Mr. Newman, the postmaster in Regent-street, has no racks in his stable; but his horses, at stated periods, eat chaff and oats mixed together: he gives them no hay. This method of feeding horses is found economical and healthy. A friend of mine feeds all his farm horses as he does his oxen and pigs, upon Indian corn, oil cake, chaff, and bruised beans boiled up together. He never gives them any oats, and no horses in the kingdom look in finer condition.
Sudorific Process.—This is the same for horses as for men; and is often sufficient to effect a cure, as the greatest part of the diseases of horses proceed from suppressed perspiration. In a general way packing-sheets and consequent ablutions will effect all that may be necessary to cure a horse or a cow of an acute attack, but instances as in man, may occur, when sweating would be desirable.
To produce perspiration in a horse the same objection to the use of hot-air or vapour baths, exists as in the treatment or man; but as the animal’s skin and nervous system is less excitable, it does not apply to the same extent.
To sweat a horse, that is to bring out of his system a certain amount of caloric. Throw many pails of water over him, let his body be rubbed with wet whisps for from five to twenty minutes, and then rubbed dry. Next envelope him from head to foot in blankets, and over them throw a Macintosh cover. This might be made to be put on with very little trouble. After the horse has perspired, for an hour or two he must have a cold bath or undergo the process of water being thrown over him, of being wet, whisped, and dried as before. And the whole should be renewed a second time during the day. Or varied by the packing sheet.
External use of Cold Water.—Friction with coarse wet cloths or whisps, packing-sheets, sweating, entire-baths, hip-baths, foot-baths, douche-baths, and bandages, constitute all the external treatment requisite for a horse. Friction by rubbing the body of the animal for some hours with coarse cloths, and whisps of wetted straw, is an operation of great efficacy in bringing out stagnant humours, reanimating half paralysed limbs, and in strengthening the joints. The douche, where no other can be had, is applied by means of a fire-engine. The baths have the property of giving a tone to the skin and the nerves. The bandages for the horse are the same as those used for man; they are of two sorts, heating and cooling.
Internal use of Cold Water.—There are two ways of applying cold water internally, viz.: drinks and injections into the cavities; but ablutions long continued and often repeated form the most important part of the treatment.
The Strangles.—This disease is cured by the wet sheet packing, or the sudorific process, cold-ablution bandages and exercise.
It is much better, by either of these processes, to draw the humours to the skin, which they undoubtedly will, than to throw them on the lungs, whence they escape by the nostrils, a means of evacuation chosen by nature. The natural course being impeded, open the pores of the cutaneous organs, and the running at the nostrils will cease.
Foundering of horses.—Friction, the wet-sheet or sudorific process, the douche and foot-baths, are here brought into requisition.
The Staggers.—Bleeding procures a temporary relief, but does not remove the cause of this complaint, which arises from a stoppage of perspiration, and consequent inertness of the skin. The humours which ought to be eliminated by perspiration mix with and thicken the blood; this causes a general stagnation which frequently affects the brain. This, it is conceived, must be a solution of this malady, because in the beginning one single friction, powerfully applied, affords immediate relief.