This is also caused by standing on the dry stable for some days. In this case, the hoof should be stopped with fresh cow-manure and clay, or with a thick felt, soaked in water, and cut to suit the foot. This is also a good application over night, for horses that have accomplished a hard day's work on a dry road.

Litter.

This is not objectionable to the feet, if clean and not too damp. Some suppose this the cause of contraction, but it is the reverse. It is besides of great benefit when shook out for a bed, by inducing the horse to rest himself. He is thus enabled to do more work, and with a less expenditure of food.

Corns.

In the angle between the bars and the quarters, the horn of the sole has sometimes a red appearance, and is more spongy and softer than at any other part. The horse flinches when this portion of the horn is pressed upon, and occasional or permanent lameness is produced. This disease of the foot is termed _corns_; bearing this resemblance to the corn of the human being, that it is produced by pressure, and is a cause of lameness. When corns care neglected, so much inflammation is produced in that part of the sensible sole, that suppuration follows, and to that, _quittor_ succeeds, and the matter either undermines the h.o.r.n.y sole, or is discharged at the coronet.

_Remedies._--The cure of old corns is difficult; for as all shoeing has some tendency to produce pressure here, the habit of throwing out this diseased horn is difficult to get rid of when once contracted; recent corns, however, will yield to good shoeing. The first thing to be done is well to pare out the angle between the crust and the bars. Two objects are answered by this; the extent of the disease will be ascertained, and one cause of it removed. A very small drawing-knife must be used for this purpose. The corn must be pared out to the very bottom, taking care not to wound the sole. It may then be discovered whether there is any effusion of blood or matter underneath. If this is suspected, an opening must be made through the horn, the matter evacuated, the separated horn taken away, the course and extent of the sinuses explored, and introduce into them a _saturated solution of sulphate of zinc_, by means of a small syringe. Place over this dressing the common cataplasm, or the turpentine ointment, and renew the application every twenty-four hours. Three or four such applications complete a cure.

Should there be no collection of fluid, the butyr of antimony should be applied over the whole extent of the corn, after the horn has been thinned as closely as possible. The object of this is to stimulate the sole to throw out more healthy horn. In bad cases, a bar-shoe may be put on, so chambered that there shall be no pressure on the diseased part.

This may be worn for one or two shoeings, but not constantly, for there are few frogs that would bear the constant pressure of the bar-shoe; and the want of pressure on the heel, generally occasioned by their use, would produce a softened and bulbous state of the heels, that would of itself be an inevitable source of lameness. Turning out to gra.s.s, after the horn is a little grown, first with a bar-shoe, and afterwards with the shoe fettered on one side, or with tips, will often be serviceable.

A horse that has once had corns to any considerable extent should, at every shoeing, have the seat of corn well pared out, and the butyr of antimony applied.

An Over-reach

Is a tread upon the heel of the coronet of the fore foot, by the shoe of the corresponding hind foot, and either inflicted by the toe, or by the inner edge of the inside of the shoe.

_The preventive treatment_ is the bevelling, or rounding off of the inside edge or rim of the hind shoes.

_The cure_ is the cutting away of the loose parts, the application of Friar's balsam, and protection from the dirt.

Forging, or Clicking,

"Is a singular species of over-reaching. The horse, in the act of trotting, strikes the toes of the hind shoes against the fore one. This noise of the clicking is unpleasant, and the trick or habit is not altogether free from danger. It is most frequent in young horses, and is attributable to too great activity, or length of stride in the hind legs.

_Remedies._--The rider may do something by keeping the head of the horse well up; but the smith may effect more by making the hind shoes of clicking horses short in the toe, and having the web broad. When they are too long, they are apt to be torn off; when too narrow, the hind foot may bruise the sole of the fore one, or may be locked fast between the branches of the fore shoe."--_Youatt._

The Bearing Rein

Is a matter of much controversy; some claiming that it should be entirely abolished, while others as strenuously contend for its almost universal use. Nimrod, who is deemed perfectly competent authority, insists on its use with fast roadsters and coach-horses. With team-horses, it may generally be dispensed with, and always should be in ascending hills, as it materially diminishes their capacity for exertion. The fault in its use is its excessive tightness, and when standing, the horse ought never to be tormented with it.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 30.

Safety Rein ill.u.s.trated.]

