320 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
[August, 
road work until the nail holes have all worn 
off, as well as that part of the horn split and 
weakened by them. Then much severer 
work may be demanded, and the feet will 
show no tenderness ; but it is different with 
different horses, some have much harder feet 
than others. With many it is essential to 
shoe with toe-clips if used at all upon the 
road. One can never tell whether his horse’s 
feet are tough or tender until he lias thor¬ 
oughly tested them after the "damaged por¬ 
tions of the hoof are removed, or worn away, 
and this very often takes several weeks. 
Keeping One Horse. 
[SECOND PRIZE ESSAT. BY T. L. NEV1LL, ST. JOHNS, 
NEWFOUNDLAND.] 
[ Conclusion .] 
It has already been mentioned that the 
diseases of horses are very numerous: and 
some that are scarcely to be distinguished 
the one from another, even by a skillful Vet¬ 
erinarian. It is therefore scarcely wise for a 
tyro to try doctoring. If veterinary aid is at 
hand, obtain it in the earliest stages of sick¬ 
ness ; do not grudge the cost, it may save a 
horse’s life. If not procurable, then trust 
Nature, aiding her by good nursing. Nature 
should have the credit of many cures effected 
by her in spite of drugs, and for which they 
receive the praise. 
Of course it is a very trying thing to see 
an animal suffering, and most provocative of 
attempts at doctoring, which, if tried, will 
ten to one, be in the wrong direction—there¬ 
fore have patience and faith. 
The severer forms of lameness are beyond 
the reach of successful amateur treatment, 
which should be confined to simple matters 
of occasional occurrence in the best regulated 
stables, though often the result and evidence 
of negligence, such as cracked heels, harness 
galls, and hurts resulting from neglect of the 
feet in shoeing. 
The constitutional treatment for cracked 
heels or scratches has already been indicated. 
The local treatment consists of dressing the 
parts with Acetate (Sugar) of Lead Ointment 
at night, and with Glycerine, Goose Grease, 
or other softening agent in the morning, to 
prevent any cracking when the horse goes 
to work. This greasy application should be 
renewed during the day, often enough to 
prevent the possibility of cracking. These 
applications should be thoroughly washed off 
occasionally, with warm, soft water, and a 
good lather of soap ; the parts being thor¬ 
oughly dried before any further application 
of ointment. Scratches are usually caused 
by horses standing in the cold when the heels 
are wet, or by the practice of washing and 
leaving them to dry by evaporation. Un¬ 
washed, and untrimmed horses are less liable 
to them than those from whose legs and 
heels the hair has been closely cut. Some 
low-bred animals are constitutionally liable 
to them. A neglected case may run into 
grease, a serious form, requiring skilled treat¬ 
ment. In scratches, especially, an ounce of 
prevention is worth far more than a pound 
of cure, as then, to Hibemicise, we should 
not have them. 
It is also better to prevent harness galls 
than to have to cure them ; but sometimes 
they will occur, in spite of attention to the 
fit of the harness, and care in leaving it on a 
short time after work is done. When there 
is much inflammation, the parts should be 
well bathed with warm water, and after¬ 
wards washed with one drachm of the Tinc¬ 
ture of Arnica to half a pint of water. Wash¬ 
ing with common salt and water is useful. 
In bad cases a weak solution of Blue Stone 
in water may be required. If a horse must 
go to work with an uncured gall, let the har¬ 
ness be adjusted so that it will not be 
touched. If on the back, from the pad, alter 
the stuffing ; to throw the points of contact 
in a fresh place, either by cutting out the 
offending part, or by the addition of new 
material raise the pad above the hurt. On a 
journey, and to prevent further mischief, a 
sore spot may be eased by cutting a slit in 
the lining, and stuffing in even hay or moss. 
A handkerchief, a stocking, or anything at 
hand may be put as a bandage round the 
collar above or below a hurt, to take off the 
pressure upon it, and kept in place by the 
hames. Of course these are only temporary 
expedients of the road, the harness being 
made to fit properly at the first opportunity. 
An alteration of the position of the point of 
attachment of the trace tugs to the hames, 
either by raising or lowering them, will fre¬ 
quently make the difference between the 
collar hurting the shoulder or being safe; that 
is, the point in question wants adjustment to 
the time line of draught. The collar must 
be thick enough to throw the trace tugs 
clear of the sides of the shoulders. Some 
animals gall very readily about the elbows 
and the breast by the belly band. This may 
be obviated entirely by buckling the band at¬ 
tached to the shaft tug quite loosely, and 
having a separate one secured to the shafts 
further back. If a horse’s shoulders continue 
obstinately sore, the use of the collar must 
be abandoned for a time, and a breast band 
used instead. 
