1862.] 
AMERICAN AGRICULTURIST. 
45 
len throat, but these will soon pass off, under 
kind treatment. 
The glanders is one of the worst and most 
fatal of diseases. It is sometimes inherited, and 
at others communicated by contagion. It some¬ 
times comes from bad stable management, es¬ 
pecial^ bad ventilation. Want of regular ex¬ 
ercise, over-work, everything that tends to break 
down the Vitality of the horse tends to induce 
glanders. 
The glanders is quite contageous. As soon as 
it is discovered upon a horse, he should at once 
be put by himself. No other horse should eat 
from his manger, or drink from the same pail, 
or wear his bridle. And, worse than all, the 
owner of the horse sometimes contracts the 
same malady by handling him. 
The only useful remedies are those which will 
build up the general health of the horse. Turn 
him out to pasture. Give him light work. 
Properly managed, a glandered horse will some¬ 
times do moderate service for several years: but 
when the disease is once established, a real and 
permanent cure is not to be expected. 
For the American Agriculturist. 
Horse Coverings and Their Use. 
Some good horse-men blanket their horses all 
the year, while others discard their use. The 
advocates of the former practice claim that 
blanketing imparts a sleek and glossy appear¬ 
ance to the coat, effects a saving of food by 
keeping up the animal heat, protects them from 
flies and dust, making the grooming easier, and 
preventing a sudden check of perspiration,which 
would result in colds or other diseases. Assum¬ 
ing that nature gives the horse sufficient protec¬ 
tion, and that whatever increases* the labor of 
tending him without an equivalent gain is to be 
avoided, too much is claimed. His coat receives 
an additional gloss from the blanketing, but a 
horse in good health, well fed and faithfully 
groomed, wears a coat that needs no polishing. 
All the food saved by blankets, I think, can be 
better estimated upon paper than seen in the 
measure. Were there material gain, it would be 
economy to blanket our cows and oxen. 
Constantly wearing the blanket tends to make 
a horse sensitive, and liable to take colds. When 
a horse brought from a warm stable, is stripped 
of his thick blanket, he undergoes a sudden and 
great change of temperature. Such treatment 
seems harsh, if not cruel, at any rate quite the 
reverse to the course men pursue. When we go 
out in cold weather, we are very careful to put 
on extra garments, and then lay them aside 
while in the house. What would be said of the 
man who advocated wearing overcoats in the 
house, and going in shirt sleeves while out of 
doors. Precisely similar is the practice of al¬ 
ways keeping a blanket on a horse in the stall. 
As with" men, so with horses, the same regi¬ 
men is not applicable in the same degree to all 
classes. For those horses which are used only 
for fast driving, the constant use of the blanket 
may be advisable and practicable, for they stand 
in the stable the greater part of the day, and 
when taken out, they are either heavily blanket¬ 
ed, or their exercise is severe. It is by the own¬ 
ers of this class of horses that the practice is 
most strongly recommended. But for horses of 
all work, out everyday in all kinds of weather, 
warm stalls with plenty of bedding in a warm 
narn are sufficient. Wide cracks between 
boards near the stalls are not approved means 
of ventilation in a New-England climate. A 
barn may be warm and*tight, and at the same 
time well ventilated. The stalls should be upon 
the warm side of the barn, with high and tight 
sides, affording double protection. Influenced 
by such views, some extensive owners and ex¬ 
cellent managers of horses in this vicinity have 
made their stables warmer, thus dispensing 
with the constant use of blankets in doors. 
It is in their occasional use for preventing 
chills and colds, that their real benefit is found. 
Some sort of covering is indispensable for the 
health and comfort of the horse, when he is 
made to stand exposed to cold winds; and when 
he returns to the stable tired and heated, the 
blanket should be worn until he has cooled oft'; 
then remove it, and give him a thorough rubbing 
down. It is important that blankets should be 
of ample dimensions, for while exposed to cold, 
in a heated condition, the muscles of the breast 
and legs need protection as well as the back 
and sides; for this purpose blankets should be 
wide and long enough to pass around and fasten 
under the breast. A light and thin covering in 
fly time saves the horse much torment, and fre¬ 
quently saves the master serious runaways and 
accidents. The india-rubber coverings now be¬ 
coming so common with express-men and oth¬ 
ers, who are obliged to be out in all kinds of 
weather, can not be too highly commended. 
