they have any ; that little varies ; but in general it goes 

 no further than to name a few common drugs, and a few com- 



