will be red and yellowish which is a certain sign of the redundancy of Choler The inside of his Lips is yellow and his Eyes are infected with the same Colour 'T is call'd Gelbesucht or the yellow Disease by the Germans who are better acquainted with it than we and have invented a Remedy for it which a Farrier of that Nation sold for a great Summ of Money to a Frenchman who communicated it to me and I found it by experience to be very effectual for when I try'd it this was the only Disease of the Head that was known But since that time the Distemper has chang'd its Nature and the alteration of the Cause oblig'd us to search for new Remedies tho' to little purpose When a Horse is seiz'd with this Distemper he eats faintly hangs his Head and Ears his Eye is languid his Nostrils open and he is apt to stumble If these Signs do not appear the following Remedy will produce no effect for all Diseases of the Head proceed not from the same Cause and you will never be able by this Method to remove a Distemper that is not caus'd by the Overflowing of Choler The Diseases that were known by this Name in the Year 166â— and 1661. and those of 1669 1670. and the succeeding Years were not produc'd by the above-mention'd Cause and therefore could not be cur'd by the German Remedy nor could we find any other successful Medicine for more Horses died than were cur'd of those Diseases Nevertheless I have lately administer'd a Remedy in Thea with excellent Success by the use of which several Horses have been cur'd of those late contagious Distempers that were commonly call'd Diseases of the Head The Remedy for the overflowing of the Bile is as follows Take four Quarts of Spring or River Water and make a Lye with about half a Bushel of Ashes of Vine-Twigs by pouring the boiling Water four several times upon the Ashes then add a pound of good Oil Olive and a quarter of a Pound of Bay-berries in Powder Let the Horse be kept all Night Bridl'd in the Morning let him Blood plentifully in the Flank and two hours after give him two Glasses of the Remedy at the Nostrils let the Bridle remain on his Head two hours longer then unbridle him and give him some White-Water to drink and either moisten'd Bran Hay or Bread to eat after he has fed a quarter of an Hour Bridle him again and let him stand two hours after which give him a Glass of the Remedy at each Nostril two hours after unbridle him and suffer him to eat and drink a quarter of an Hour as before Continue after the same manner to give him two Glasses of the Medicine every four hours unbridling him a quarter of an Hour between every two Doses till you have us'd the whole Composition This Remedy makes the Horse cast forth Water and Snot at the Nose but it only appeases or quels the Distemper without removing the Cause For the Fix'd Salt of the Ashes being communicated to the Lye destroys the Acid that occasion'd these Disorders and produc'd the Heat with which this Disease is accompani'd and besides the Oil contributes very much to qualifie the Distemper as you may easily perceive in the making of Soap Afterwards leave the Horse in a dark place with good Litter and free from the noise of Men or Horses that he may Sleep for in this case Rest is the Sovereign Remedy As soon as you perceive that he has perfectly recover'd his Appetite walk him gently in the cool of the day about a quarter of an Hour for seven or eight days together and then purge him with the Medicine describ'd in the Twenty Sixth Chapter CHAP. XXV Another Remedy for Diseases in the Head THE Distempers that are at present known by that Name are not caus'd by the overflowing of Choler but tho' there is but little hope of Cure we ought not wholly to abandon the sick Horses For 't is some satisfaction to endeavour to give 'em ease tho' they are seldom fit for Service afterward As soon as you suspect the Horse to be seiz'd with this Distemper give him a Dose of the Lieutenant's-Powder or of the Cerdial Pills which have a vertue to resist the Poyson that Suffocates 'em and not unfrequently Cures 'em perfectly in a little time And those who are cur'd by this Method are as fit for Service as formerly And even by way of prevention you ought to give the same Powder or Balls to all your Horses and repeat 'em after three days for they who have taken these Remedies will certainly escape falling into this Disease Besides you must perfume the whole Stable and change the Pails Shovels Forks Curry-Combs and all the Furniture of the Stable But if the Horse has been sick for some time it will be convenient to try other Remedies for the Powder is only proper in the beginning and has no effect after the Disease has lasted four and twenty Hours Take the bigness of the Tag of a Point of good black Hellebore open the Skin on the Horse's Breast and put the piece of Hellebore between the Skin and the Flesh so that it may not fall out It will make the part swell as big as your Hat and draw the Fluxion thither by which means the Humour may be diverted which is carry'd from the Heart to the Brain A Remedy for the Disease of the Head call'd The Fiery-Evil As soon as your Horse begins to refuse his Oats let him Blood in the Temple-Veins and afterwards prepare the following Remedy Take of the Herb call'd Devil's-Bit and Fumitory of each one Handful Cummin-seed one Ounce Assa-faetida half an Ounce Strong Beer or White-Wine a Quart put 'em into a Pot cover'd close with a Hog's-Bladder and Paper and the Lid of the Pot over all Fit the Pot to the Balneum Mariae that is place it in a Kettle with a Straw-Rope between the bottom of the Pot and the Kettle then pour Water into the Kettle till it rise within an Inch of the top of the Pot and make the Water boil an hour over a strong Fire after which take out the Pot and when 't is somewhat cold uncover it strain out the Liquor and make the Horse drink it Blood-warm two or three hours after his Bleeding then let him stand four hours Bridl'd and at Night give him a Clyster with Sal Polycrest Next Morning Bridle your Horse and pour a Quart of strong Beer or White-Wine upon the gross substance that remain'd in the the Pot cover it as before and set it over a gentle Fire augmenting the Fire by degrees till it begin to boil Keep it boiling an hour over a naked Fire and not in a Kettle as before After 't is half cold press out the Liquor as hard as you can and throwing away the thick substance give the Liquor to the Horse to drink keeping him Bridl'd four hours after Then give him moisten'd Bran and
luke-warm Water to drink and in the Evening the following Clyster A Clyster for Diseases of the Head or the Fiery-Evil Make a good Decoction according to the usual manner with Polycrest or mix an Ounce of Polycrest in Powder with five Pints of Beer put 'em into a brazen Pot with a cover and boil 'em half a quarter of an Hour with an Ounce of Coloquintida slic'd small Add to the strain'd Liquor half a Pound of Honey of Violets and give the whole Blood-warm by way of Clyster to the Horse in the Evening for two days together A Bag to give the Horse an Appetite If your Horse refuse to eat take Angelica and Assa-foetida both in Powder of each half an Ounce tye 'em to the Bit in a Linnen-Bag and let the Horse champ on it two hours after which let him Eat two Hours then put in the Bit again and continue after the same manner This will purge the Horse's Head and make him cast forth a great deal of slimy Matter after which he will feed more heartily The same Bag is very useful for all sick Horses or such as have lost their Appetite A Remedy to prevent Diseases of the Head I propose this Remedy for those Diseases of the Head which continu'd to infest some Horses in the Year 1672. and it will certainly succeed if you resist the Disease in the beginning but if the Distemper has made any progress it will not yield to this Remedy And therefore you must prepare the Medicine as soon as you have the least suspicion that your Horse is seiz'd with this Distemper for 't is better to make it in vain four times than once to neglect the opportunity of making it since it always produces some good effects As soon then as you perceive the least sign of this Disease For example if the Horse be dull heavy and refuse his Oats give him an Ounce of burnt Allom in Powder with an Ounce of Salt of Glass or Axungia vitri and two Ounces of Sugar-Candy in a Quart of White or which is better Spanish-Wine Then keep him Bridl'd two Hours after which unbridle him and you will certainly find him free of the Distemper And even tho' he be not troubl'd with that Disease this Remedy will do him good by consuming the Phlegm in his Stomach and giving him a good Appetite A Charge for Diseases of the Head Take about two Pounds of Blood out of the sick Horse's Neck-Vein receive the Blood into a convenient Vessel stirring it with your hand to hinder it from coagulating then set it on the Fire stirring it continually with a Wooden Slice and add to it three quarters of a Pound of Oil-Olive and two Glasses of Vinegar Boil 'em to the consistence of an Ointment with which luke-warm Charge his whole Head leaving only his Eyes open This Charge will dissolve the Matter that is gathered in the Passages and make it run besides it will strengthen and bind the Parts and hinder the Defluxion from falling upon ' em The frequent use of Clysters will also divert the Humours and make a Revulsion and you must give one at least every day Besides you must apply black Hellebore as you were taught before and make a second application two days after if the first do not cause a swelling CHAP. XXVI An excellent Remedy for the Disease in the Head call'd The Spanish-Evil HItherto there have been but few good Remedies prescrib'd for the Disease of the Head callâ—d I know not why the Spanish-Evil You may know it by the Horse's staggering or reeling as he goes which is caus'd by the motion of the Vapours in their ascent to the Brain which make him so giddy that he cannot walk straight forward Besides he has a strong aversion to his Meat his Mouth burns his Heart and Flanks beat violently and by viewing him attentively you may easily perceive that he suffers extreamly and can hardly escape without timely assistance Take one of those Beer-Glasses which are very large and yellow reduce it to Powder and strain it thro' a fine searce Or rather which is far more effectual take four Ounces of Salt of Glass which is white and may be found in Druggists-Shops beat it very small and afterwards beat a handful of Salt mix 'em with three Pints of Cordial-Water in a Pot and heat 'em till the Salt be dissolv'd that is as much of it as can be dissolv'd The common Salt will open the Body of the Salt of Glass and make the Cordial-Water penetrate it for Salts do not act unless they be dissolv'd Then strain out the Liquor and while it boils infuse in it two Ounces of good and fresh Thea for six or eight Hours during which time you must keep the Water luke-warm Strain again and throwing away the Thea as useless keep the Water that is impregnated with the Salt and with the Tincture of the Thea. Afterwards give the whole quantity of the Liquor to the Horse pouring it into his Throat with a Horn then cover him and keep him three Hours Bridl'd in the Stable If the first Dose do not cure him give him another four and twenty Hours after and every day inject a Clyster of two Quarts of Emetic Beer or instead of that take an Ounce of Sal Polycrest as much Coloquintida slic'd small two Drams of Anni-seeds beaten and two Quarts of Beer mix 'em and let 'em stand in Infusion six hours on hot Ashes then boil 'em a little strain and adding a quarter of a Pound of fresh Butter inject it luke-warm There is a great deal of Malignity in this Distemper for 't is accompani'd with a preternatural Heat which destroys that which is natural and oftentimes before a Man thinks of giving this Remedy some noble Part is seiz'd with so violent an Inflammation that the Fire cannot afterwards be extinguish'd till the whole part is consum'd which fatal event may be occasion'd by the neglect of one day Thus the Horse's Death must not be imputed to the insufficiency of the Remedy which is certainly very effectual but to the untimely application of it By virtue of the Fix'd Salts of which it is compos'd it puts a stop to the subtilty or if I may use that expression the great Volatility of the sharp and subtle Spirits which by reason of their lightness are carri'd to the Brain and by their malignant and poysonous sharpness change and vitiate its Substance And since a Fix'd Salt when 't is stronger and in greater quantity is able to fix a volatil Salt and unite the same to its own Substance the two Salts that compose this Remedy will fix those Saline Spirits that rise with the Vapours and occasion all the Disorders that are observ'd in Horses when they are seiz'd with this Distemper This is a very probable Hypothesis and I wou'd insist longer upon it if it cou'd be understood without some Knowledge in Chymistry Besides what I have said concerning the Effect of those
at a Trot and a Foot-Pace I have already taught you how to make this Wine in the Twenty third Chapter but since 't is too late to prepare that Remedy after your Horse begins to be troubl'd with a stoppage of Urine you may take Golden Sulphur of Antimony which you will find describ'd in Glazer's Chymistry and afterwards in this Book and fine Wheat-Flower of each an Ounce mix 'em well in a Mortar and give the whole Powder to the Horse in a Quart of White-Wine It provokes Urine more effectually than any Wine whatsoever You may find this Medicine at the Shops of some curious Apothecaries It was invented by Glauber who calls it his Panacaea or Universal Remedy You may put a couple of Lice or Bugs to the end of the Horse's Yard to rouse the expulsive Faculty During the use of those Remedies it will be convenient to foment the Reins thus boil two Bushels of Oats in a mixture of Water and Vinegar till the Oats burst under your Finger then apply 'em in a Bag to the Horse's Reins or Back as hot as he can well endure about the place where the Saddle ends If you have not Oats you may make use of Rye This Fomentation provokes Urine effectually but if the expulsive faculty be languid beat Darnel and boil it in Vinegar and anoint the Yard and Stones with the Decoction Thrust your Hand into the Horse's Fundament and rake him then press the Bladder gently with your Hand and the Horse will infallibly Stale If these Remedies prove ineffectual chuse the whitest Flints you can find on the Banks of some rapid River heat 'em red-hot and quench 'em in a Pint and a half of strong White-Wine heating and quenching 'em so often till they crumble into Powder then strain the Wine thro' a Linnen-Cloth doubl'd and make the Horse drink it for the Wine being impregnated with the Salt of the Flints which is a powerful Diuretic will certainly make the Horse Stale Sal-Prunellae or Crystal-mineral clears the Passages and removes the Obstructions that stop the Urine but you must not depend upon it during the Fit for its vertue principally consists in preventing the Stoppage of Urine in those Horses who usually endeavour to Stale but cannot by reason of a certain Heat or Obstruction in the Passages in which case you must give the Horse every day in his Bran an Ounce of Sal-Prunellae and a Dram of Nutmeg till he has consum'd a whole Pound Sal-Prunellae cools the Bowels clears the Passages rectifies the Blood and would be an admirable Medicine if it were not apt to cool the Stomach too much and make the Horse lose his Appetite for which reason I added a Grain of Nutmeg which comforts the Stomach without over-heating the Body But if the Horse notwithstanding that forsake his Meat you must not continue to give him the Crystal-mineral Take about four Ounces of dry'd Pigeon's Dung in Powder boil it in a Quart of White-Wine and after two or three waums strain out the Liquor and give it Blood-warm to the Horse then walk him for half an Hour and he will Stale if it be possible I know some Men who took a Dram of this Dung in a Glass of Wine for the Colic and receiv'd great benefit by it One of the best Remedies for a Horse that cannot Stale is to carry him into a Sheep-cote and there to unbridle him suffering him to smell the Dung and roll and wallow in it for he will infallibly Piss before he come forth if he be not past Remedy This quick Effect proceeds from a certain Volatil Subtil and Diuretic Salt that exhales from the Sheeps-Dung and strikes the Brain for by reason of the Correspondence of that with the lower Parts it obliges the expulsive Faculty to void the Urine It would be needless to prove that this Dung is full of such a Salt since the Truth of that Supposition is sufficiently confirm'd by the great quantity of Salt-Peter which may be so easily extracted out of it The Urinary Passages are frequently stop'd by thick Flegm which will hardly be remov'd by the above-mention'd Remedies and therefore you may have recourse to that which follows and I 'm confident you will not lose your Labour A Remedy to provoke Urine Take an Ounce of Sassafras-Wood with the Bark which contains part of its Vertue cut it small and infuse it in a Quart of White-Wine in a large Glass-Bottle well stop'd so that two thirds of the Bottle may remain empty let it stand on hot Ashes about six hours then strain out the Wine and give it to the Horse in a Horn. This Remedy will quickly produce the desir'd effect for it will certainly make the Horse either Sweat or Stale and 't is generally acknowledg'd that the Matter of Sweat and Urine is the same Another Oil of yellow Amber is one of the most effectual Remedies to make a Horse Stale The Dose is a Spoonful in a Pint of White-Wine and you must walk him after it This Medicine is easily procur'd since almost all Apothecaries have it or at least ought to have it It must be made without Addition and not rectifi'd It s excellent Vertues make amends for its noisome Smell 'T is so powerful a Diuretic that the Steams or subtil Spirits that are evaporated from it during its Preparation make the Artist Piss excessively Those who are desirous to know how 't is made may consult Crollius's Basilica Chymica or Hartman's Praxis Chymiatrica Glazer's Treatise of Chymistry and several other Authors who treat of that Art I preferr this Remedy before all the rest I have describ'd for it seldom or never fails Another easie Remedy for stoppage of Urine is to wash the Horse's Yard with luke-warm Water then Powder it all over with Salt and suffer him to draw it in if it be a Mare put the quantity of a Walnut of Salt into her Privity Another good Remedy is to make him drink a Quart of Verjuice in half a Pail-full of Water and if he refuse to drink it which few Horses do mix a Quart of Water with a like quantity of Verjuice and pour it into his Throat with a Horn Then walk him and he will Stale If it be objected that I ought rather to have propos'd one sure Remedy than such a multitude of different Medicines among which few know how to make a good choice I shall only answer that I have try'd 'em all and leave the Reader to chuse such Medicines as are most proper for his Horse and may be most conveniently procur'd For some of those Remedies are less Compound than others and the Disease is more or less obstinate in several Cases Besides one Horse may receive no benefit by the use of a Remedy that has cur'd several others of the same Distemper by reason of the variety of Causes Some Horses are also frequently troubl'd with this Distemper and sometimes die of it And from all these Considerations laid
