308 ROAD, TRACK, AND STABLE. 
nine times out of ten it would be slurred. Windgalls 
occur far more frequently in hot weather than in cold 
weather, and by way of preventing or reducing them 
I think it well to wash the horse’s legs on very hot 
days, provided that he is perfectly cool at the time. 
But no matter how muddy the going may be, the 
legs ought uot to be washed on that account. My 
method is to brush off so much of the mud as will 
come off, and then to have the legs bandaged, but not 
tightly, with flannel or woollen bandages, to be left 
on, usually half an hour or more, till the hair is per- 
fectly dry. Then they are taken off, and the legs 
brushed and rubbed clean.!’ Care should be taken to 
have the bandages come down low, so as to cover 
the hollow place back of the fetlock joint where 
“scratches” appear. If this method be pursued, 
and if plenty of vaseline be used on the heels, and 
in the spot just mentioned, reinforced occasionally 
by glycerine, say once a week, scratches and mud 
fever can be avoided absolutely. 
From the legs of the horse, it is a natural transi- 
tion to 
Tue Foor. 
Extreme dryness and extreme moisture are the chief 
enemies of the equine foot, and they both produce 
thrush, which is a kind of white decay, indicated by a 
peculiar and offensive odor. Commonly it attacks the 
frog, and sometimes the sole of the foot. If taken 
in hand early, it can be cured by the application of 
common salt saturated with petroleum; and the most 
severe case will yield to a solution of blue vitriol and 
1 This is the plan recommended by Major Fisher. 
