76 PEEPAEATION I'OE PHYSIC. 



third upon the Tuesday, about ten or eleven o'clock in the fore- 

 noon ; after which the horse is to be kept entirely without water 

 and food until six or seven o'clock in the evening, when the 

 purgative is given. In half an hour after its administration, 

 allow the horse as much chilled water as he will drink ; then a 

 good sized mash ; after which he may be bedded down, and left 

 for the night. The morning following, if the purging has not 

 commenced, give at once more lukewarm water, and exercise 

 the horse until it is fuUy established, which is rarely very long, 

 — generally, I may say, within an hour from being taken out of 

 the stable. The bowels being acted upon, place the amimal as 

 speedily as possible within the stable, and let him remain there 

 imtil the purging wholly subsides, which may be facilitated if 

 the horse will drink frequently of chiUed water or warm gruel. 

 The food allowed during the action of the drug may be of the 

 ordinary kind, but the corn given is better if previously boiled. 

 The diet, in short, should consist of chilled water or gruel, or 

 both ; also boiled oats, bran, and hay ; and under no circum- 

 stances of an ordinary character ought the animal to be again 

 exercised, or worked, or taken out of the stable, until the 

 purging ceases, which may be in one or two days after its com- 

 mencement. It is dangerous to exert horses when under the 

 influence of purgative medicine : to do so, may be productive 

 of results of a fatal character. 



The best purgative for horses is Barbadoes Aloes. The 

 quantity necessary for a dose will depend upon circumstances ; 

 such as the susceptibility of the horse to the action of the 

 drug, the genuineness of the aloes, and the time allowed to 

 prepare the bowels for its action. Some horses are far more 

 sensitive to the effects of aloes than others. Washy horses are 

 usually of this nature : instances, however, occur where this 

 kind of horse does not prove so sensitive to the action of pur- 



