202 THROUGH STABLE AND SADDLE-ROOM. 



It is a wise plan to give every horse a bran- 

 mash once a week ; Saturday night seems the best, 

 and is the general time for giving: it. It is a laxa- 

 tive, and saves many a dose of physic. It is a plan 

 always adopted in cavalry regiments. A bran- 

 mash may be either made cold or hot. The latter 

 is best made thus : Put the required quantity of 

 bran into a stable-rubber and tie it up, and then let 

 it steep for a short time in a bucket filled with 

 enough boiling water to be absorbed by the bran. 

 Wring the water out of the mash by twisting the 

 neck of the rubber. Open the rubber and spread 

 it out, so as to allow the mash to cool a little before 

 giving. 



A bran poultice may be made in the same way. 

 I have described how to cook linseed as a mash. 

 Bran-mash may be, if desired, mixed up with the 

 linseed -mash. 



Linseed-meal is used for poultices, and requires to 

 be mixed with hot water. To make it properly, 

 the boiling water should be poured into a vessel, as 

 much of it as may be considered requisite for the 

 purpose, and the linseed-meal gradually added to 

 the water, and stirred round and round the same 

 way until the poultice is of the required con- 

 sistency. 



Many horses will eat a linseed-mash and will not 