_Directions for use of Safety Rein._--In putting on the rein for a gig, keep the buckle to the left hand, or near side; that will place the loop, which is on the middle of the rein, below the hook or head of the bridle, which prevents it from being thrown out by the motion of the horse's head. For a pair of horses, keep the two short chapes outmost, and the loops on the middle downward. For saddle, keep the buckle to the left hand.

When the rein is used either for running, rearing, kicking, or going backward, it should be applied suddenly with a strong arm, keeping up the pressure until the horse is still; it should then be relieved suddenly, at the same time motioning the horse to go on. If he is only a runaway he will obey it at once, such horses being generally of a willing, good temper. After the horse has been a few times firmly gripped with it, use it occasionally, instead of the bit-rein, to stop him on ordinary occasions; this will remind the horse of his subjection, and will accustom the rider or driver to the ready and accurate use of it in case of an emergency.

The Bit

Is a frequent cause of injury to the mouth of the horse, fretting and teasing him, and in many cases inducing permanent injury and viciousness. It should never be made annoying to the horse beyond the absolute necessity for his proper restraint.

An Unruly Stud may be controlled

By pa.s.sing the rein from the ring on the off-side over the head and through the left ring. This gives a purchase to the groom which the horse cannot resist.

Blinds

Have for a long time been fashionable, but in few cases are necessary, while in nearly all they are decidedly injurious.

[Ill.u.s.tration: Fig. 31.

The Crib Biter.]

The Crib Biter.

This small instrument is made entirely of iron, and riveted firmly to the head-stall. It answers the threefold purpose, to prevent biting, crib-biting, and wind-sucking. All of the foregoing are bad habits for horses, for which there is no effectual cure, but in adopting the use of the above implement.

The Stable

Is an important matter connected with the proper management of horses.

This should be as much as possible of a uniform temperature, cool in summer, warm in winter, and always clean, dry, and well-ventilated. But no air must be allowed to blow directly upon the animal. The horse is a native of a warm climate, and ought to be well protected against cold.

The stable should be neither too light nor too dark, nor must the light ever be admitted before the eye of the horse. For judicious and extended arrangement of stables, and management of horses, the inquiring reader is referred to _Stewart's Stable Economy_.

CHAPTER VI.

THE a.s.s, THE MULE, AND THE COMPARATIVE LABOR OF WORKING ANIMALS.

THE a.s.s

Is a native of Arabia, Persia, and the central parts of Asia and Africa.

Like the horse, he goes in troops and displays great natural sagacity, activity, and courage. Job says, "He scorneth the mult.i.tude of the city, neither regardeth the crying of the driver." Like the horse, too, he has from time immemorial been tamed, and become the faithful servant of man; but unlike him, he is subject to few maladies, is hardy and enduring, and subsists and even thrives on coa.r.s.e and scanty forage. Thus Job says of his natural haunts, "Whose house I have made the _wilderness_, and the _barren land_ his dwellings; the range of the _mountains_ is his pasture, and he searcheth after _every green thing_." Xenophon, in his Anabasis, a thousand years later, says of one of the Asiatic deserts through which he pa.s.sed with the army of Cyrus, "that it was full of wormwood; if any other kinds of shrubs or reeds grew there, they had all an aromatic smell; but no trees appeared. Of wild creatures, the most numerous are _wild a.s.ses_, which our horses sometimes chased; but the wild a.s.ses exceeded them much in speed."

Varieties.

The different breeds of a.s.ses are supposed to be quite as numerous as those of the horse. Four distinct races are mentioned in the earliest scriptures. In modern times we find a similar diversity. There are two kinds in Persia, the largest a slow, heavy brute, used only for burdens; the other smaller and more spirited, and used for the saddle. In Egypt, a considerable though less marked difference exists, those near the Delta being inferior to those which are bred in Upper Egypt and Nubia.

In Spain, a difference in size and spirit prevails, greater even than in Persia.

The _Zebra_ is nearly allied in size, shape, and character to the wild a.s.s, but his untameable ferocity has. .h.i.therto effectually bid defiance, alike to the scourges and caresses, the frowns and the favors of man.

Arabia produces some of the most spirited and hardy a.s.ses, but their size, like that of their horses, is too small for purposes of the greatest utility. The Maltese Jack is by American breeders deemed the choicest animal from which to propagate. He is evidently of Arabian descent, and possesses all the good qualities of his ancestry, with considerable additional size.