Every Man His Own Doctor / The Cold Water, Tepid Water, and Friction-Cure, as Applicable to Every Disease to Which the Human Frame Is Subject, and Also to the Cure of Disease in Horses and Cattle

by R. T. Claridge

“I am, Dear Sir, your obedient servant,
[“]Thomas B. Martin.

[“]July 14, 1843.[”]

It is possible that the omission of any reference to the mortality under the old treatment, as stated verbally to me, may have arisen from motives of delicacy towards those who recommended a perseverance in that treatment.

It would be easy to multiply instances of the effect of the application of the cold-water cure, but as the limits to which the author intends to confine himself, at present preclude their accumulation, he must be content with those proofs of its efficacy already cited, and proceed to the subject of treatment.

An opinion is held by many inexperienced persons that disease in a horse is a perpetual disqualification; that the physical evil is irradicable, destroying the animal’s title to a future warranty, and rendering him only fit for the paddock or the knacker’s yard. Such notions are as great an outrage upon the usefulness of veterinarianism as they are contradictory to all experience. The late Sir Astley Cooper, one of the most eminent surgeons that ever dignified the profession by his talents, was said to have taken a peculiar pleasure in purchasing horses which their owners had condemned, and applying himself to the cure of such maladies as they might be afflicted with, then putting them into condition and selling them. He never, for many years before his demise, gave more than seven pounds for a horse, and has been known to sell them afterwards for considerable sums. When the horse is well-bred, and his wind is unimpaired, however reduced he may be, and suffering from enlarged joints and tender feet, he is still susceptible of cure; and no system is so conducive to this end as the hydropathic process. Indeed, the writer of these pages is quite satisfied that an Establishment devoted entirely to the invigoration of worn-down animals, and the complete cure of the diseased, would demonstrate the utility of hydropathy, and prove a most lucrative undertaking.

Without further preamble we proceed to details.

Ventilation.—The introduction of fresh air, day and night, into stables, is of primary importance. Stables should be lofty, and ventilated from the top.

Many years ago, Mr. Horne, the coach-proprietor of Charing Cross, lost nearly half his horses from glanders. He called in a new veterinary surgeon, who instantly broke most of the windows in the close fœtid stable. “If,” said he, “the stable is cold, cover the horses better, but let them have fresh air.” By this means the stable was rendered wholesome, and the horses that were afterwards put into it continued healthy. All horses would be the better for standing in water occasionally. All hunting establishments should have a box with a clay floor, into which water could be introduced, so that a horse might have a foot bath every day, especially when the feet are hard and dry.

Food and Exercise.—The arguments made use of against highly nutritive food, and the necessity for exposure to cold and exercise for man apply with equal cogency to animals.