28 THE HORSB. 



sponge a little above the affected parts. After the parts are sufficiently 

 bathed, cover them with cloths, woolen being by far the best If you 

 have not the time to bathe properly with hot water, wrap the parts in 

 flannel and wet with hot water. Then be sure to cover well with thick 

 woolen covering over which put rubber cloth to retain the heat. 

 Some pieces of an old rubber coat or gossamer will be found useful. 



Slings. Occasionally it is necessary to put an animal in a sling. 

 The animal seems to dread to lie down, and remains standing until al- 

 most exhausted, which retards the cure. To prepare a sling therefore is 

 sometimes necessary. Take sail-cloth or some other very strong cloth, 

 a piece long enough to reach around the body of the animal, and wide 

 enough to reach from the front legs to the back of the sheath. Prepare 

 two stout sticks two feet longer than the cloth is wide and have them 

 round. About the sticks wind the cloth, one stick at each end and with 

 the cloth, wound around twice; nail very strong; to each stick fasten a 

 a strong rope. This rope should be fastened to each end of the stick 

 which extends beyond the cloth. Now fasten to each rope the block 

 and tackle which have previously been fastened to stout floor timbers 

 overhead and then attaching the same the animal may be raised high 

 enough to rest. Never allow a horse to hang in slings, because press- 

 ure on the chest walls will cause suffocation. 



Bandages. To hold poultices and blisters in place bandages are 

 often necessary. They are not easily held in position but with a small 

 amount of ordinary calculation and plenty of bandages a poultice or blis- 

 ter can be held in any position on the animal. 



Rarey's System of Throwing or Casting. Occasionally a horse 

 having never been treated to any unusual handling, is very difficult to 

 manage. Medicines have to be given and operations performed makino- 

 it often necessary to resort to throwing or casting the horse. The direc- 

 tions given by the veteran horse trainer Rarey have never been improved 

 upon so we give them in full. 



"Everything that we want to teach the horse must be commenced in 

 such way as to give him an idea of what you want him to do, and 

 then be repeated till he learns it perfectly. To make a horse lie down 

 bend his left fore-leg and slip a loop over it, so that he cannot get it down! 

 Then put a surcingle around his body, and fasten one end of a lono- 

 strap around the other foreleg just above the head. Place the other 

 end under the surcingle, so as to to keep the strap in the right direction- 

 take a short hold of it with your right hand; stand on the left side of 



