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CHAPTER XXVri. 



NURSINU. 



THE SICK BOX CLOTHING FBBDINO SICK HORSES LAXATIVE FOOD 



NOURISHING POOD ^WATBR SALT GROOMING EXERCISE. 



THE SICK BOX.— If practicable, the horse should be placed by 

 himself in a loose box, which should be comfortable, scrupulously 

 clean, well bedded down, properly ventilated and "free from 

 draughts. As sick horses are seldom able to feed heartily, they 

 should, as a rule, be kept in a' warm atmosphere, in which the 

 waste of tissue will be less than if the air were cold. Warmth being 

 specially indicated in diseases of the chest and air-passages, great 

 benefit will be obtained, in such cases, if the box is artificially 

 heated by some means which will not vitiate the air. Warmth is 

 also essential for the proper treatment of many ailments, in which, 

 keeping the skin in healthy action is a necessary condition. 

 Again, it is always better to have the horse warm by raising the 

 temperature of the atmosphere of his box, than by clothing, which 

 is apt to fatigue and annoy him. Means should be taken to pre- 

 vent any heating apparatus employed, from rendering the air the 

 animal breathes, too dry. 



Thorough ventilation should be obtained without creating any 

 draughts. This is best done by the plan of ventilating an ordi- 

 nary room by raising the lower sash of the window a few. inches, 

 and closing up the open space below the bottom of the sash by a 

 board. Ventilation will then be obtained between the two sashes 

 without a draught, i.e., without the existence of a direct current 

 of air. 



The foregoing re'marks on ventilation have been made with 

 special reference to temperate and cold climates. In tropical 

 countries, a draughty position would often be preferable to a 

 sheltered one. 



Unless the horse requires to be tied up, or is in slings, he should' 



