2 70 COMPENDIUM OF THE VET£R1NAIIY ART. ' 



giyeiiim a very mild pargative, sucii as No. 1 

 (See Physic)-^ not ihat 1 am convinced of its 

 being absolutely necessary, but because it 

 cannot do any harm; and if the horse have 

 been fed too liuerally, i^r not exercised suf- 

 ficiently — or should the stomach and bowels 

 be out of order, or have anv woruis in them — 

 a mild purgative will be of great service. It 

 is on this ground that 1 always recommend 

 two or three doses of mild physic during the 

 time a horse is s^ettinq- into condition : but I 

 have seen so many instances of the injurious 

 effects of the strong physic recommended in 

 many books of farriery, and commonly given 

 by grooms, that I think it neocssary to advise 

 the reader never to suffer his groom or smith 

 to prepare or prescribe a dose of purging me- 

 dicine. That such strong doses are often 

 sriven without anv immediate bad effect, is no 

 proof of their innocence, still less of their uti- 

 lity. I can truly assert, that I have seen 

 many horses quickly destroyed by strong phy- 

 sic_, and a great number that have never per- 

 fectly recovered from the debility it occa- 

 sions *. 



* A valuable blood-colt was attacked with colic, which ap- 

 peared to be of Uie flatulent kind, and, though violent, not 