or have his Grease molten and perhaps both therefore it is of consequence to put him somewhat in Wind before you part If those who have Equipages to Conduct do not observe these premonitions or directions they will I assure them have a great dale of dissatisfaction in their first Journeys If the Horse which you are to Travel upon be already fatigu'd weary and lean then it will be so much the worse for Horses are not very expensive to be made lean but are both chargeable and require a great dale of pains to be recovered and made fat therefore I would never begin a Journey with a Horse which were very much fatigued and low untill I had first tryed to recover him and if I found I could not succeed in it then I would buy another Having observed this precaution you are to begin with short Marches or days Journeys at first setting out and afterwards to increase them by degrees As for example the first day a man may make six French Leagues the second eight and afterwards he may Ride Ten or Twelve and even Fourteen if there be need for it But if it be in a Country where the Leagues are longer than about Paris then four Leagues will be sufficient for the first day six for the second and so you may increase them to nine or ten but if you are not much pressed it will be very fit especially to preserve a great Equipage to rest the third or fourth day of your Journey for the Horses will recover Strength and vigour by that days rest and as people say that a Man must go back to take his Race whereby he may leap the further so the Horses having with this little rest recovered their heart and mettle will perform their Journey the more pleasantly because if a Man do not thus give them a little intermission he will be necessitate to leave some Horses by the way or otherwayes render them unserviceable for any man may very well judge that where there are a great number of Horses it will be very extraordinary if there be not some of them which will not prove to be in a condition to hold out with a March especially when not accustomed to it All the time of your Journey you shall suffer your horse to drink of the first good Water you meet with after six or seven a Clock in the Morning if it be in the Summer time and after eight or nine if in Winter I call that good Water which is neither too quick and peircing nor too muddy and stinking this I say your are to do unless you design to gallop him a long time after drinking for in this case you are to forbear it and although it be very much the custom in England to Run and gallop their Horses after they have a drunk yet I think that method capable to render Horses pursy as it is also when they are rid in the mannage immediatly after they are watred the English make use of this method of galloping their Horses immediatly after drinking which they call Watering-Courses to bring them as they say in Wind which is the most pernicious and hurtful practice for Horses that a man can imagine and they are so prepossessed and bewitcht with the fancy of it even although the most part of their Horses become Pursy by it that it is not possible for a man to perswade them that it is naught and absolutely spoileth them The prejudice I find by this practice of theirs is that having put their Horses in a fair way to become pursy they sell them to us in France for sound ones and then they become pursy among our hands so that it is they who commit the folly and we pay for it You are while your Horse is a watering to interrupt his Drinking or break his Water as we say by not letting him drink all at one draught but you are to draw up his head five or six times during the time he is a Watering and even although a Horse be warm and sweating very much yet if he be not quite out of breath and that he have as yet a pretty way to Ride before he arrive at the place you design to rest and refresh for example a league or two I assure you he will be the better that you let him drink a little than if you should suffer him to take none at all it is indeed true that if the Horse be very warm and that you give him drink you should immediatly at the coming out of the water redouble your pace or make him go at a gentle trot for some time that so you may warm the water in his Belly which he hath drunk You are thus to let your horse Drink all the while you are Travelling because if he be hot or sweating when you come to Bait you must let him stand a long time before you can give him any Drink without endangering his Life and also when you take the Bridle off him his excessive Thirst will hinder him to eat so that an hour or two are elapsed before he offer to touch his Meat which is almost all the time a man can well allow for a twelve a clock's Baiting and to depart again with the horse in this condition before he hath either eat or drunk will make him but very unfit to Travel therefore common sense and reason will decide in my favours that the surest method is to let a horse drink on the Road and a little while before you arrive at the Inn as I have already ordered In other Countrys where I know not but the Air Water or Climat may contribute to make Horses agree with it I have seen the contrary practised for in Hâ—lland the Waggoneers who transport people from place to place in their Waggoâ—â— which are drawen by very good Horses carry a Pail along with them and cause theâ— Horses drink where ever they meet with Water for whether they be warm or coldâ— is all one to them and even when they arrive at their Inns although their horses 〈◊〉 all in a froth with sweat and quite out of breath they yet give them drink before the lead them to the stable I believe in France all our horses would die should we 〈◊〉 them after this manner People are obliged to make Coach-horses drink in the morning before they gâ— away because when they are once harnoist and put to the Coach it is with great dâ— ficulty that they can drink by the way and therefore they make them sometime drink by four a clock in the morning for which they are not much the better but theâ— is no help for it if in the beginning of your journey that is the first four or five daye you cause give your horse but a small quantity of Oats it will be so much the better 〈◊〉 him four or five measures a day about two sharp English Quarts eâ— measure are sufficient because if you should give him too much
maketh them sweat much so that if a man had any extraordinary labour to put them to they would become Pursy but this eating of their litter is very easily prevented The second Maxim is That for every horse which is fat and resting at home that is which either works and travels not at all or but very little new threshed wheat straw is better for him than hay because his wind is better preserved by it it alters not his flank and also the fat and flesh which it produceth is alwayes more firm then that of hay as likewise as people say more dureable conforme to the French proverb Cheval de paille Cheval de bataille Which I English thus A horse that 's fed with straw of Wheat Is firm in flesh and fit for Feat In fine a horse fed only with Wheatâ—straw and Oats may be kept at rest in the stable a full year without spoiling whereas if he had eat hay he would appear old and become very dull and heavy in the space of three months But some persons who have only one horse will perhaps say that they shall prevent his resting so much and remaining so long in the stable without doeing any thing but if he be hurt or become lame they will be necessitate to do it and those who have great stables of horses know very well that when they have been much travelled especialy at the close of a Campaigne where they have been extremely fatigued there is a necessity to give them rest and that for a considerable time that so they may recover Horses which are Light-bellyed and have not their flanks altered agree better with the eating of Hay than straw also they are excepted out of the proceeding Rule because the hay cause them to drink lustily and the abundance of water tempers and qualifies that heat which dryed them up and hindered them to take a Belly yet Hay considered as Hay would seem more fit and proper to take away a horse's Belly than give him one because by its naturall heat it should do him more prejudice than straw which is not so fiery but as it obliges horses to drink much by reason of it's being charged with a nitrous Salt which provokes thirst the quantity of drink extinguishes it's fiery and heating quality how great soever and so the horse which is no more consumed by that fire which contracted his Belly is put in a condition to have it enlarged therefore a man should make no difficulty to give hay to such kind of horses and every lean horse which eateth heartily and drinketh lustily and proportionably to what he eateth will be very soon fat and full flanked For horses which are very lean a man will not very suddenly fatten them with Straw therefore Hay is much more proper for them if their flanks be not altered for if they have the least inclination to Pursyness hay is nought for them because of the reasons I shall hereafter give you in the second part when I discourse of horses which is broken-winded or Pursy and although people very justly say that such a horse hath his flank altered because he hath a little feeling or touch of Pursyness yet you must not imagine That that alteration proceeds from heat because heat is nothing but an accident of Pursyness and its essentiall cause flows from a cold principle which is heavy slow and Viscuous phlegm that not only obstructs and stops the conduits of respiration but also those passages through which the blood runs for refreshing and nourishing the Lungs in the time of its perpetuall circulation but the accidental heat proceeds from this that betwixt the Pulmonary artery and Vein there is in the Parenchyma or bloody and fistolous substance of the Lungs Anastomoses or passages from the Veins to the Arteries which being many times obstructed do occasion that accidental heat in the Lungs by reason of the heat which is communicated to them from the Heart Horses which are inclined to be charged with flesh in their necks or to become Thick-necked should not eat too much wheat straw because it will increase their fleshyness as experience will teach you but unless it be in these few exceptions our Maxim holds alwayes good Excepting also Spanish horses which as they grow old become smaller and thinner Necked contrary to all other horses and I am also of opinion that a Spanish horse which hath a thick and well turned neck is better than if he had it more slender because his mouth is more certain and firm with it neither will he be so subject to Beat upon the hand or Chack in the Bridle and therefore will consequently have a better Appuy or feeling of the pressure of the Bit upon his Barrs The Wheat-straw in Languidock is most excellent because being tread upon the peoples feet who thresh it it is beat and softned and consequently more appetizâ— it is not but that without this Treading it might be cut aboundantly small but 〈◊〉 it could not without a great deal of trouble be made so soft and toothsome 〈◊〉 other way as it is this We are not however wholly to banish Hay and therefore there should alway a small quantity of it be given to horses before Watering to excite their thirst and peoâ—â— find difficulty to maintain some horses in a good case with straw alone withâ— he help of some hay therefore I think they should alwayes have six or eight poâ—â— weight given them every four and twenty hours unless there be some reasons whâ—â— oblige a man to give them none at all The third Maxim for the right feeding of horses is Never to suffer them to drink 〈◊〉 cold or sharp water as I have already remarked when I discoursed of what was be observed when horses are upon journey because such kind of water weakâ—â— their stomach engenders crudities and causes obstructions in the Liver it is froâ— that also that Collicks and Grips in the belly do commonly proceed cold and shaâ—â— water prevents and retards a horses growing fat which is lean and if he be alrâ—â—â— fat will make him the sooner become lean and in a bad condition In a word it 〈◊〉 most unwholsome for him The water of great Rivers is excellent for horses although those indeed whiâ—â— are too rapid are not so very good Spring or Fountain Water is better than thâ—â— of Draw-wells although people are necessitate in many places to make use of this foâ— lack of better Water which hath had time to settle or hath been taken a pretty whilâ— from the Well or Fountain is better than that which is immediatly drawn exceâ—â— in time of an excessive cold in which water which is new drawn hath a kind 〈◊〉 warmness and is therefore more wholesome for horses to drink immediatly than thâ—â— which hath been suffered to cool by being a considerable time drawn before it be made use of I assure you good water contributes to the keeping a horse fat and plump
and how long they should be accustomed to Panton shoes before they are to be wrought with them p. 12â— SORREL COLOUR A Colour somewhat resembling a very Red Bay as also of all the different kinds of it p. 80 81 Horses of this Colour commonly good p. 81 SOUTIEN When a horse hath the Soûtien stay or keeping up of his legs good p. 42. 43 SPAVIN What it is and where it cometh p. 61 That a dry Spavin is an impediment to swiftness p. 62 Spavins and Jardons hereditary imperfections p. 64 SPLINT Its definition and how to know it p. 38 SPUNGES Of Horse's shoes how to be fashioned p. 121 How to be placed at the heels when the shoe is put on p. 121 STABLE The dimensions of a fine stable together with its Moveables p. 168 169 Reasons why horses should be alwise covered in the stable p 169 STALLION What Colours are most proper for a Stallion p. 207 What kind of Horses are fittest for a Stallion and how he is to be ordered p. 214 STANDING See Planted STAR That it is an imperfection for any horse of a Dark colour not to have a Star in his forehead p. 6 Of Stars Blazes and White marks which horses have upon their feet or legs in French Balzanes p. 83 What is meant by the common saying That a Horse's star is a drinking or that he drinketh out of his whiâ—e p. â—4 A star in a Horse's fore-head a good Mark p. 86 How to make a white star in a Horse's forehead p. 204 STARLING COLOUR What-it is p. 80 STIFLE Where placed p. 5 STIRROF-LEATHERS What Leather is most proper for them p. 100 STIRROP-JRONS What Fashion of Stirrup Irons is best and most commodious p. 100 STRAW A good observation anent the Feeding of Horses with straw p. 147 c. Straw of Languedock for what reason excellent p. 148 STREIGHT-MEMBERED Of Horses which are streight set upon their Members p. 135 c. STUMBLING How to shoe a Horse that stumbleth p. 138 SWELLING Swellings of all kinds in a Horse's hâ—nd-legs very troublesome and hard to cure as also in what parts of the hind-legs they usually come p. 61 c Restrictive to repell a swelling upon a Horse's back by reason of a bad Saddle p. 112 Another for the same p. 113 SWIMERS Swimers of a Horse in what parts of the Legs they are situate p. 46 T TAIL HOw a Horse's Tail or Dock should be shap't and Set. p. 11 How to dy the Manes and Tails of Horses of either a Scarlet or Gold Colour p. 203 TEETH Their division and number 3 19. c. Shell or hollow Teeth how to know them p. 26 THIGHS Where situate and how they should be shap't p. 5. 59 TICK How to know if a Horse hath the Tick. p. 88 Several wayes of Ticking as also that Horses learn that bad Habite from one another p. 89 TIE See Breast plate TIGER Colour p. 81 TOE What part of a Horse's foot it is p. 4 Toe before and quarter behind or before behind behind beore the first and general precept for the right shoeing of Horses p. 119 TONGUE How it should be shap't p. 7 To prevent its hanging out p. 229 TRAQUEN ARD Traquenard or Entrepas a mixt kind of pace between the amble and walk p. 76 TRAVEL The true method to preserve Horses sound and hearty upon Travel p. 91 How a man should order Horses at Dinner and Supper while upon Travel p. 104 A Continuation of the directions for preserving horses sound upon Travel p. 111 What is to be observed after People are arrived from a Journey or Travelling p. 116 Several methods whereby to unweary Horses when they come first from Travel p. 117 TRAVERSED Traversed and cross Traversed what they fignisie p. 85. c TRAVERSE MULES What they are p. 67 TREAD Of the setting down or Tread of a Horse's Foot p. 73 TUSHES What Teeth so called and that Mares generally have none of them and when they have are reputed the worse for it p. 3 How to know a Horse's age by them p. 23 VARISSE What it is p. 61 VESSIGON What it is p. 60 VIGOUR How to judge of a Horse's vigour and agility p. 72 The difference between vigour or being high mettled and fieryness p. 53 W WALK How to know when a Horse walketh well 41 c An explication of some terms relating to walking p. 42 How a Horse should walk to walk lightly surely quickly and easily p. 43 c What are the true motions of a Horse's Legs upon the step or walk p. 45 WALK That a Horse in walking should not at each step turn out has Hams neither rub the one against the other which is an action quite contrary to the preceeding p. 45 WARTS See Poireaux WATERING At what time a Horse should be watered upon Travel p. 101 The unreasonableness of watering Courses p. 101 That in watering a Horse's draught is to be interrupted several times p. 101 An odd method of watering horses practised by the Dutch Wagoneers p. 102 Whether a horse after Travel should be watered before he get his Oats or not p. 105 How to correct the sharpness and crudity of water which horses are to drink p. 106 That good water contributes to the keeping a horse faâ— and plump p. 148 WATERS Of the Distilled Waters commonly made use of for horses p. 203 WEANING See Foals WHEEZER See Blower WHITE Horses which have too much white commonly feeble p. 83 WHITE-FOOTED Why horses which have only their far hind Feet white in French Arzels are not esteemed by the Spaniards p. 84 White only in the near hind Foot a good mark p. 84 White in all four a sign of good Nature p. 85 WILL That a horse should have no other will save that of his Rider p. 73 WIND Of horses which are thick winded p. 58 WIND-BROKEN See Purseyness WIND-GALLS What they are and where placed p. 38 That those windgalls which are called Nervous make alwayes a horse halt p. 68 WITHERS Where placed p. 3 WOLFCOLOUR How they should be shapt p. 9 What it is Z ZAIN WHat colour it is p. 81 A Spanish Proverb relating to it 82 What horses only so called p. 134 The Contents of the Supplement of HORSEMANSHIP Chap I. OF the Excellency of the Art and of the most considerable Authors who have writ of it Page 1. Chap II. That it is a very foolish thing and a token of great ignorance in the Art to think the Mannage useless page 3 Chap III. Of the great mistake which many people are in who think it a great disparagement to Horsemanship if by chance a Good Horseman be thrown from his Horse page 5. Chap IV. That people are mightily deceived who by meer speculation without practice think to become good and skilful Horsemen page 6. Chap V. Of a strange mistake in some Horsemen who by double exercise fancie they will make a Horse sooner ready then by moderate Teaching page 7 Chap VI.
