426 
ON THE MANAGEMENT OF THE FARM HORSE. 
argues in favour of clipping. However, I must now break off the 
subject, fearing I have occupied too much space concerning it 
already. 
Medicinal Agents and Dietetics. 
A long detail of the causes and symptoms of disease, with the 
treatment, is not required in this Essay. I shall, therefore, men¬ 
tion only those that come more directly^ under the cognizance of 
the carter or wagoner, and which belong to the management of 
the horse when in the stable. Manv valuable horses are annuallv 
V V 
lost from the want of a little tact on the part of the horseman. In 
cases of sudden illness, how indispensable is it that a carter or 
ploughman should be able to bleed. It is not in all places or at all 
times the aid of a veterinary surgeon can be obtained. The life of 
many a valuable horse has been saved through my instrumentality in 
recommending the owners of teams to supply their men with fleams. 
The abstraction of blood, as soon as possible, when any acute or 
sudden disease comes on, is the sheet-anchor. The administration 
of medicine, and the application of local remedies, should also be 
understood In the giving of drinks, the head must not be held up 
too high, nor the tongue so pulled out of the mouth and so firmly 
held with the hand as is usualty done. It must be recollected that 
the tongue is an organ required for swallowing. Many horses I have 
known to be killed by reckless and slovenly drenching, more espe¬ 
cially when debility has existed. In the giving of balls, the hand or 
the balling iron should alone be used. Some, who are not dexterous 
in giving a ball, through fear of being bit or having their hand 
injured, place it on a stick and thrust it back over the tongue : 
such practice is dangerous: I have known horses destroyed by it, 
the stick having passed into the larynx, and, laceration of the parts 
being the consequence, death has ensued. 
Cataplasms or Poultices. 
In their application two things are very necessary to be attended 
to; viz., not making them too thick, and, when applied, keeping 
them constantly moist with warm water : if allowed to get dry, they 
do no good. Equal parts of linseed meal and bran form a good 
poultice for common purposes. In grease or cracked heels, or in 
wounds having a fetid smell, a solution of the chloride of lime or 
powdered charcoal should be added as a corrective. In lesions 
arising from picking up a nail, or from a prick in shoeing, after 
the part is well pared down, linseed meal, made into a paste and 
applied as a stopping, is very beneficial. Poultices soon turn sour, 
