399 FISTULOUS WITHERS. 
a 
enjoy the trivial shock of the descent; such movements, however, neces- 
sitate the weight should be leaned upon the crutch and stirrup. This kind 
of exercise is never indulged in by good female riders, as no saddle, 
however well constructed, can resist the constant strain to one side. 
Friction is produced; a bursa is irritated, and the animal will, under 
the best treatment, be rendered useless for a fortnight. Tolling in the 
stalls is also reported to have occasioned this affection; so likewise is 
the heavy hammer of the shoeing smith, intemperately employed to 
chastise the transient movement of an observant horse. 
When first produced, the remedy is certain and easy. <A swelling 
about the size of an egg appears near the withers, upon the off side of 
the body. Go up to the horse upon that side; have with you a keen- 
edged and sharply-pointed knife of pocket dimensions. Stand close to 
the animal; then impale the tumor, and, having the back of the blade 
toward the quadruped, cut quickly upward and outward. Mind, and 
stand very close to the center of the body, as the pain of this trivial 
operation is apt to make the creature 
lash out and prance. At the spot in- 
dicated a person is perfectly safe; 
neither hoof nor leg will touch that 
particular place, or even come near 
it. Rest one hand on the back, and 
by your voice reassure the startled 
creature. 
The swelling being divided, ex- 
change the knife for a lunar caustic 
case; smear over the interior well 
with the cautery, and all the business 
is over. Never, however, attempt to 
THE SLIGHT ENLARGEMENT WHICH, BADLY 
Para ae UN rene ee Tes Mee END pass by the heels of a steed which has 
IN FISTULOUS WITHERS. 
been pained. The animal may sus- 
pect your motives, and the hind feet of the horse are the most powerful 
weapons of offense and of defense. Have the creature backed from the 
stall ere you attempt to quit it. Subsequently keep the wound moist 
with the lotion composed of chloride of zinc—one grain to the ounce 
of water; also have the part covered with a rag, moistened with solu- 
tion of tar. In nine or ten days the incision will have healed, and after 
the lapse of a fortnight the animal may return to its ordinary employ- 
ment. 
Should this remedy be neglected, pus is soon formed within the en- 
largement, and the formation is accompanied by swelling, heat, and 
pain. The horse is useless, and continues thus till the affection is 