The judicious use of blankets and other cover¬ 
ings in the ways stated, amply repays all ex¬ 
pense and trouble. They prolong the days 
of many a liard-w r orked horse, and save him 
much suffering from stiffened legs and rheumat¬ 
ic muscles. N. S. T. 
Lawrence, Mass. 
Fig. 1. 
New Horse Shoes—Useful for Diseased 
Hoofs, and also for Instant Application 
in the Absence of a Blacksmith. 
We have received from Germany, some ac¬ 
counts of a new form of horse-shoe, which 
would appear to be a very desirable improve¬ 
ment. It is patented in Austria, but, so far 
as we have heard, is free to the public here, 
and we take pleasure in presenting the accom¬ 
panying engravings and description to the 
readers of the American Agriculturist. The shoe 
referred to is one which is applied to the hoof 
without the use of nails, and may be put on or 
taken off in a minute’s time. One or more of 
these shoes can be carried by a person traveling, 
and be applied at once in case of the loss of a 
shoe, without waiting to reach a blacksmith’s 
shop. They are especially adapted for use on 
such hoofs as will not endure the driving of 
nails, owing to disease, external injury, cracks 
or splits, brittleness, tenderness, etc., and are 
particularly adapted to diseases of the sole. 
Description. —In fig. 1, d, e , ^represent the 
shoe proper. Fig. 2 shows the bottom part. The 
outer rim is lighter than in the common shoe, 
and is strengthened by the cross-bars, which 
also serve as a protection to the sole of the foot. 
There may or may not be corks at the front and 
rear points. On the front and at the two sides 
small flat hooks are placed, which turn out¬ 
wards. A strong India rubber ring or belt, (fig. 
1, a , 6), l inch broad, and i inch thick, is drawn 
over the hoof, and into the hooks extending up 
from the shoe. As the upper part of the hoof 
is smaller, the tendency of the rubber ring will 
be to slip up, and thus hold the shoe on firmly. 
To adapt the shoe to hoofs of various forms, flat 
or receding, as well as upright, the front hook, 
at g, is made with a joint. To put on or remove 
the shoe, it is only necessary to stretch the rub¬ 
ber ring sufficiently to pass it over the bottom. 
For very tender, diseased hoofs, care is needed 
not to make the rubber ring so small in diame¬ 
ter, or so heavy, as to pinch the hoof too strongly. 
As shown in our engraving, the side hooks pro¬ 
ject so as to endanger interfering. Any ingeni¬ 
ous blacksmith can avoid this difficulty. 
Look to the Sheepfold. 
Sheep will not wholly take care of themselves, 
accommodating as they are in this lespect. 
Lambs need special attention. In the month of 
September, they should be separated from their 
dams, and put into the best pasture the farm 
affords; perhaps a few old and feeble sheep 
may go with them. The design of this is to 
bring them into the wintry season fat and hearty. 
If under-fed in autumn, they become weak and 
before winter is over, many will sicken and die. 
When brought into the sheep yard early in 
Winter, they should have, not only a daily ra¬ 
tion of good hay, but a little grain or oil-meal 
beside. Of course they should have good sheds 
into which they can retreat in stormy weather, 
and where they can lie at night. 
In December, let the bucks and ewes be put 
together. If it is desired to increase several dis¬ 
tinct breeds, divide the. ewe's into as many sep¬ 
arate lots, and put them into separate pens or 
yards, with a select buck in each. They will 
all be served in three or four weeks. 
The custom of some farmers to neglect provid¬ 
ing good fresh water for sheep, is not commend¬ 
able. They can, indeed, melt snow in their 
stomachs, and so can all animals if compelled 
to do so, but good, clean water would be better. 
By all means, look well to the sheepfold, and 
especially now, when the high price of woo 
makes this kind of stock unusually valuable. 