continuance of those Diseases for tho' the Cure is oftentimes very tedious it will be perfected at last if you persevere in the application of convenient Remedies If you cannot procure Lapis Mirabilis take half a Pint of Plantane Fennel or rose-Rose-Water or a third part of each or if none of these can be had the same quantity of Common Water White Copperas an Ounce and a half Powder of the Roots of Flower-de-Luce of Florence two Drams suffer 'em to stand about an hour in a Glass Bottle in a cold Infusion then wash your Horse's Eye with it two or three times a day This is a very good Remedy If after one or two Applications you perceive that it makes the Eye smart too much 't is a sign that the Infusion is too strong and therefore you may temper it with half a Glass of Water This is a very excellent and cheap Remedy and good both for Rheums and Blows I have often us'd it with Success when Lapis Mirabilis cou'd not be had All the Remedies prescrib'd for Rheums are also good for Blows the only difference is in Bleeding which is proper in the latter but hurtful in the former Cases After you have us'd Restringent Applications or Charges for some days the Disease being now at its greatest heighth take Ground-Ivy and Leaves of Celandine beat 'em and press out the Juice which being settl'd and strain'd thro' brown Paper you may put into the Horse's Eye Morning and Evening This Remedy cleanses drys and clears the Eye which otherwise might remain charg'd with a Webb or Film CHAP. XXX Of Lapis Mirabilis or the Wonderful Stone THE Effects of this Stone are exactly suitable to its Name 't is compos'd thus Take White Vitriol two Pounds Roch Allum three Pounds fine Bole-Armenic half a Pound Litharge of Gold or Silver two Ounces Reduce all the Ingredients to Powder and put 'em into a new glaz'd Earthen Pot with three Quarts of Water Boil 'em very gently over a small Fire without Smoke set equally round the Pot till the Water be wholly evaporated and the Matter at the bottom perfectly dry then remove the Pot from the Fire and suffer the Matter to cool which ought to be hard and will still grow harder the longer 't is kept Put half an Ounce of this Stone in a Glass-Bottle with four Ounces of Water it will be dissolv'd in a quarter of an hour and make the Water white as Milk when you shake the Bottle You must wash the sore Eye Morning and Evening with the Water or Solution This Liquor thus prepar'd may be kept twenty days Some Apothecaries keep this Stone in their Shops and make use of it for Men And as for me I use it for Horses nor ever seek any other Remedy for Rheums Blows or Moon-Eyes Every Man that is Master of a Horse ought to keep some of it by him for it will keep good very long and there are few Remedies for the Eyes that are not inferiour to it When this Stone is reduc'd to Powder and blown into the Eye it causes too much Pain tho' afterwards it produces good Effects and therefore I dare not advise you to make use of it till it be dissolv'd in Water lest otherwise it should occasion some considerable Disorder If you dissolve two Drams of it in three Ounces of Water it will dry a Wound or Sore and allay the Heat if you wash 'em twice a day with the Solution and apply a Linnen Clout dipt in the same to the griev'd part Take the quantity of a Walnut of this Stone and infuse it in a Bottle capable of containing an ordinary Glass or half a Pint of Water This Solution apply'd as before is excellent for Rheums and Moon-Eyes and you may fill up the Bottle with fresh Water according as you have occasion to empty it that it may be still kept full till the end of the Cure for 't is not necessary that it should be so strong at last as it was at first You must always remember to shake the Bottle before you pour any Water into the Eye If by reason of the violence of the Blow the Eye remain cover'd with a white Film after you have taken away the Heat and stopt the flowing of the Humour with proper Remedies you must in the next place endeavour to remove the white Film by the following Method After you have wash'd the Eye with Wine make one of the Assistants immediately open the Eye-lids and taking up some Wheat-Flower with your Thumb stroke the Eye gently with it This way of putting Powders into the Eye with your Thumb is a great deal better than the usual Method of Farriers who blow Powders into the Eye with a Leaden-Pipe for after you have blown 'em in two or three times the Horse is so afraid that he will do any thing rather than suffer you to serve him so again whereas if you put 'em in with your Thumb tho' they make his Eye smart extreamly he cannot so soon perceive whence the Pain comes The Wheat-Flower frequently apply'd will consume the Film But if you perceive that it has not the desir'd effect you must use White Vitriol or Sal Prunellae in fine Powder which is an excellent Remedy and consumes the Film and even a Webb without heating the Eye which is the common inconveniency of other Powders To consume a White Film on the Eye Besides the Remedies already propos'd there is nothing so effectual as Sal-Armoniac beaten and put into the Eye and constantly repeated till the Cure be compleated You must not be surpriz'd tho' the Film continue twelve or fifteen days but persist in the use of the Remedy Or Put a little Salt into your Mouth in the Morning fasting and after 't is dissolv'd wash the Horse's Eye with your Spittle This is an easie Remedy and perhaps will prove effectual Or Beat common Salt which is always at hand very fine and put it into the Eye This exceeds all other Remedies save only Sal-Armoniac Salt of Lead commonly call'd the Salt or Magistery of Saturn is an excellent Remedy to consume a white Film that is caus'd by a Rheum 'T is easily made and not very sharp and by its coldness it repels the Heat occasion'd by the Defluxion If you are desirous to know its Composition See Beguin's Elements of Chymistry Book II. Pag. 344. where you will find it describ'd And Glazer in his Treatise of Chymistry has very distinctly explain'd the way of making the Chrystallin Salt and other Preparations of Lead which are very good for the Eyes of Horses CHAP. XXXI Of Lunatic or Moon Eyes THE Eyes of those Horses that are troubl'd with this Distemper are darken'd by a Rheum at certain times of the Moon whereas at other times they appear so bright that you would conclude they were perfectly sound The Defluxion is usually most violent in the Wane of the Moon sometimes about the Full-Moon and it oftentimes ends in
Schmit's or the Doctor 's Ointment using your utmost Diligence to prevent a Gangrene in the Summer for during the Winter Wounds are not so much subject to that fatal inconveniency Lapis Mirabilis is good to resist Corruption as also the above-mention'd Vulnerary-Water and for want of that the Yellow-Water but the Spirits of Vitriol or Salt are better besides several others all these Remedies ought to be apply'd in case of Necessity when the Matter that runs out appears of a Black Colour which is one of the greatest signs of Corruption If you cannot stop the Blood after the opening of an Abscess sear the part for besides the conveniency of stanching the Flux of Blood the falling away of the Scab will promote the Cure and at last when 't is time to compleat the Cure the regular application of the Hermit's Ointment will quickly perform the Work An excellent Digestive Take fine Turpentine and Honey of each two Ounces the Yolks of four Eggs half an Ounce of Myrrh and an Ounce of Alloes in Powder mix all the Ingredients cold and you will have a Digestive that hinders the Corruption of the Flesh and takes away all the Pain occasion'd by the violence of the preceding Remedies The usual Digestive of Farriers is compos'd of Turpentine incorporated with the Yolks of Eggs to the thickness of an Ointment of a pale Citron Colour which is a good Remedy but inferior to the former When the Wound appears fair and clean and fit to be clos'd you may apply several sorts of Ointments That which follows is esteem'd good and is thus prepar'd The Hunter 's Ointment for deep Wounds Tho' I have already communicated the description of the Hermit's Ointment which is one of the most effectual Remedies for Wounds and cures 'em very speedily without the least ill Accident I thought fit also to insert that which follows since 't is a good easie and cheap Remedy Take Hog's Grease and Oil-Olive of each one pound melt the Grease in the Oil and after they have boil'd a little add two handfuls of the fresh Roots of Sharp-pointed Dock beaten and slic'd small Continue to boil for the space of half an Hour stirring from time to time after which add two handfuls of Self-heal and boil half an Hour longer then squeeze the Substances thro' a Linen Cloth in a Press and throwing away the Dreggs put the strain'd Liquor in a Bason over a gentle Fire with a pound of common Turpentine and as soon as they begin to incorporate add four Ounces of Verdigreese reduc'd to a fine Powder boiling and stirring 'em over a slow Fire then remove the Vessel from the Fire and add two Ounces of Borax beaten very small and six Ounces of unslak'd Lime in very fine Po wder stirring 'em till they be quite cold This Ointment will be of a lovely Green Colour When you have occasion to use it apply it cold to the Wounds and strew 'em with the Powder of old Ropes powdering the Tents with the same It cleanses heals consolidates and cicatrizes the Wound without hurting it Experience will convince you of its Excellency CHAP. CX Of Waters for Gun-Shot Wounds or Vulnerary Potions 'T IS not always convenient to make large Incisions in Gun-shot Wounds especially in the Army during the Heat of the Summer where there are no places to shelter the Horses either from the Sun or from Flies To discover the bottom and depth of these Wounds you must search them with a long Iron Probe placing the Horse in the same posture he was in when he receiv'd the Shot The Wounds by a Musquet Bullet are usually so deep that 't is impossible to reach the bottom of 'em with Ointments or Powders and therefore 't was necessary to invent certain Remedies in form of VVaters to be injected several times a day There is also a moistn'd Tent put into the Wound to keep it open the Hole is covered with a wet Linnen Cloth and half a pint of the same VVater is given inwardly to the Horse once a day Thus several Wounds are happily cur'd that wou'd have certainly prov'd fatal without the assistance of these Remedies 'T is true this Method is not always attended with success but at least a man has the satisfaction of thinking that his Horse did not perish by his neglect If the Horse be seiz'd with a Fever you must administer Clysters prepar'd with the Scoriae of Antimony and abstain from the inward use of the above-mention'd VVaters which are compos'd of hot Ingredients and wou'd consequently augment the heat and agitation of the humours and precipitate 'em on the wounded part But 't is frequently observ'd that very large Wounds in Horses are not accompany'd with a Fever nor must we condemn these Medicines for Horses tho' the use of 'em be almost intirely abolish'd for Men unless among the Switzers where they are still in great Credit A Simple Water for Gun-shot Wounds Take an Ounce and a half of the Raspings of round Birth-wort put it into a new Varnish'd Pot with three Quarts of small White-Wine and boil 'em over a gentle Fire to the consumption of a Quart then add six Ounces of fine Sugar and as soon as that is melted remove the Vessel from the Fire and strain out the Liquor Make the Horse drink half a Pint of this Water or rather Wine every Morning and wash or syringe the Wound with it twice every Day Another more Compound Take the Leaves of Comfrey Self-heal Speedwel and Sow-Bread slic'd small of each two handfuls Crab's-Eyes in fine Powder four Ounces put 'em into a Stew-Pot with four Quarts of the thinnest White-Wine lute on the Cover exactly and set the Pot on a gentle Fire Digest three Days after which boil half and Hour and strain out the Water or rather Wine Make the Horse drink half a Pint of it every Morning keeping him Bridl'd two Hours before and as long after wash and syringe the Wound with it and apply Tents moistenâ—d in the same Liquor This Water is more effectual than the former Another Take Mace Crab's-Eyes and Zedoary of each half an Ounce Mummy and Galingal of each three Drams Nux Vomica two Drams and half beat 'em grossly and put 'em into a large and strong Glass-Bottle slightly stopt with three Quarts of White-Wine Digest six Hours in a moderate Heat and without stirring the Iâ—quor pour out a large Glass-full every Morning to give the Horse and wash or syringe the Wound twice every twenty four Hours If this Water be too dear for a Horse it cannot be thought too chargeable for Men. A Compound Wine for curing Wounds in a Horse This Composition is more easily prepar'd and less chargeable than the former I shall insert the Names of several Vulnerary Simples that you may choose such of 'em as can be most easily procur'd but the more Ingredients you take the more effectual will your Remedy be Sow-Bread Savin Vervain Comfrey Lung-Wort Arsmart
Passages that give any hope of drawing those Humours from the Lungs are either the Kidneys Nostrils or Mouth And since all Evacuations that tend upwards are contrary to the Nature of Horses as they who are acquainted with the internal Oeconomy or Disposition of a Horse's Body will readily acknowledge 't is plain that the Cure must be perform'd by Cutting Attenuating or Diuretic Remedies When the Disease is accompany'd with a dry and often-returning Cough or when the Motion of Respiration reaches as far as the Croup and appears visibly on the Rump you may conclude the Cure to be absolutely impossible If your Horse void Flegmatick Humours by his Nostrils and Mouth you will find it a very hard Task to restore him to his Health A Remedy for Pursiveness If a diligent Observation of the various Circumstances with which the Disease is accompany'd convince you that your Horses Lungs are very much heated among all the Remedies that I propose you must choose such as are most temperate But if you perceive no sign of heat you may use the most cutting Remedies However I will endeavour to moderate and qualifie 'em all to such a degree that they may be able to loosen and remove the Obstructions of the Lungs without heating 'em and after I have propos'd the most gentle Remedies at first I shall gradually proceed to the strongest The Cure ought always to be attempted in the beginning of the Disease 'T is to be observ'd that the Horse must eat no Hay and after the ordering of his Diet you may prepare and exhibit the following Remedies Melt two pounds of Lead in a convenient Vessel and removing it from the Fire stir it till it be reduc'd to Powder then continuing to stir it without intermission add two Pounds of Brimstone in Powder and stir 'em together till they be perfectly incorporated Give your Horse an Ounce of this Powder every Day in moisten'd Bran and it will not only give him Ease but not improbably compleat the Cure if your Horse be young and the Disease not very inveterate If your Horse's Lungs be heated with a violent beating in his Flanks Sal Polychrest may give him Relief but by reason of the coldness of that Remedy 't will be convenient to add half the quantity of Juniper-Berries or Nutmegs Thus you may give him an Ounce of Sal Polychrest with half an Ounce of Nutmegs or Juniper-Berries in moisten'd Bran and continue after the same manner for a considerable time If he refuse to eat the Bran give him the Remedies in a Pint of Wine after they have stood in Infusion a whole Night keeping him bridl'd two Hours before and three Hours after every Dose and persisting in this Method for fifteen Days If his Belly be loosn'd by the continu'd use of this Remedy you may entertain more certain hopes of the Cure for so it will evacuate the offendin Humours dilute the Flegm that causes the Obstructions clear and unstop the Passages that cool the Lungs purifie the Blood and resist Corruption If the Disease be not very stubborn and desperate this Remedy will at last mitigate its Violence and since that which gives Ease may at length perfect the Cure you ought to persist in a careful Observance of this Method if you perceive that the Horse receives any benefit by it This Remedy is most proper for young Horses who oftentimes stand in need of cooling Medicines which is seldom or never the Case of those that are old Another Remedy for Pursiveness The proper time for preparing this Remedy is when the Herbs are endu'd with their entire Virtues especially when Broom begins to put out its Flowers Take Mallows White Mullein Colts-Foot Green Broom Tops of the same Year Succory Bramble Tops Bitter Succory Hysop and White Horehound of each three Handfuls Chop 'em small and put 'em into a Kettle capable of containing a Pail full of Water fill the Kettle with Water and boil the Herbs two Hours after which remove the Vessel from the Fire adding a quarter of a Pound of Juice of Liquorice and ten handfuls of Broom Flowers After 't is half cold strain out the Liquor and dissolve in it two Pounds of Honey then melt a like quantity of Brimstome in an Iron Spoon or Ladle and cast it into the Decoction and after it sinks to the Bottom take it out melt it a second time and throw it again into the Liquor repeating the same Operation five or six times that the Decoction may be impregnated with the Salt of Sulphur After you have kept your Horse bridl'd two Hours in the Morning give him a fourth part of this Potion with a Horn walking him gently half an Hour after it then give him another fourth part walking him as before the next Day make him drink the other half observing the same Directions after which suffer him to rest one Day and on the fourth renew the Potion for two Days as before which must be follow'd by a Day of repose and the same Method continu'd till he has drunk the Decoction ten Days and rested four In the Intervals he must eat neither Hay nor Oats but Bran and Straw during the use of this Remedy and you will find him if not absolutely cur'd at least very much eas'd for the Operation of the Medicine depends on the State or Degree of the Disease when it was first exhibited Another Remedy for Pursiveness The former Remedy is only proper in the Summer and therefore since Horses are troubl'd with this Distemper in other Seasons of the Year you may observe the following Method Give your Horse a sufficient quantity of White Mullein chopt small and mixt with moisten'd Oats the larger you make the Dose the more effectually it will work If he will not eat Wheat-Straw moisten his Hay and for his ordinary Drink dissolve a Pound of Honey in a Pail-full of Water for tho' at first he may seem unwilling to drink it he will quickly be reconcil'd to it I have seen Horses abstain from drinking fifty Hours together but at last thirst constraind 'em to drink the Hony'd Water The continu'd use of this Remedy will either cure the Horse or at least make him fit for Service You must give the Mullein as long as you can but 't will be sufficient to make him drink Hony'd Water for a Month more or less according to the stubbornness of the Distemper and in the mean time the Horse may be ridden CHAP. CXV The way of Exhibiting Honey to Horses that are Purfive or troubl'd with Disorders in the Flanks and other Distempers HOney is an excellent Remedy for lean Horses who are troubl'd with Disorders in the Flanks or tir'd and spent with hard Exercise for it comforts the Lungs and allays the sharpness of the Humours But since it must be given Methodically I thought fit to insert all the particular Directions that must be observ'd in those cases Some give it with Oats to Horses that are Short-Winded Nor