AVhen a horse is wounded, as when the 
knees are cut by a fall; the first thing to do 
is to remove all dirt or grit by careful fomen¬ 
tation with warm water. A slight wound 
may be then closed and dressed with sperma¬ 
ceti or lard, to keep it soft. In the treatment 
of serious wounds, surgical skill is required; 
but if it is not available, attention should at 
once be paid to cleanse them thoroughly be¬ 
fore attempting to close them. Sometimes 
stitches are required. A little soft cotton 
batting can be obtained in most places to put 
immediately over the closed wound ; where 
it must be secured by careful bandaging. The 
wounded horse should be put on low diet, 
and it may be necessary to bleed and physic 
him to prevent inflammation. The pal a will 
usually prevent any attempt at laying down, 
but it is better to make sure by tying him up 
short. If there should be any excessive 
growth about a wound, Blue Stone, or Lunar 
Caustic will have to be applied. Swelled legs 
are an inconvenient result, sometimes of 
idleness; though idle horses in loose boxes, 
from the amount of movement permitted 
them, suffer less than when tied in stalls. 
If the swelling comes on suddenly in the 
hind legs, or one hind leg, it shows consti¬ 
tutional disturbance requiring treatment 
with low diet and mashes; but if not of this 
severe character, a little walking exercise will 
reduce it. If there is weakness, a drachm 
of Sulphate of Iron may be given twice a 
day in the com. 
When a horse strikes one leg with the foot 
of another, he is said to cut or brush. The 
cure may frequently be through the manger. 
An improvement in condition acts in two 
ways; by increasing strength and by filling 
out the body, so that the legs will really be 
farther apart. Sometimes it is the result of 
an animal’s formation, which care in shoeing 
may mitigate, perhaps prevent. When the 
leg is injured by cutting, of course it swells, 
and while that swelling remains, it is still 
more exposed to injury than before. Rest is 
the best aid to treatment; but if work must 
be done, a bandage to protect the part should 
be applied. If worn for any length of time, 
the ties of bandages are apt to cut the skin. 
A piece of rubber about 3 | ,-inch diameter, or 
a piece of rubber tubing secured round the 
offending foot, can be worn without risk of 
injury. It will fend the foot off the tender 
spot, and by its elasticity prevent damage. 
Very often the clinches of the nails, when 
they rise after a shoe has been worn for a 
time, are the cause of cutting. Sometimes 
only one clinch will touch. That nail should 
at once be taken out and be omitted in future 
slroeings. 
If an animal, not in the habit of cutting, 
should begin to do so, he should be carefully 
examined, as it may be the first indication 
of an approaching serious lameness, par¬ 
ticularly spavin. 
“ Speedy cut,” as striking below the knee 
by the opposite foot is called, is very danger¬ 
ous, as it will sometimes knock a horse as 
completely off its pins as if he were shot. 
Careful shoeing occasionally obviates Speedy 
Cut, but if not successful, and the animal 
liable to it has to be driven fast, he will have 
to wear a boot specially made for the pur¬ 
pose. The rubber ring previously mentioned 
may be tried, and perhaps with benefit. 
Safety and comfort in using the horse 
depends largely on the way in which it 
is shod. Shoes at the best are but neces¬ 
sary evils. If the animals could be worked 
without them, cases of lameness would be 
far fewer. Probably ringbone, corns, con¬ 
tracted feet, cutting, over-reach, and many 
others would be unknown. Our hard roads 
rendering the use of shoes necessary, the best 
form available must be adopted. Horse 
users cannot do the work themselves, though 
they may have (of think so), very clear light 
on the subject. Frequently a “set,” pre¬ 
judiced village smith is the only one avail¬ 
able. Endeavour to get him to put the shoe?; 
on as even as possible, and of the natural 
shape of the foot, taking care that they are 
seated by the knife, and not by burning, not 
to pare the frog, and to put the inside nail as 
near the toe as possible. The shoes should 
be long enough to protect the heel, and open 
enough not to confine the frog. Shoes of the 
Goodenough type, that is, those that are em¬ 
bedded in the foot, and made to all intents 
and purposes a part of it, instead of a mere 
attachment to the surface, like an ordinary 
shoe, have much to recommend them. The 
natural, renewing powers of the foot are 
made use of, and the frog brought in contact 
with the ground, enabling it to perform its 
proper functions of an elastic cushion, lessen¬ 
ing concussion. Wear, if not excessive, re¬ 
moves and renews frog and sole, strengthen¬ 
ing the parts. 
The chief objection to the use of a special 
shoe, is the difficulty of getting it renewed 
in out of the way places ; but under any 
circumstances employ the best shoeing smith 
within reach. Some horses will go lame if 
their shoes remain on over a fortnight, and 
