PHYSICING.
A horse should be carefully prepared for the action of physic. Two or three bran mashes given on that or the preceding day, which should be continued until the dung becomes softened, as a less quantity of physic will then suffice. On the day which the physic is given, the horse should have walking exercise, or may be gently trotted for a quarter of an hour twice in the day; but after the physic begins to work, he should not be moved from his stall. A little hay may be put in the rack, and as much mash given as the horse will eat, and as much water as he will drink with the coldness off. Aloes is the best purgative, for there is no other that is at once so sure and safe—the dose is from ½ to 1 ounce, if the horse is properly prepared. The only other purgative on which dependence can be placed is the croton; the dose varies from 1 scruple to ½ a drachm. Linseed oil is an uncertain but safe purgative, in doses from a pint to a pint and a half. Epsom salts are an inefficacious remedy except in the immense dose of a pound and a half, and then they are not always safe.