do I condemn this Method but 't is incomparably better to make the Horse eat it hot with Bran if he can possibly overcome his Reluctancy for there are some Horses so obstinate that 't is absolutely impossible to make 'em eat it hot and therefore you must either suffer it to cool or not heat it at all Some mix a Pound of Honey with two Pecks of Bran stirring 'em together with a little luke-warm Water Others boil two Bushels of Bran in a Kettle with a proportionable quantity of Honey and Water and give it to their Horses Both these Methods are good and the Honey prepar'd either way cures the Cough takes away the disturbance in the Flanks and fattens the Horse if he be lean and wasted after long Fatigues This is an excellent way of giving Honey you may begin with half a Pound increasing the Dose afterwards to a whole Pound and at last to two Pounds a Day one in the Morning and the other at Night and preparing the Honey according to either of the above-mention'd Methods If you wou'd have the Honey perform its Operation effectually and resolve to give a large quantity of it you must neither ride your Horse nor give him any Oats feeding him only with Bran and persisting in an exact observance of this Method till his Body be sufficiently purg'd for tho' the Honey occasion a copious Evacuation you must still continue to give him the same quantity of it till the Purgation cease provided it do not exceed six Days but if it continues to the seventh you must lay aside the use of the Honey tho' this Caution be very rarely necessary for the heat of the Evacuation seldom or never lasts above three or four Days together tho' the Horse continue still to take his usual Doses of Honey I have seen Horses eat fifty Pounds of Honey before they were throughly purg'd but at last they voided very stinking and corrupt Matter and afterwards grew very Fat This Example ought not to fright the Reader for I only mention it as an extraordinary case and if all Horses requir'd so vast a quantity of Honey the whole Indies cou'd not furnish enough for so extraordinary an Expence The only inconveniency that attends this Method is that the Worms that are in a Horse's Body are nourish'd and strengthn'd by the sweetness of the Honey and afterwards vex and torment him To destroy these troublesome Insects the usual Method is to give the Horse Rye instead of Oats during the time of his eating Honey The Rye is cast into boiling Water and immediately remov'd from the Fire then the Water is suffer'd to cool and the Rye laid on a Hurdle to drain But without engaging in so troublesome a Method after he has taken all the Honey that you intend to give him you may content your self with giving him a Dose of Aloes which will kill all the Worms in his Body You may easily destroy Worms without Purgation by giving the Horse every Day an Ounce of Filings of Steel or of fine Needles mixt with moisten'd Bran for eight or ten Days together The Steel being dissolv'd by the penetrating Acid contain'd in the Stomach the Vitriolic Particles exert their Force and insinuating themselves a mong the Aliments poyson and destroy the Worms Besides Steel is indu'd with an admirable Faculty to open and clear the Passages and consequently makes way for the Blood to nourish and fatten the Parts Any Needle-maker will furnish you with a sufficient quantity of these Filings and you may try the goodness of 'em by throwing 'em against the Flame of a Candle for they will take Fire like Gun-Powder ' Twou'd be needless to alledge any Arguments to demonstrate that the Vitriolic part of the Steel is dissolv'd and separated in the Stomach and afterwards mixt with the digested Aliments since the very Excrements of the Horse during the use of this Remedy furnish me with a convincing proof of the truth of that Assertion for they appear black shining and ting'd with the Vitriol of Steel so long as the Horse continues to take the Powder of Steel and no longer The Filings of Steel in Substance is an excellent Remedy and the laborious ways of Preparing it produce the same effect in this case as in the Preparation of Pearls destroying the efficacy of the Remedy instead of exalting its Virtues and Chymistry teaches us on several occasions that Nature is a better Preparer of Medicines than Art Any Physician may be experimentally convinc'd of this Truth by giving a Dram of the Filings of Steel every Day in some convenient Conserve to his Patients to open Obstructions and destroy Worms and the same may be given with Success to Maids that are troubl'd with the Green-Sickness Or you may give the Horse four Ounces of Powder of Cinnabar in a Pound of fresh Butter which will not leave a Worm alive in his Body and the Dose may be repeated upon occasion Mercurius Dulcis is also an excellent Remedy with a double quantity of the Cordial-Powder that is half an Ounce of Mercury mixt with an Ounce of Powder CHAP. CXVI A Powder for heat and disturbance in the Flanks THE following Powder is of excellent use for Horses that are troubl'd with disorder'd Flanks and begin to be Short-Winded tho' it does not absolutely Cure ' em To keep their Flanks fresh and cool you must give it once a Year for twenty Days together by which Method I preserv'd a Horse as fresh as a Colt for six Years who was manifestly Short-Winded but not much troubl'd with a Cough Take Bay-Berries gather'd from a Laurel-Tree of Italy or Provence Myrrh Gentian and Round Birthwort of each eight Ounces Agaric four Ounces Saffron two Drams beat each Ingredient severally to Powder then mix and searce 'em thro' a fine Hair-Sieve The Dose is a Silver-Spoonful every Morning in a Quart of White-Wine and the Horse must be kept Bridl'd an Hour before and as long after Repeat the Dose once a Day till the whole Powder be consum'd and if you have not the conveniency of giving it with a Horn you may give it in moisten'd Bran fifteen Days together or longer In the mean time the Horse may be moderately ridden but you must never make him Sweat if you can possibly avoid it if his Body be full of corrupt Humours they may hinder the Operation of the Powder Experience will convince you of the usefulness of this Remedy for Horses that are troubl'd with the Flanks before they are evidently Pursive for it cools their Flanks and perfectly allays the disturbances of those Parts and besides it gives ease for a time to those that are Short-Winded I am not ignorant that 't is the usual Method of Farriers to administer Cooling Remedies to Pursive Horses but the efficacy of this Powder which is of a very different Nature must certainly oblige 'em to own that tho' there are some signs of Heat in the Flanks the original cause or
take a sufficient quantity of the Leaves of Coltsfoot White-Mullein and Red Maiden-hair boil 'em in Water to four Quarts strain out the Liquor and add ten Pounds of Honey boiling 'em to half the thickness of a Syrup till two Quarts of the Decoction be consum'd and skimming all the while mix the Powders with the Honey while 't is half cold till they be well incorporated and reduc'd to an Electuary which must be set to ferment in a Pot for the space of twenty or thirty Days in Summer but in cold Weather the Fermentation will require a longer time and you must never use the Electuary till it be duly Fermented Electuaries and Confections are more effectual than Powders by reason of the Fermentation that Concentrates and afterwards exalts the Virtues of the Ingredients Avicen was certainly of this Opinion for he expresly affirms That the Virtue or Efficacy of a Medicine is doubl'd by Fermentation And besides a Remedy may be kept longer in this form without losing its Virtue 't is more easily swallow'd and sooner wrought upon by the natural Heat in the Stomach This Electuary does very powerfully allay the boiling and preternatural heat of the Stomach and therefore is an excellent Remedy for fiery and mettlesome Horses that pine away after hard Labour or violent Exercise even tho' they be not troubl'd with a Cough In this case you must take away their Oats feed 'em with hot Bran and give 'em a Dose of this Electuary once every Day for fifteen or twenty Days after which they will be in a thriving Condition For the satisfaction of the curious I shall in few Words explain the Nature of Fermentation It derives its Name from Fermentum or Leven which is a Contraction of Fervimentum from Fervere to be hot or to boil It may be thus defin'd Fermentation is a Motion by which in a Mixture of different Substances those that are most subtil agitate and dilate the rest We may see Examples of it in Dough in Wine and several other Substances Golden or Red Maiden-hair is one of the Ingredients of the Syrup call'd the Syrup of the Capillary Herbs Marsh-Mallow Roots are common at Paris but those who cannot procure 'em may take double the quantity of the dry'd Leaves of Coltsfoot The Dose is four Ounces for Coach-Horses infus'd all Night in three Pints of Beer and drunk luke-warm in the Morning The Horse must be kept Bridl'd two Hours before and as long after the Dose and in those Countries where there is no Beer to be had the Medicine may be Infus'd in an equal mixture of Wine and Water This Electuary is endu'd with all the Virtues of the above-mention'd Powder and besides allays the preternatural Heat that usually accompanies the Cough But if that Distemper be occasion'd by cold tough and flegmatic Humours you must not administer so cooling a Remedy and therefore if after the first and second Dose you perceive that his Hair begins to stare or that he forsakes his Meat or Shivers you must give him the Powder instead of the Electuary but if none of these signs appear persist in the use of the latter which will effectually cure the oldest and most inveterate Cough It happens not unfrequently that after seven or eight Doses of the Electuary the Horse begins to scour as if he had taken a purging Medicine but you must still continue to give him a Dose once a Day for it 's a sign that the Remedy operates effectually You must persist in the daily use of the Electuary till the Cough be perfectly cur'd 'T is a singular Remedy for those Horses whose Lungs are dry'd up by excessive Heat for it moistens the Part and restores it to its natural temper But since the Cure of this Distemper may be sometimes perform'd with less Charge and Trouble I shall propose some other Remedies Other Powders for a Cough Take Femugreek and â—â—â—wers of Brimstone of each an equal quantity and mix 'em with moisten'd Oats Brimstone alone may be given with Oats but the Flowers are better A Pound of Honey put into a Pail-full of Water and us'd for ordinary Drink is excellent for a Cough as I intimated before I have already describ'd a Cordial Powder for the Cure of this Distemper A small handful of Hemp-seed mixt with Oats and given to a fat and fleshy Horse cures the Cough if the use of it be long continu'd The same quantity of Hemp-seed may be beaten and infus'd in White-Wine all Night and both the Wine and the Seed given to the Horse in the Morning A Cough may be also cur'd by giving the Horse a handful of Juniper-Berries every Day for a considerable time Take the Wood and Leaves of Tamarisk either dry or green tho' the latter is best stamp 'em and give 'em to your Horse with moisten'd Oats or Bran beginning with a small quantity and augmenting the Dose every Day to a large Spoonful A Remedy for the Cough Take a Pound of newly churn'd Butter before 't is wash'd and a like quantity of Honey with two Ounces of Juniper-Berries beaten mix and make Pills rolling 'em up with Powder of Liquorice Give your Horse a Dose with a Pint or a Pint and half of White-Wine keeping him Bridl'd two Hours before and three Hours after Repeat the same two or three times interposing a Day or two between the Doses Another Remedy Take of clear Oil of Walnuts newly drawn one Pint common Honey a Pound and thirty Grains of White-Repper beaten Incorporate 'em all together and give the whole quantity to the Horse Repeat the Dose if there be occasion and the second will perfect the Cure Grate two or three Nutmegs and give 'em to your Horse with half a Pint of Brandy One Dose of this Remedy has often cur'd the Cough but if the Horse be old you must repeat it or prepare that which follows Take a small Porringer of dry Pigeon's-Dung beat it and infuse it all Night in a Quart of White-Wine in the Morning heat it till it begin to boil then strain out the Liquor add two Ounces of Juice of Liquorice and make your Horse drink it up Repeat the same thrice interposing one Day between the Doses after which the Cough will probably be cur'd The English Pills for an Old Cough An Inveterate Cough is one of the most stubborn Distempers incident to Horses I have already propos'd several Remedies that have been often but not always attended with Success The following Pills cur'd Horses that were troubl'd with this Distemper six Months and sometimes a whole Year after a fruitless Tryal of other Remedies Take Flower of Brimstone four Ounces Annisâ—eds beaten two Ounces Liquorice dry'd in the shade and beaten four Ounces Bay-Berries in fine Powder four Ounces brown Sugar-Candy six Ounces good Treacle four Ounces Oil-Olive eight Ounces Tarr two Ounces Beat 'em in a Mortar till they be well incorporated and mix 'em with four Eggs beaten in a Dish without the Shells
Roses two Ounces Confection of Alkermes without Musk or Ambergrise one Ounce Treacle half a Dram Powder of Oriental Saffron six Grains Mix all the Ingredients in a Glass-Vial and give to your Horse with a Horn rinsing the Horn the Vial and your Horse's Mouth with a Mixture of the Waters of Carduus Benedictus Succory and Scabious of each an Ounce and half This Water or Julep allays the Heat of the Fever Inject a Clyster about Four a Clock in the Afternoon give the Remedy at Six and keep your Horse bridl'd till Eight The next Day at Four in the Afternoon administer one of the above-mention'd Clysters at Six let your Horse blood in the two Plate-Veins of the Thighs keeping him bridl'd two Hours after You may repeat the Dose of the Remedy two or three times but not the Bleeding without Necessity In the mean time the Horse must eat little Hay you must frequently wash his Mouth with Verjuice Salt and Honey of Roses and oftentimes inject one of the above-mention'd Clysters Since I have often observ'd that the Apothecaries ask an excessive Rate for this Remedy I thought fit to advertise those who may have Occasion to use it that the highest Price of it does not amount to above * About 6s Three Livres and Ten Sous for the Confection of Alkermes is without either Musk or Ambergrise This Remedy ought to be highly esteem'd by those who are Masters of good Horses for by the Use of it in less than a Month I cur'd Four Horses of Value after they were past Hope of Recovery For your Horses Ordinary Drink You may dissolve in a Pailful of Water the Remedy for Fevers consisting of Salt of Tartar Sal Armoniac c. describ'd in Chap. CXXXVI If that cannot be procur'd you may infuse in a Pailful of Water the Dough of a Peny-Loaf ready to be put into the Oven which makes the Water white cools the Body of the Horse and affords some Nourishment and is infinitely better than Flower which is commonly us'd on this Occasion This is an excellent Remedy for simple Fevers and almost for all Horses that are troubl'd with a violent beating in the Flanks proceeding from a hot Cause and I have even given it with good Success to Morfounded Horses when the Disease was accompany'd with a beating in the Flanks for tho' in this case hot Remedies are requir'd to strengthen Nature and enable her to expel that which offends her yet since the Fever is augmented by the heat of the Medicins we must find out and exhibit a good Remedy that strengthens without much Heat which is the peculiar Character of the above-mention'd Julep or mixture of Waters When the Fever is violent the Sick Horse either does not lie down at all or if he does starts up again immediately by reason of the difficulty of Breathing that oppresses him when he lies and therefore if in this case your Horse lie down and remain long in that Posture you may conclude him to be in a hopeful Condition nor must you reckon it a bad sign tho' he complain more when he lies than when he stands for even the soundest Horses are wont to complain when they are in that Posture This is an important remark in the case of all Horses that are extreamly Sick and a diligent observance of it will enable you to make a better Judgment of the Nature of the Distemper A Potion or Drink for a Founder'd Horse that is very Sick either with or without a Cough Take two Pints and half of the Four Cordial Waters viz. of Scorzonera Queen of the Meadows Carduus Benedictus and Scabious dissolving in the same an Ounce of Confection of Hyacinth without Musk or Ambergreece and one Treacle-Pill in Powder Give this Mixture to your Horse in the Morning and rinse the Pot and Horn with half a Pint of Wild succory-Succory-Water which you must make him drink after you have wash'd his Mouth with it Keep him Bridl'd three Hours before and two Hours after and at Night give him the following Clyster Take Powder of Sal Polychrest an Ounce and a half Pulp of Coloquintida without the Seeds half an Ounce boil 'em in five Pints of Beer half a quarter of an Hour and in the strain'd Liquor dissolve a quarter of a Pound of good Populeum make a Clyster to be injected Lukewarm If this Remedy prove ineffectual you may conclude that your Horse's Life is in danger but if you perceive any signs of Amendment you must frequently repeat the Clyster which will very much promote the Cure I have sometimes given with Success a Dose of Stinking Pills to Horses troubl'd with this Distemper for tho' that Medicine seems at first to encrease the beating in the Flanks it quiets all those disorders afterwards tho' I must confess the same Remedy has disappointed me at other times The Lieutenant's Decoction for a Horse that is Founder'd and very Sick Take Carduus Benedictus and Hyssop of each one handful Juice of Liquorice two Ounces Roots of Gentian stampt in a Mortar one Ounce boil the Ingredients in a Pint and a half of Water for the space of half an Hour and as soon as you remove the Vessel from the Fire pour into it half a Pint of White-Wine straining out the Liquor Add as much Saffron as you can lift between your three Fingers and make a Decoction for one or two Doses according to your Horse's Strength or his Aversion to the Medicine The next Day let him Blood in the Flanks and keep him in a temperate place Since Horses in this Condition are wont to eat very little they must be nourish'd with cleans'd Barley without Butter or Fat or with Bread if you can persuade 'em to eat it or Bran c. For more particular directions in this Case you may consult the Sixth Seventh Eighth and Ninth Chapters of this Book and therefore I shall content my self at present with putting you in Mind that you must frequently put a Bit into your Horses Mouth and remember always to offer him Meat when you unbridle him CHAP. CXXV Crocus Metallorum TAke the best Crude Antimony or that which is fullest of Points and Nitre or Salt-Petre of each an equal quantity beat 'em severally to Powder and mix 'em in a Crucible Then set 'em on Fire with a Match or live Cole and as soon as the Flame is extinguish'd and the Matter cold you will find the Liver of Antimony under the Scoriae which are also of good use in certain Cases Separate the Liver and reduce it to a very fine Powder then throw it into Water and beat again in the same Mortar that which the Water cannot dissolve continuing after the same manner till the whole Matter be reduc'd to an impalpable Powder then suffer the Water to settle and you will find at the bottom a Liver-Colour'd Powder which you must continue to wash by pouring on fresh Water till the Salt of the Nitre that
him in one of the folds of his Guts who imagining that it was a Musquet-Bullet came to shew it me wondring that so large a Bullet did not kill the Horse when he receiv'd the Shot These two Experiments may serve to convince the Reader that the Regulus of Antimony does not exert its Purgative force on the Body of a Horse Prepar'd Antimony may be safely given in the above-mention'd and several other cases It s principal effect is to purifie the whole Mass of the Blood by insensible Transpiration and the frequent use of it consumes the superfluous watry Humours which being Infected with Putrefaction transmit malignant Vapours to the Brain breed a slimy Matter that stops and obstructs the small Branches of the Veins and mixing with the Blood corrupts the whole Mass of it and makes it unfit for nourishing the parts of the Body The Liver of Antimony does very powerfully open the Obstructions of the Veins and Arteries and so destroys the fomenting cause of most Distempers and besides 't is endu'd with this admirable quality that it acts by way of Irradiation an unbounded Virtue peculiar to this Mineral reduc'd to Medicines by a due Preparation The same Remedy is both an excellent Preservative from all Distempers if it be given to a Horse from time to time and Cures those that are actually troubl'd with Diseases excepting such as require hot Remedies as the Strangles Glanders and Running at the Nose I am extreamly surpriz'd not to find the least mention of so noble a Remedy in the Works of so many Learned and Judicious Authors who have describ'd the Maladies of Horses It cools and refreshes the Body and those who use it will have the pleasure and satisfaction of believing on most certain and reasonable Grounds that it cannot produce any ill effect I know the ancient Physicians who were generally Enemies to Antimony endeavour'd to destroy the credit of that Remedy by affirming that 't is full of Arsenical Spirits that waste and corrode the Internal Parts and are usually attended with fatal Consequences tho' it seems at first to be administer'd with excellent Success but I must beg leave of those Gentlemen to tell 'em that at least with respect to Horses those Arsenical Spirits are only lodg'd in their Brains for I have made several Horses eat four or five Pounds of this Remedy without intermission and sometimes four or five Ounces every Day so that if there had been any Corrosive Spirits in the Antimony the Stomach and Intestines of these Animals would have certainly been bor'd like Sieves Whereas on the contrary the Horses that devour'd so large a quantity of Antimony recover'd daily grew brisk and lusty and even some that were Hide-bound and wasted were quickly fatten'd by the use of this Powder which contains no malignant Particles nor even produces any ill effect on the Body of a Horse as I might easily demonstrate by the testimony of a thousand Persons that have us'd it After so many Experiments I am so fully perswaded of the harmlesness of this Remedy that I recommend it to all my Friends and as for the Arsenical Spirits I 'm no more afraid of 'em than of the Spirits or Hobgoblins with which Children are usually scar'd If your Horse's Distemper requires hot Remedies you must abstain from the use of Liver of Antimony because it cools the Body And 't is also to be observ'd that when your Horse begins to eat it especially during the first eight or ten Days you must neither Gallop Work nor even Ride him immediately for by the use of this Remedy the Blood is put into a kind of universal Ebullition and therefore if the Horse be fatigu'd or over-ridden while the Blood continues to be so briskly mov'd he will easily become Founder'd tho' he might have escap'd that Inconveniency if he had not eaten the Liver of Antimony since the Humours and especially the Blood wou'd not have been so violently agitated In the mean time moderate Exercise is not only convenient but necessary for it obliges Nature to expel by the Pores those Vapours call'd Fuliginous Steams that infect the Blood but during the first eight or ten Days vehement Exercise is extreamly hurtful and you must always remember when your Horse sweats to wipe and dry him very carefully and to prevent his growing suddenly Cold tho' after the first Ebullition of the Blood is over you need not confine your self to so strict an observance of those Cautions CHAP. CXXVI Of Tir'd Horses that Pine away after hard Labour or Riding HOrses are usually reduc'd to a languishing condition by violent Exercise and fatiguing Marches especially in an Army and can hardly ever after recover their wonted Health and Vigour for sometimes they have good Forage whereas at other times they are obliged to eat Rye Millet unwholsome Herbs and rotten Hay sometimes they have abundance of Provender and at other times very little or none at all and besides they are sometimes forc'd to drink corrupt Water at unseasonable times not to mention the irregularity and hardness of their Marches so that if a Horse be not of a very strong Constitution and well Limb'd 't is almost impossible for him to undergo so many Fatigues 'T is not an easie Task on such occasions to direct the Intentions of the Cure to any particular Distemper but you can hardly fail of success if you take care to exhibit and apply such Remedies as are proper to strengthen the internal and refresh the external parts of the Body to expel and consume the peccant Humours that are daily gather'd either by Bleeding or universal Purgations and if you discover any particular Distemper you must have recourse to the specific Remedies that are peculiarly appropriated to your Horse's present Condition The Signs to know a Horse that has been ill us'd in the Camp are these When he Breathes there appears a sort of Canal stretching along his Belly like a Rope or Cord his Hair stares and is discolour'd his Dung is dry black and sometimes full of Worms and his Eyes are heavy he never thrives tho' he feeds heartily when you walk him he seems sullen and complains and shews none of that briskness or liveliness which is usually the effect of repose If these Signs appear in a tir'd Horse after his return from the Army or from a long Journey you must in the first place let him Blood in the Neck-Veins and afterwards proceed to exhibit some digestive Powder that promotes the Concoction of Aliments and prepares the superfluous Humours in order to their more easie and effectual Evacuation Liver of Antimony produces the effect of a Digestive Powder if two Ounces of it be given once a Day with moisten'd Bran But if your Horse has an aversion to Bran you may give him the Golden Sulphur of Antimony in Wine according to the Directions prescrib'd in Chap. CXXIX which will operate more effectually than any other Preparation of Antimony and quickly restore
a Horse in a Moment and finds so little Resistance that it comes very speedily to a Period It proceeds either from the Biting or Stinging of a venomous Creature from the Eating of poisonous Food or from the Infection of the Air which is sometimes so Violent and Contagious that it kills all the Horses in a Stable CHAP. CXXXV Of the Causes and Signs of a Fever FEvers are usually occasion'd by all those things that promote the Ebullition and Fermentation of the Humours and particularly every thing that heats the Body as violent Exercise and the use of hot Aliments especially in Summer to which we may add whatever is apt to breed Fulness or Repletion in the Body which oppresses Nature and renders her unable to subdue those rebellious Humours that stagnate in the Vessels where they are putrefy'd and fermented Sometimes a Fever proceeds from Obstructions in the excretory Passages especially those in the habit of the Body which are very numerous or by a stoppage of the free and natural Motion of the Blood that performs so many Rounds every Day passing from the Heart thro' the Arteries to the Veins and from thence returning to the Heart Thus if a Horse that is heated by hard Riding or any violent Exercise be suddenly expos'd to the cold Air or drink very cold Water the least tendency to a Fever will discover it self and actually break forth into a Distemper which perhaps lurk'd in his Body before And to conclude the least Disturbance in the natural Disposition of the Body is apt on some Occasions to produce a Fever The Signs of a Fever are these A violent Beating in the Flanks Heat of the Mouth Tongue and all the rest of the Body Swelling of the Veins and Beating of the Heart against the Sides The sick Horse breathes thick and with Difficulty reels frequently as he goes seldom lies down and when he is laid starts up suddenly because the Difficulty of Breathing is increas'd by that Posture forsakes his Meat entirely or eats only by Starts takes no notice of those who come near him nor turns his Head tho' you make a noise behind him Takes no care of himself and at last remains immoveable as if he were perfectly stupid and depriv'd of all his Senses His Lips and Ears hang down his Eyes seem sad and shining a sharp and piercing Heat is spread over all his Body and all the Symptoms of a violent Oppression of Nature appear I shall proceed to lay down some general Rules to be observ'd in the Cure of all Sorts of Fevers And first You must keep your Horse to a very spare Diet for if the Fever continue three Days without Intermission you may conclude that he is in extreme Danger and therefore he may well fast or at least be contented with a very small Quantity of Nourishment in so short a time and Hippocrates tells us in his Aphorisms That when a Disease is at the Height 't is absolutely necessary to observe a very thin Diet. Thus you may easily perceive the dangerous Errour of those who if a Horse be troubl'd with a Fever and fast twenty four Hours immediately give him Milk and Yolks of Eggs which is a very unwholsome kind of Nourishment in this Case and encreases the Distemper Besides it must be given with a Horn and the Violence of that Method of Feeding him augments the Difficulty of Breathing and disturbs him when he stands most in need of Rest You must therefore content your self with endeavouring to make him eat something of his own Accord for a small quantity of Nourishment given after this Manner will produce a better Effect than all that you can pour into his Mouth with a Horn. 'T is a Rule of great Importance in the Cure of Fevers never to exhibit a purging Medicine for in so great a Confusion of the Humors it 's impossible for Nature to evacuate those that offend her till she has separated 'em from the rest of the Mass and 't is plain that the Execution of so laborious a Work requires a considerable space of Time And besides the Operation of a purgative Medicine heats the Body and causes a Pain in the Guts which may not improbably breed an Inflammation 'T is also convenient to keep the sick Horse always bridl'd unless for so long time as must be necessarily allow'd him for Eating Of the Cure of a simple Fever If your Horse be troubl'd with a simple Fever you have no reason to dread the Event since the Cure may be easily and almost infallibly perform'd by a careful Observance of the following Method Assoon as you perceive any Signs of a Fever open the Neck-Vein on the right Side and take out about three Pounds of Blood The same Day give him the following Clyster A Clyster Boil two Ounces of Sal Polychrest and two Handfuls of whole Barley in three Quarts of Water and after one Waum add Blites Mercury Leaves of Violets and Pellitory of the Wall of each three Handfuls boil for the space of half a quarter of an Hour then remove the Decoction from the Fire and after 't is half cold strain out the Liquor and adding three Ounces of the Lenitive Electuary with a quarter of a Pound of Oil of Roses make a Clyster to be injected luke-warm An Hour after he has voided the Clyster tye a Chewing-Ball to his Bit and give him two Ounces of Powder of Liver of Antimony in a Quart of Beer or a Ptisan which may expel the Humours by Urine without heating the Body The next Day after rubb his whole Body with a Wisp of Straw or Hay to open the Pores of the Skin that the Steams or Excrements of the third Concoction may exhale which if they were suffer'd to remain in the Body wou'd oppress the Blood that stands in need of a free and unobstructed Motion His ordinary Drink may be thus prepar'd Melt four Ounces of Sal Prunellae in a sufficient quantity of Water and after 't is cold mix it with a little Flower and let your Horse drink as much as he pleases for this Drink allays the Heat of the Entrails resists Corruption and opens the Passages Besides it stops that Ebullition or Fermentation which is the usual Cause of all Fevers and evacuates the Humours by Urine which is the right Passage thro' which they shou'd be expell'd As for his Food you must give him Leaves of Succory Lettuce Dandelion or of Vines but little or no Hay and less Oats for either of these are apt to heat the Body constipate the Belly and harden the Excrements If you consider the short continuance of the Disease you will not be troubl'd at the small quantity of Nourishment that your Horse is allow'd to take If it last above three Days take Assa-faetida and Savin grossly beaten of each half an Ounce Sugar and Raspings of Liquorice of each an Ounce Tie 'em to the Bit in a Linnen Bag and make him champ upon it
Skillet till it begin to thicken then add an Ounce and a half of Wormseed and about two Ounces of Aloes in Powder according to the Bigness of your Horse for you may give a Coach-Horse two Ounces and a half and if he be of a very large Size three Ounces Boil the Powders with the Honey till they be well incorporated and after the Mass is cold make it up into Pills anointing your Hands with Oil-Olive or of bitter Almonds if you can procure it keeping your Horse bridl'd six Hours before you give him the Pills and as long after The same Day give him a Clyster of two Quarts of Milk with a quarter of a Pound of Sugar and six Yolks of Eggs to entice the Worms to the Fundament Note That you must never mix any Oil or Fat with the Clysters that are given in this Case for they both drive away the Worms They who are loth to give themselves the Trouble of preparing these Pills may give their Horses one of the above-mention'd Purgatives especially that with Mercurius dulcis which will certainly answer their Expectation But I have often observ'd that these Pills have extirpated all the Worms out of a Horse's Body more effectually than any other Remedy whatsover The following Method is also of admirable Efficacy Boil three Quarts of Water in an Earthen Pot with half a Pound of running or crude Quick-silver and mix this Water with a Pailful of common Water for your Horse's ordinary Drink during the space of fifteen Days The same Mercury will serve all the while and remain as good after the fifteen Days are expir'd as it was at the first Boiling This Remedy was first propos'd by Van Helmont and I have seen it given to Children that were full of Worms for fifteen Days together with admirable Success 'T is not at all loathsome or troublesome to the Stomach for the Quick-silver changes neither the Colour Taste nor Smell of the Water I have seen an infinite Number of Cures perform'd by it and therefore I cou'd not forbear inserting it here for the Conveniency of the Poor who cannot make use of a cheaper Remedy Others put two or three Pounds of crude Quick-silver into the bottom of a Cask where they keep Water for the ordinary Drink of Horses that are troubl'd with Worms Another Remedy to kill Worms Give your Horse daily an Ounce of Filings of Steel which you may procure at very easie Rates from the Needle-Makers mixt with moisten'd Bran till he has eaten a whole Pound I will not here repeat what I have already said in order to explain the Reason why Steel destroys and expels Worms but it will not be improper to add that it opens all Obstructions in the Veins Arteries Intestins and especially in the Passages of the Lungs And 't is well known that if those Obstructions be neglected they may produce many dangerous and stubborn Distempers 'T is in my Opinion very convenient when Horses return from the Camp to put 'em into a Course of Steel observing the same Dose as before For it happens not unfrequently that they are troubl'd with Worms which hinder 'em from thriving tho' their Distemper by reason of the want of external Signs is generally unknown and consequently either neglected or ill cur'd But all these Inconveniencies may be prevented by the Use of Steel which is a cheap Remedy and safe in all Cases To secure and complete the Effect of the Steel you must afterwards purge your Horse for without Purgation you can never certainly promise the Cure of this Distemper A Powder that kills the Worms and expels the Matter of which they are generated Take Flowers of St. John's-Wort and lesser Centaury of each two Ounces Coral Seeds of Lettuce and Citrons and good Aloes of each half an Ounce Corallin Gentian Dittany Scammony prepar'd with the Vapours of Brimstone and Coloquintida of each one Dram Cinnamon and Coriander-seed of each an Ounce Cinnabar four Ounces Mix and make a Powder Give this Powder to your Horse in the Morning before you suffer him to eat The Dose is an Ounce and a half to large Horses and an Ounce to those of a smaller Size Afterwards inject a Clyster of Milk or Tripe-Broth to entice the Worms to the great Gut Repeat the Dose of this Powder seven or eight times either every Day or once in two Days Then purge your Horse and you may certainly expect a perfect Cure Another cheap Powder for the Worms Beat the Husks of green Walnuts and press out their Juice or after they are beaten infuse 'em in Water for the space of twenty four Hours pour the Juice or Water upon the Ground in moist cool and fat Places and immediately all the Worms that are under-ground will come forth Take a sufficient quantity of these Earth-Worms and put 'em into clean Water for they space of six Hours till they have vomited up all their Filth Then fill an Earthen Pot with 'em cover it close and set it in an Oven after the Bread is taken out till the Worms be so dry that they may be easily reduc'd to Powder You must give this Powder every Morning for seven or eight Days from one to two Ounces in a Quart of good Wine For there are some Horses who will not eat it with Bran or Oats tho' it wou'd doubtless produce the same Effect Since Purgation is so necessary for compleating the Cure I shall propose a Remedy that may be usefully given to a Fat Horse for all purging Medicines are hurtful to lean Horses Take good Treacle and Aloes of each an Ounce and a half Mercurius dulcis half an Ounce red Wine a Quart mix 'em carefully together and give the Medicine to your Horse This Remedy destroys all sorts of Worms and purges the Horse's Body of all manner of Impurities If you desire further Information on this Subject you may consult the Book entitl'd La Gloria del Cavallo del illustre Segnori Paschal Caracciollo where the Author treats with a great deal of Learning and Judgment of the Method of Curing all Distempers incident to Horses and Vegetius in his Treatise Artis Veterinariae sive Molomedicae Lib. 1. Cap. 44. has an excellent Discourse of the Cure of Horses besides several other Authors I have inserted nothing in this Chapter but what is grounded on my own Experience and I may venture to say without Vanity that you will hardly find a better Method any where else But since I cannot pretend to be Judge in my own Cause I thought fit to cite the best Authors who have handl'd this Subject that after a careful Perusal of 'em the Curious Reader may be enabl'd to judge of my Performance I have all along apply'd my self to the Study of Things rather than Words and as for those Admirers of a polish'd and florid Style I shall only beg Leave to put 'em in mind of the Sentence Magna pars Ignorantium ut ligno Naufragus verbis haeret
following Water which is a very good and safe Remedy A Water to heal and dry up the Pains and Warts tho' the Leg be Swoll'n or Gourdy Take white Vitriol and Allom of each a Pound and a half boil 'em in a clean glaz'd Earthen-Pot with five Pints of Water to the consumption of one half and preserve the Water for use You must first cut off the Hair and make the sore place very clean then bathe it every Evening with this Water till it be heal'd This is one of the best Remedies I ever had occasion to use The Black Ointment or the Coach-man 's Ointment to heal and dry up all Manner of Sores in the hinder Legs If you find by Experience that in some Cases none of the above-mention'd Remedies are sufficient to cure the Pains Clefts Mules and Rat-Tails you must endeavour to temper the Acrimony and sharpness of the Humour with the white Honey Charge And tho' after the fruitless Application of the Neat-heard's Ointment or that of Oldenburg there is little hope left of performing the Cure with any other Remedy it will not perhaps be improper to subjoin the Description of a very cheap and effectual Ointment if the Leg be not Gourdy Take common Honey and Powder of Copperas of each a Pound and a half mix 'em together in a Pot over a gentle Fire stirring 'em constantly till they begin to boil then take off the Pot and when the Matter is half cold add an Ounce of Arsenic in Powder Then set it on the Fire again and stir it till it begin to boil after which take it off stirring perpetually till it grow cold and in the mean time take all possible care to avoid the noisome Smell After you have shav'd away the Hair rub the sore place with a Wisp and anoint it with your Finger renewing the Application once every two Days You must not lay it on too thick lest it raise a Scab instead of drying up the Sore CHAP. CLXXXIII Of Swoll'n or Gourdy Legs by reason of the Pains or other Fleshy Sores THE above-mention'd Distempers namely the Rat-Tails Mules Warts Clefts and Pains are accompany'd with a Swelling in the Horse's Legs which must be cur'd after this manner Shave away the Hair upon and about the sore place as close as you can and anoint it with Oil of Linseed and Brandy shaken together till they be perfectly mixt and renewing the Mixture as often as you have occasion to use it because they separate if they be suffer'd to stand long without shaking and anointing the sore Place every day till the Leg be sound If this Remedy do not operate with sufficient Vigour apply the white Honey Charge renewing it every Day and at every Dressing wiping away all the Matter with Flax By a continu'd Application of this Charge the Swelling will be asswag'd and the Sores dry'd up in ten or twelve Days at most Warts must be cut off with a red-hot Knife or you may endeavour to take 'em away with the Ointment in Chap. CLXXXI or those prescrib'd for the Farcin besides several others mention'd in this Book But the following Remedy is most commodious for it makes the Warts fall away by degrees and by reason of the durableness of its Effect is call'd the Perpetual Caustic You must not handle it without your Gloves because it stains the Skin and Nails of a Tawny Colour The Perpetual Caustic or Lapis Infernalis Put an Ounce of strong Aqua-fortis with half an Ounce of Silver-Lace burnt wash'd and dry'd into a Matrass placing it on hot Ashes till the Silver be dissolv'd which quickly turns reddish Then augmenting the Fire evaporate all the Aqua-fortis and there will remain at the bottom a brown Matter usually call'd Lapis Infernalis or the perpetual Caustic which must be kept dry and cover'd This Preparation is sufficient for those whose Curiosity never leads 'em out of the beaten Road but it might be made much more effectual and proper for Men according to the following Directions Take two Ounces of either the Filings or thin Plates of fine Silver and dissolve 'em in five Ounces of strong Aqua-fortis Then pour the Solution into a Glass Cucurbit cover'd with its Alembic and draw off one half of the Aqua-fortis with a Heat of Ashes or Sand. Afterwards let the Vessel stand some Hours to cool and you will find at the bottom of the Cucurbit a certain Matter in a Saline form which must be put into a pretty large German Crucible to prevent its boiling over Set the Crucible in a small Fire till the Ebullition cease and the Matter sink to the bottom after which augment the Fire a little and you will perceive the Matter reduc'd to the form of Oil at the bottom of the Crucible Pour this Oil-like Substance into a very clean Mould somewhat hot and anointed with Tallow where it will grow as hard as a Stone and afterwards keep it in a well-stopp'd Glass-Bottle and in a dry Place 'T is to be observ'd that the usual Effect of this Stone is owing to the Corrosive Spirits of the Aqua-fortis intangl'd and retain'd by this Silver And all the reason why it might not be as well made with Copper or Iron is that when 't is prepar'd with those imperfect Metals it sucks in too much Air and soon turns to a Liquor which nevertheless wou'd be an excellent Caustic But that which is made with Silver retains its solid Form and may be kept in a Bottle 'T is call'd Infernal both from its black Colour and its caustic or burning Quality in both which respects it may be said to resemble Hell This Stone is alone sufficient without the assistance of the Fire Honey-Charge Powders or any other Application to consume and destroy Warts if they be rubb'd with it every Day till they be quite eaten away but since 't is somewhat dear to prevent any useless waste you may beat the smallest pieces of it to Powder and strew it upon the Warts after which the Scab will quickly fall away It may be also apply'd to Figs Proud Flesh and other Tumours and Excrescences that are to be extirpated The same Stone serves a great while since 't is only made use of to rub the Part but its Virtue is somewhat abated by wearing This second Preparation of the Infernal Stone is a very effectual Remedy for Men that are troubl'd with Cancers which may be touch'd every Day with it till they fall away If by reason of the Malignity of the Pains or other filthy Sores the Hoof be separated from the Cronet at the Heel you must apply the white Honey-Charge which will remove that Inconveniency and make the Hoof grow This separation of the Hoof at the Heel of the hinder Leg is not so considerable a Symptom as some may imagine since it affects only the Hoof without penetrating between the Foot and the Coffin-Bone so that there is no danger of an Impostume in the Hairy part of
so much raised above the skin but they are more dangerous than those which are bigest and most elevate this infirmity is easily discovered when a Man is a buying a Horse for he will perceive a great many mattering kind of Warts or Poireaux which touch one another and are without hair they are for the most part humid and send forth matter but yet may be dryed up for a season There cometh sometimes also in the soles mattering kind of warts or rather Figs upon the frush which are easy to be known for they are in a manner detatched from it and send forth a stinking kind of matter they also appear distinctly upon the middle of the frush towards the heel which is full of corrupt stuff they commonly exceed the ordinary height of the frush and are as I said rather figs than Poireaux or mattering warts although they are for the most part called Poireaux because of their being mentained and nourished by the same nervous juice as they Those Figs grow sometimes also upon the sides of the frush and beneath the sole of the foot and when they are considerably raised above the frush so that they touch the ground as the Horse is riding they then cause him halt to the very ground The external form of Figs is the the same with those Poireaux or mattering warts which come in the pasterns only that the figs do not in the beginning send forth such stinking matter as the Poireaux or Leek heads doe those figs are of such consequence that no man should buy a Horse which hath them because their cure is long and troublesome so that such persons who know the secret of it may safely say they can perform what very few people can although some within this short time have become pretty skilful in it A Man may know when a Horse hath been cured of figs especially if he hath suffered long under them because that foot in which he had them will be larger than the rest and will still continue to be so although the Horse be otherways very well recovered and render good service I know a fine Coach Horse whom there was a necessity to reject because they had neglected to look to the figs which he had in his hind soles which were become so corrupted that the little foot or Coffin-bone was almost quite discovered by it so that one might have easily touched it with the prob thorow the corruption which the figs had made a top of it the Horse being in this condition did rid but with trouble and his hind feet were almost twice as big as his fore so that at last there was a necessity to reject him There cometh sometimes also thorow a Horses whole Body a great number of figs or rather Anburys but which do no kind of prejudice and as their roots are a great dale less than their bodies people tye a threed of double silk about them which they straiten by degrees and which maketh these Auburys to dry up and fall away especially if they are begun to be tyed and restricted after the full of the Moon and when she is a decreasing and that they be daily anointed with the juice of the herb purslain or with the milk which cometh from green figs when they are broke and squeezed there are few of these kind of Figs or Anburys which are not eradicat in the decrease of one Moon but the silk threed must be straitned once in three days sometimes they go away of their own accord and so the horse is freed of them unless it be a certain kind of large ones which are broad at the roots and also almost asflat as a Crown piece such immediatly appear upon the surface of the skin the part is quick and sendeth forth a stincking juice or water if these kind of Anburys be neglected they will increase to the bigness of half Oranges and will be very ugly they may be dryed up with the yellow water by touching them with it once or twice a day and if you strew them over with the powder of dryed Cuttle fish bone and continue it you will so kill them that they will no more appear they come likeways upon that part of the neck where blood is taken and which is commonly caused by stricking with a rusty lance or fleam also in the flat and middle parts of hind Legs The best remedy which I find for either is the yellow water or vulnerary water described in the 60. Chap. Sect. 8. and 61. Chap. Sect. 3d. of the second part you are to wash these figs or Anburys every day with urine then touch them with the vulnerary water and afterwards strew them with the powder of dryed cuttle fish-bone and continuing this for a Month the Anburys will dry up and because they have no roots will therefore never return It may so fall out that the Anburys may have caused a kind of Ulcer which will be long a drying up and healing but if you still continue to apply what I have been directing it will at last extirpate them In fine although it is not in this place you should find remedies I have however thought fit to set down this because of its easiness and that it is not worth the while to make a Chapter expresly for it The Traverse Mules or Kib'd heels are Chops and Clifts which surround the back parts of the pastern joints where they ply and bend and oft-times there cometh above that part many more this infirmity is more painfull than the preceeding because these chincks as a horle is Riding shut and open by reason of the motion made by the pastern-joint which maketh them very painfull it is with difficulty that they can be dryed up because of that movement that keepeth them still open and which augmenteth the descent of the humour that nourisheth them those who understand not this infirmity call it a Crevisse it is indeed a Crevisse but which is more propperly called a Traverse Mule or Kib'd Heel This infirmity should not hinder a man to buy a horse if the legs be not gorged and swelled although the most inconsiderable infirmities in Coach-Horses legs are truly very much to be feared because of their bad consequences oftentimes this infirmity maketh a Horse always halt until the sharpness of the humour heat and swelling of the leg are removed Besides Rats-Tails Poireaux or mattering warts and Traverse mules there cometh in the hind legs a kind of white sharp and corrupt humour or Waters called in French Manvaises Eaux they come very rarely in the fore-legs but rather almost always in the hind these Waters are like to a stinking kind of matter which passing thorow the pores of the skin deaden it and also render it of a whitish collour they commonly do not ulcerate but in the Crevisses which are either in the pastern or upon the pastern-joint This infirmity is quickly known by causing lift the hind feet and searching the pasterns
and you no ways troubling him now if you can have but patience to let him walk thus negligently for a quarter of an hour if he incline to stumble he will trip more than once and perhaps salute the ground with his nose if he be very subject to it if he be heavy on the hand he will rest wholly upon the Bit and be a burden to the Bridle-hand if he be dull and Lazy he will diminish insensibly the train of his walk and will at last stand still to put him on again you must move gently your body and Legs nay even your Arms as commonly the Grooms do when they take a Horse to the Water and infallibly you will know your Horse better thus in half an hour than in half a day by any other method Again if after having made this proof you cause him go at an attentive pace and that he be under the apprehension of your Spurrs he will unite all his strength and mettle to please you whereas if you suffered him to walk on negligently at his pleasure he would not much help or advance his sale because it is commonly in the first hundred yards or so that a Horse after he hath been switcht or spurred giveth the greatest token of his Mettle by reason that the fear and apprehension of the correction he received is for so long fresh enough in his memory But if after he is once fred of that apprehension by your negligence in pressing him on and slackness of your thighs and legs he notwithstanding go cheerfully forwards with a raised and well placed head and champing his bit his step well raised and resolute without either stumbling or stricking upon the Clods or Stons in the way I say without doubt such a Horse cannot but be vigorous and mettled and also go well these are the Horses which a man may venture to buy at a dear rate for there are but few of this make For Horses again which Amble they should go roundly and equally that is their hind quarters should accompany exactly their fore and not go as if they were in two peices or halfs but above all you should observe if the persons which are upon them make but a little motion with their bodies which will be a certain token that such Horses go well and that not only the Amble but also the Step. Besides a Horse in Ambling should go with an equal time or cadance that is all his steps should be of an equall measure and not three quick and perhaps as many slow but with his head and neck high and well raised and his haunches low because those Hackneys with high and unbended Haunches go uneasily weary themselves and fatigue the Rider there are some Amblers which raise up their Croups every step they make so that their hind-quarters move like the Waves of the Sea which are always rising and falling this is a very bad way of Ambling which soon wearyeth Horses and hindreth them to Rid any great length because they do not Ride with their Haunches low and plyed For all Horses which do not Amble with their Haunches thus low and plyed can never go agreeably nor easily but besides this they should have also a sufficient movement in their fore-legs which will add considerably to the Gracefulness of their Amble The best observation for Amblers and to know if they really go well is to take notice if they overlay much in Ambling which is if with their hind feet they overpass a foot and a half or two foot the print of their fore for the more they overpass them with their hind feet the better will they Amble and the worse if they do not because it is impossible for them thus to overpass with their hind-feet the treads of their fore without plying considerably their Haunches which is the perfection of the Amble If people have not taken exact notice to the motions of a Horses legs upon the Amble they will scarcely believe how it is possible that an Ambler which lifteth the fore and hind-legs of the same side and at one and the same time while the two legs of the other side are upon the ground and so alternatively should yet set down these two legs which were in the Air the one before the other and not at one and the same time however it is a Matter of Fact and if you take notice to it you will find that he setteth his fore-foot first to the ground and then afterwards but very quickly his hind foot is set down just as the two feet of the other side wherewith he did not lead are beginning to be raised and when these two which did lead are upon the ground then the two of the other side are raised and make the same motion and so successively the one side after the other which is pretty odd and very well worth observation What our Author says here of a Horses setting down in an Amble his forefoot before the hind of the same side notwithstanding of their being both raised from the ground at the same time may hold in some Horses but doth not in all as you may easily discover by an exact observation of but half a score or a dozen different Horses as they are Ambling There are many travelling Horses which have their Haunches so very stiff that they cannot at all ply them as they are Riding which maketh them so uneasy that they very much fatigue and trouble the Back and Reins of the Rider when they are but even going at a foot-pace and they are those Horses which are half ruined and spoilt with carying large Clock-bags and Mails that are most subject to this imperfection so that when they have no Clock bag or large Port-manteau upon their Croups they go with their haunches very straight and stiff but if you load them with a pretty heavy Mail they will then ride agreeably enough because of their being thereby constrained to ply and bend their Haunches the remedy is good although somewhat too violent to be made constantly use of All Horses which have stiff hind quarters to uneasily neither are such Horses Haunches made stiff and uneasy with carrying Mails and Port manteaus for there are many of them which have never carried any but then this stiffness and uneasiness in them may proceed from their being either too severely fatigued or for having too short Haunches those Haunches are too short which descend in a streight line from the Haunch bone to the pastern joynt and because it is with difficulty that such Horses bend their Hams in Riding therefore is it that they have a hard and uneasy sett with their hind-quarters without being in the least spoilt by excessive labour for although they be but Colts they will goe after this manner and give but a very uneasy divertisâ—ment to their Rider In sine whatever kind of pace a horse goe if he be upon his haunches he will be so much the more agreeable and easie
Crupper slack the Tie or Breast-plate and put some fresh straw betwixt the Saddle and Horse's back to refresh and ease him Then shake down a good deal of fresh Litter beneath him to oblige him to Stale or Piss for the most part of good Horses do alwayes Piss when they are first put in the Stable and find the Litter beneath them I shall here by the way give you an advice that will seem some what extraordinary although very good which is that during your whole journey you suffer your horse to piss as often as you find him inclin'd to it and you should also excite and invite him to it the quite contrary of which is to be practised with Mares which you are to hinder as much as possible to piss in travelling betwixt meals because their strength and vigour is thereby diminished those who have Mares may make a tryal of this and will come to acknowledge it for a truth that horses should be allowed and even excited to piss as they are riding but Mares not because they will not be the worse but rather yield their Masters the more service by it I don't alledge and recommend this practice without certainly knowing it's effect You are next to take away the old hay from the Rack and clean the Stall before him from all filthiness of Earth Sand or Poultrey dung taking also care that the Manger be not full of holes which is very common in most Inns that so the Oats which fall through may serve to feed their Fouls and if it should be very Dirty and Nastie you are then to cause wash it with warm Water Another method for horses which are full of fire and Mettal and which are worth the pains to be carefully lookt after is that after you have rid them hard and arrived at the Inn or that your horse be very warm you are immediatly at your alighting to cause unsaddle him and scrape off the sweat from his whole body with a Sweating knife or Scraper after which wipe his head and ears well with a Hair-cloath and rub his body all over with fresh straw put a covering or horse Cloath upon him and then set on the Saddle again after which cause gently lead him up and down in a mans hand for half an hour before you put him in the Stable This method is good to be practised by such as carry Grooms along with them and whose only business it is to loo◠after scrape off the sweat and dry and rub doun their horses because as for the Hostler Boyes they are very dextrous 't is true in asking drink-money but understand little thing else belonging to horses and therefore unless a man have a Groom of his own he had better make use of the former method If a man hath carried along with him any of the stinking Pills descrived in the 85 Chap Sect 3. of the second part he ma◠cause give his horse two of them with a little Claret Wine or for want of them give hi◠an English pint of Brandy if the horse hath been rid very hard and that he fear 〈◊〉 may be the worse of it for this will stop and prevent all accidents and other inconveniencies which may happen but I shall speak a little more of this hereafter If about a quarter or half a quarter of an hour before you arrive at the Inn yo◠meet with any water in which there is a good Foord or passage it will be very fit i◠cause your horse pass and repass it two or three times without either wetting his Belly or suffering him to drink when I say you should not wet his Belly I mean that you should not make him go so deep into it as that the water may come up to his Belly for to prevent and hinder his Legs to make the Water spurt and fly up about his belly and wet it is what cannot be expected neither is it of any consequence now besides that the washing him thus doth cleanse his legs of the Mud the water being cold doth bind up the humours and prevent that those which were stirred up by the whole days journey fall not down upon his Legs as being the lowest parts of his body and the most capable to receive them which will make them become stiff by causing obstructions in the Nerves which at last will quite ruine and spoil them CHAP XXX How a man should order Horses at dinner and supper while upon Travel IF it be in the summer time CHAP XXX How a man should order horses at dinner and supper while upon travel when the Waters are warm you are at your coming near to the Inn if your horse be not very warm and sweating to wash hi◠in some Water or Pond without either going so deep as his belly or suffering him to drink and it is also very good for some horses whose Legs are already a little Gourded or being fleshy are subject to Humors when a man hath not the conveniency of a Rivulet or pond upon the Road to alight about a quarter of an hour before he arrive at his Inn and lead his horse in his hand to cool him and so soon as he is come to the stable door to cause wash and bath his Legs with Well water just as it is taken from the Well which will prevent the descent of humors upon them this method is particularly excellent for such horses as have received some severe stroke upon their Legs or Hams and which never fail to swell in those parts by them they have at Dinner time or in the Evening I knew an Italian Escuyer or Riding-Master who after his Mannage whether his horses were warm or not made them swim over and again a River near by his Mannage as broad as the Seine is before the Louvre in Paris and afterwards caused dry them all over and cover them well in the stable not suffering them to eat for an hour after this he practised his whole life-time and none of his horses had ever either Collick or Vives but were alwayes the cleanest and nearest limbed could be I beleive this Example although very true won't perswade any man to do the like Your horse being tyed up to the Rack and partly dryed of his sweat or moisture which he had at first arriving although he be as yet bridled yet if he begin to draw his hay and beat no more in his Flanks you are to cause unbridle him and to wash his Bit in a pail of water that it may be carefully hung up after it is well cleaned and wipt and afterwards you may suffer him to eat his hay at pleasure Those who so soon as they arrive at the Inn suffer their horses to be unbridled by the Hostler boyes as is the common custom are deceived in so far as their horses eat only for the first quarter of an hour and then eat no more thereafter whereas if they were suffered to stand some time in the bridle
it would be a great deal better for them even although they should receive no other advantage by it but this that they will eat with a great deal better appetite But perhaps some may say that horses have been long enough bridled the whole day before so that there is no need of letting them stand so long unnecessarly in the stable without eating To which I answer that besides what I have already said there are many Horses to whom it is very fit to suffer the froth and foam to come in their mouths by the assistance of the Bit which obliges them to move their Tongues and by this meanes they moysten their mouths which giveth them a better relish of what they eat whereas if their mouths were not thus refreshed they would eat but a very short while so that a man thereby rather gains as losses any time contrary to the common Maxim of the hostler-boyes You are also to observe this by the way that if your horse hath been very Warm and that you could not have the conveniencie to cause him drink upon the road he will when unbridled eat but very little although you have exactly observed all the directions I have been giveing and that because he is much prested and troubled with thirst therefore in that case you are to give him such a quantity of Oats washt in Ale or Beer as you shall judge sufficient however less if you intend to feed him again after he hath once drunk Many are of opinion that people spoile their horses by giving them Oats before their water because say they the water maketh the Oats to pass too soon and so undigested out of the stomack I again think that it is good to feed with Oats both before and after watering although it be commonly the custom not to do it till after The Carriers and Coach-men upon their quick dispatches give it alwayes after watering neither is it without some appearance of Reason that they thus feed with Oats only after watering because the water doth not remain so long in the stomack but quickly passes so that the stomack is not at all weakned with it and the Oats which are of a porous and spongious body retain abundance and as much of the moisture of the water as is sufficient for the benefit of the horse this is the only Reason why people feed with Oats only after watering which however is not of force enough to hinder a man to feed Horses before watering which have been very warm and hard Rid for they will be a great deal the better of it and not at all in hazard of becoming sick When people Travel in Flying-Coaches or with laid or fresh horses from stage to stage and that they have driven very hard when the horses are taken all in a sweat and out of breath from the Coach they should as I have already said cause first scrape off their sweat rub them well down and cover them and then cause walk them half an hour in peoples hands that they may recover their wind during which time they shall prepare for each of them a French half Bushel of wheat Bran which is about six English quarts and which must be well moistned with water then having put them in the stable and unbridl'd them lay it before them in the Manger that so they may with it cool and refresh their mouths which are dryed with the dust and sand and which many times reacheth to their very Throats now this wet Bran detatches or separates the dust from their mouths and Tongues and even although horses be a little warm they very seldom receive prejudice by this method This dust and and sand doth sometimes so very much dry the tongues palates and throats of horses that they many times lose their appetite by it because their tongues become hard and dry especially in horses which suffer them while they are traveling in excessive hot weather to hang out of their mouths and therefore people should never fail either to give such horses alittle wet Bâ—an for the first thing they give them to eat or otherwayes to cause wash their mouths and tongues well with a wet Spunge to oblige them to eat People make use of the same method for hunters and all other horses which having Rid hard are out of breath but especially if they be very fat the use of this we Bran doth exremelywell with them and gaineth them time because useing it they may be the sooner unbridled and in a condition to eat In places where wheat Bran can be haâ— this method is excellent but except in France it is somewhat scarce and difficult to be got other Countreyes not making much use of it this way and in Holland 〈◊〉 soon as their horses arrive whether they be warm or not they give them drink with out apprehending any prejudice by it as I have already observed was the custome amongst the Waggoneers but then their waters in those countreyes are not quick and sharp for becoming in a manner warm by standing they cannot therefore 〈◊〉 readily prejudge them but when people attempt this method with horses in France they frequently dye before they can be accustomed to this so dangerous a habit of liveing which I assure you shall never be put in practice by me People should take exact notice to the water which horses drink especially when traveling for upon that in a manner dependeth their preservation or destruction that water which is least quick or penetrating is the best if you can have the conveniency of a River it is preferable to a Spring and a Spring or Fountain to a Draw-well but when a man is necessitate to let his horses drink of such penetrating waters he should cause bring it in a pretty time before he use it set it in the Sun or cause warm somed it to correct the sharpness of the rest but it is sooner done to throw amongst it a little wheat Bran or some soft of bread crumbled for want of both which the crudity of the water may be a little corrected by either stirring it some time about with your hand or throwing a little Hay amongst it but if the water be extremely quick and peirceing neither the stirring of it with your hand nor Hay will prevet the horses taking the Vives and therefore in that case you are either to mix with it a little warm water or wheat Bran which will sufficiently correct it It sometimes happneth that horses are so hard and unmercifully rid that they are burst and either dye or become foundered if a man do not apply proper remedies to prevent it for example people are at the Stagg-hunting and cannot have the conveniency of their laid or fresh horses because the Stagg takes quite another way theâ— where they are placed or perhaps runns further than is expected so that people being warm and bent upon the chase do not consider their horses but push theâ— on to the outmost
of value which having their backs swelled beneath the saddle People are necessitate to let them lye all night with their Sumpter saddles upon them Sect 3. lest the cold in the night time should cause the bruised parts to swell so excessively that they could not conveniently saddle and load them next morning some times people also suffer the Sumpter saddles to remain all night upon their backs to keep closs upon the swellings or Galls the remedies they have applyed Now it is a bad enough invention thus to cause a poor horse lye all night beneath a saddle it is therefore far better and more proper to cause fill a bag with good warm dung and tye it upon the swelling which will not only binder it to increase but perhaps also quite discuss it The Egg-Carriers which come from Normandy to Paris never take off their Horses pack-saddles in the night time but then they have alwayes their horses Hung. There are few horses but what in a great journey interfere and cut themselves less or more but so soon as ever you perceive it you may cause help it as I shall show you when I discourse of shoeing In the Morning before you saddle your horse you should alwayes feel the Saddle-Bows to know if they be unglew'd or broke then observe if the band of the saddlewithers be unnail'd or split or the long bands any-wayes loose or unfixed if the Cloath of the Pannels be too stiff and hard or that the pannels themselves be separate from the Bows when a man hath had but never so little practice in this he will run over all these particulars in the twinkle of an Eye so that after he hath done it he may cause cast the saddle upon his horses back which should be alwayes done so soon as he is Curried and drest and a pretty time before he take journey because commonly when horses which are a little aged are once saddled they make a great deal of more haste and dispatch in eating Likewise before bridling a man should look to those Leathers in the head stall which support the Bitt to see that they be neither broke nor rotten as also to the bridle reins where they are joyned to the Branches Horses should alwayes be fed with Oats before parting for he which hath an empty belly is not in a very good condition to endure any great fatigue because as horses are of a hot and dry constitution if their natural heat find not something whereupon to work it feeds upon its own proper substance which very quickly makes the horse become lean or at least over-heats him very much inwardly There are many People who are more curious in providing good chear for themselves than for their horses and who if they have their own bellies full don't concern or trouble themselves much with any thing else now such persons particularly and many others unworthy to mount or ride a horse having read or heard read all the preceeding particulars have said That to observe them exactly a man needed noe other business seing it would take up the most part of his time and that for their own part they would rather venture the spoiling of their horses then be at so much care and trouble I confess that it is not alwayes needfull to observe them all but only the most necessar and if you be once alittle accustomed to it you will do all with a great deal of ease and even almost without thinking on it however I with all my heart consent that those who will not observe them follow their own inclinations because I write only for such as are well intentioned and desire to be instructed and values very little what others shall either act or say against this subject This is all that is to be observed before and in time of Travell It now remains that I say something of what is to be done after journeying and when people are arrived from it CHAP XXXV What is to be observed after People are arrived from a Journey or Travelling Sect. I. WHen you are arrived from a journey CHAP XXXV What is to be observed after People are arrived from a journey you are immediatly to cause dâ—â— the two heel nails of both the fore feet and if it be a large 〈◊〉 then four and two or three dayes after to cause blood your horse in the Neck and to feed him for ten or twelve dayes with wet Bran only without 〈◊〉 him any Oats also during this time keep him alwayes soft and cleanly litter'd Tâ— reason why after a long journey you are to draw the heel Nails is because the 〈◊〉 swell and if they were not thus eased the shoes would press and straiten them 〈◊〉 much it is also good to stop their feet with Cow-dung but there are some 〈◊〉 cause take their horses shoes quite off which is naught and it is also a very bad cuâ— to cause pare their feet Sect. 1. because the humour is drawn down upon them by it After your horse is Bled you are next day to apply upon his shoulders legs and 〈◊〉 the red Emmielure or Charge described in the 31 Chap Sect 2d of the second 〈◊〉 or otherwayes make use of the Charge with Cow-dung and Vinegar or 〈◊〉 made of quench'd Ashes or any other you please If you make use of the red Charge you are twenty four hours after the first anâ— cation to renew it again after the same manner and so continue it every four a twenty hours without taking away any of the old untill you have applyed it three four times after which you shall prepare a bath with the lees of Claret wine as I 〈◊〉 taught you in the 35 Chap. Sect. 3 of the 2d part and without removing any of 〈◊〉 Emmielure or Charge rub all the parts covered with it with this bath once 〈◊〉 day untill you have bathed him with it three or four times if your horse howeverâ— tigued he be is not recovered with this you are then only to give him rest and he 〈◊〉 recover of his own accord without needing the application of any more 〈◊〉 medies Your horse being thus fully refreshed and unweari'd you are to cause takeâ— his shoes pare his feet and shoe him a-new again then take him every day to a 〈◊〉 ning Water or Rivulet and let him stand in it for half an hour both Morning and â—vening if it be in the Summer time but if in Winter then it is sufficient to let 〈◊〉 only remain in it while he is a drinking If he be not much fatigued as he will be but very little if you have carefully loâ—â— to him upon the Road then it will be sufficient having first drawn the heel nailsâ— his fore feet to cause blood him in the Neck and receiving his Blood in a Veâ—â— keep it alwayes stirring lest it Clot and fix afterwards among three pound Blood which is the quantity should be taken add a pint of the best
very hard about the bignessâ— ones Arm and a foot in length which should be moistned in a little water thâ— which are made of Hay are the best for horses which have a thin and tender skinâ— with this he shall pass and repass the horses whole Body particularly his legs for it â— upon them that he is to continue this work for a quarter or half an hour to dive himself by rubbing the nerves of the legs above and below with and against the 〈◊〉 within the pasterns and upon the joynts that so no dust or foulness may remaâ— upon them and that their hair may remain as bright and shining as that of the Maâ— he shall also with another wisp if the first be much worn with rubbing Chaffe the whâ—â— nerves of the legs from Top to Bottom and from Bottom to Top to render 〈◊〉 Supple disobstruct them and facilitate the passage of the animal spirits which give them their motion so that a Groom cannot rub too much a horse's legs in the â—â—â—ing and a good Hard-hay-wisp is an excellent Stable-moveable the Hay of thâ—â— wisps which have served a long time if it be open'd out dryed and given to hoâ—â— to eat will give those which are disgusted a good appetite because of the saltâ— the dust which hath adhered to the Hay and penetrated it I make frequently useâ— them provided their hay have neither a rotten nor musty smell there are mâ—â— Grooms who will not make use of a Hard-wisp as in Germany where it is not practied but that is to dress well the body and badly the legs and a Body without 〈◊〉 is in my opinion of no great use Some again after they have gone over them with a moist wisp have a peice green Freize that they moisten with water and with which they pass and reâ— the whole Body to render the skin more Smooth and Glossy this is good hower few French people make use of it it was the Germans that introduced this methâ— which is a very excellent one The English have Whisks of hair called Hair-clâ—â—â— that are very good they are woven of gross hair threed as the countrey peoples course cloath is made of that of wool with this they wipe theirhorses and take away all the dust rub them very well betwix the legs thighs and all other parts of the Body whereat the Curry-comb and Brush cannot come after which they wash them in a pail of water and so hang them up to dry I admire that the use of them has not been brought into France especially seeing they are both good and cheap for in England they are very common There are some horses so very sensible and ticklish that they will not suffer the Curry-comb yea with difficulty can they endure the Brush these require to be drest only with the palm of ones hand which is kept a little moist with water and past flat alongst the horle's Body as if he were Brush'd when the hand is sufficiently charged with dust then it is to be washt and half dryed and they continue thus to pass it with and against the hair until they can take away no more dust and then at last they smooth down the hair to make it appear the more Glossy This method of dressing a horse is Tedious but good because it renders the skin very beautiful and keeps the body alwayes clean there is not a better for this purpose and those who have horses of a very tender and delicate skin should never suffer them to be drest otherwayes For large horses which have a fine skin a Groom should make it his business to dress them more with the Brush and palm of his hand than with the Curry-comb because as they have a desicate Coat so the Curry-comb scratches and galls them which makes them oppose their keeper and fret and torment themselves to no purpose whereas with a little more time the Brush and hand as I have directed would keep them more clean and neat without giving them so much trouble with the Curry-comb When a horse is well drest after this manner his sweat when he is warm will come from him clear as Water if he be exactly well drest the first day with the hand the next morning there will be almost nothing to do but the first time he is drest after this fashion it will take near three houts to make him very clean but afterwads one hour a day will be sufficient After all this the Groom should Comb and Gently disentangle the hairs of his Mane beginning alwayes at the lower parts of them and not at the roots then he shall take his Tail in a full handfull about a foot from the lower end and shall likewise gently rid and disentangle it with the Comb ascending alwayes by degrees untill it be all very well separate there are some people who will never suffer their horses Tails to be Combed for fear they be pulled out and shortned by it The Comb being charged with dust is to be washed and every Groom when he is dressing a horse should have a pail of Water by him after he hath as I have ordered unreveled and separate the hairs of the Mane and Tail he must then take a piece of sponge dipt in water into the left hand and the Mane-comb in his right and shall comb down the Mane beginning at it's root and wetting it with the spunge after each stroak of the Comb next he shall comb the Tail beginning also at it's root and alwayes smoothing down the hair upon the upper part of his dock with the wet sponge after which he shall wipe down the Mane and Tail with a dry Hair-cloath to remove any superfluous moisture When the Tail is foul and dirty which frequently happeneth to white horses then it should be dipt and soak't a little in a pail of Water and afterwards well scoured and rubbed betwixt ones hands there are some who make use of black soap or white in its place when it cannot be had others again cause wash their horses tails once every day and then truss or tye them up neatly that they may be preserved clean when they either go to the City or Countrey and if it be in the summer time they also cause wash their horses Legs very exactly with a wet spunge They likewise cause make for that purpose Brushes which are about four fingers broad and somewhat more then half a foot long that with these they may wash and scour their horses Legs and clean them of all the dust that cleaves to them these Brushes should be made of Wild-Boar bristles and well pitched and rozen'd upon the top that so the Water may not rot the pack-threed which fixes the bristles to the wood and those who will not be at this expence although small take the half of any old Brush wherewith they serve themselves as with the former after this manner they first wash very well the horses Legs then rub them with the
wet Brush which must be every moment dipt into Water the water which first cometh from the Leg through the Brush will be white as milk but the washing and rubbing must be still continued till the Water come away clear and then the leg will be abâ— dantly clean this invention is excellent in the summer time but not in Winter 〈◊〉 cause cold water founders Light-sized horses which are of a more delicate constituâ—e than others however those who have fine horses and take delight in them may inâ—â— summer time make use of this method The horse being thus Curryed and Drest they then put on his Sheet and Mane-cloaâ—â— if he have one and girt it on with a broad Sursingle or Housing-girth which 〈◊〉 two little Cushions about the bigness of ones two fists fastned to it about half a 〈◊〉 distant from other and which are placed one upon each side of the back-bone whâ— the girth is to be fastened those two little Cushions facilitate a horse's breathing 〈◊〉 preventing his being pressed by the Sursingle then you shall turn him to the Mange and give him some Hay which you shall have before shaken that so it may be boâ—â— well separate and fred from its dust before you throw it before him If people do not shake out that earth or dust which hath adhered to the graâ—â— while it was growing in the meadow when the water overflowed it and that 〈◊〉 water passes over it when it is yet uncut and that the horse eat of this grass when it 〈◊〉 made hay without being well shak't and tossed it will make him cough extremeâ—â— and be prejudicial to his Lungs as also if the water happen to overflow the meadow when the hay is cut this kind of hay which hath been in a great part covered with the Mud of these overflowing Waters although it be afterwards well dryed and also exactly shaken yet is most prejudicial to horses and worse than the former You are to suffer your horses which are first drest to eat from the time they are drest until nine a clock and those that are last till ten Some people so soon as their horses have eaten their Corn in the morning and art drest tye them up to the Rack till nine a clock and this is very proper for 〈◊〉 which are very fat but for these which need fatning a man may order them as I have directed which is to suffer them to eat all the morning except when they are a dressing At Ten a clock or a little after you shall lead your horses to the River but in summer time you may take them to it after eight if you live in a convenient place for it because this quickens a horse and makes him brisk and lively to be watered abroad But if you cannot do better then you may let them drink within doors and 〈◊〉 be in Winter having drawn their Water you shall observe if it be warm and toâ— more certain of it you shall dip your hand in it and if it be not you shall then thâ—â— some wheat bran amongst it which is a thing both very proper and most whâ— some but if it be in the summer time and that you are obliged to let them dâ—â—â— Well-water you must cause draw it a considerable time before you suffer them to drâ—â— it and also cause set it in the sun in clean Hogsheads which have their heads kooâ—â— out that so the great crudity of the water which is most prejudicial to horses nâ—â— be corrected by the heat of the Sun Generally speaking River Water is not so good in Winter as Well because 〈◊〉 too cold and if the Well-water be good it is somewhat warmish when it is immdiatly drawn and consequently better than River When People lead their Horses to the River to drink they should go softly to 〈◊〉 at a step and if they are Coach-horses should return from it at a short Trot 〈◊〉 even at a step if they have a mind for it The English at coming our of the water gallop commonly their running or hâ—â—ing horses for a quarter of an hour without Intermission and almost at full speed the method may he good for them but galloping after watering cannot but be hurtâ—â— and so very prejudicial that the horses accustomed to it do either soon or late becoâ—â— pursy by this rare method upon which the English will bear no reason that is give against it People must not be surprized that I give so many precautions concerning Wateing for if you observe it narrowly and attentively you will find that a great maâ— of the diseases which happen to horses proceed from bad Water or from being wâ—tered unseasonably the reason is that the heat of the intrals attracteth with a grâ—â—avidity and quickness the liquor which the horse drinketh and if it chance that thâ— water be charged with any sharp mineral such as Allum Bitumen or any the liâ—â— without doubt that drink or liquor will leave some intemperature in the inward parâ—â— with some impression of a strange or unnatural heat If the Waters be sharp or too crude they leave behind them obstructions or â—â—crudities that are capable to hinder the necessary functions which are required to boyl and perfect the Blood which by that means giveth occasion to several sorts of diseases When you return with your horses from the water you shall lash a little water upon each leg with your two hands and afterwards wipe them down with straw to cause the water run off Some people so soon as they return from the water give their horses Oats but I think it is not a good method because seeing a Groom who hath Six horses to look to cannot take them all to the water but at Three times if they were accustomed to get Oats immediatly as they come from the water they would be impatient waiting for the rest would Bite and Strike at other and eat no Hay during all that time The Horse-coursers who are understanding in their profession as it is their cheif design to cause horses look plump round and full Flanked cause them drink in the Summer time by seven a clock in the morning and give them no drink at all in the Evening that so they may drink the more heartily next Morning having been so long without it after which they no doubt feed better and so appear more plump and better Bellyed in the morning then giving them drink again at two a clock in the afternoon they feed them after it which makes them appear full and round all the after-noon and seeing they do not show them in the night-time they care not whether they then look well or not but suffer them to endure Thrist that so they may drink the more heartily in the Morning this method is good to be practised by those who have no other disign in showing their horses but to sell them but for those who keep and feed them for their own service I assure you
or four ounces of the Catholicoâ—â—â— horses Glysters described in the 76 Chap Sect. 5. of the second part and let it be given luke-warm to your horse Take an English Quart and an half An astringent orbinding Glyster of that Water wherein Smiths quench their hot Iron boyl in it two handfuls of Plantaine Knot Grass or Centinodia and white Mullain strain this decoction and mix amongst it an English quart and an half of Milk in which you shall have quenched small red hot White pebble stones for six or seven times then add to it fine Bole and Starch of each two ounces with half a dozen Yolks of Eggs you may also if you will make use of the seeds of Garden Sâ—â—â—â— White Poppy the Oyl of Roses the Oyl of Quinces and many others where with you may make a Glyster either stronger or weaker according to your intention Ane Anodyne Glyster An Anodyne Glyster is that which asswageth pain by the agreeable temper it 〈◊〉 with the nature of the parts To compose which Take three English pints of Milk and a quart of Water mix amongst it a poâ—â— of Linseed meal with the soft of a penny Loaf which must be well dissolved in it then take of the Flowrs of Camomil and Melilot and causing all boyl together 〈◊〉 or six Walmes pass it through a double linnen Cloath squeezing it very strongly afâ—â—â— which dissolve in it half a dozen Yolks of Eggs four ounces of the Oyl of Roses a Violets and half a pownd of Butter or if you have the marrow of a Hart or Deer thâ— fat of a Fox Goose or Hen they will be better than the Butter and therefore you 〈◊〉 make use of any of them in its place A man may also make an Anodyne Glyster of the broath of Tripes only adding to 〈◊〉 the herbs and dissolving therein the Anodyus before mentioned People call that Diuretick A Diuretick Glyster The five opening Roots which expells the watery humors and serosities contained in the body by Urine you shall then cause boyl the five aperient or opening 〈◊〉 Viz Smallage Fennel Asparagus Parsly and Radishes with Barley and the â—â—ent herbs and having strained the Decoction dissolve amongst it two ounces of â—â— prunella otherwayes called Chrystal Mineral or which is more proper an ounce as a half of Polychrest in powder with half a pound of common Turpentine in which yâ—â— are to dissolve three Yolks of Eggs then mixing with all some propper Electuaâ— such as the Catholicum for horses and Diaprunum solutivum or Electuary of pruns pâ—â—ing about three or four ounces together with an English pint of Emetick Wine whiâ—â— Clyster being given to your horse will cause him piss more then all the Galeâ— Diureticks A man may compose many other kinds of Glysters by the knowledge I have give him of the Simples and of the manner they are to be made use of for example whâ— you would purge Bile then you are to put in the Glysters those Electuaries whâ— purge it and so of the rest which purge the other humors as well Simples as Electuaries which are all ranked in their proper Classes You will find in the 22 Chap. Sect. 5. of the 2d part a Carminative and Purgagative Oyl to be put in Glysters which is excellent as also in the 76 Chap. Sect 5. of the said part a Catholicum for the same purpose and which is particularly composed for horses CHAP. LXVI After what manner a Glyster is to be administred to a horse THe Common Farriers CHAP LXVI How to give a Horse a Glyster don't give to horses above an English quart or three pints of Decoction for a Glyster neither have they generally a great effect for besides that the liquor is given in too small a quantity they also spare the Drugs and commonly mix nothing with the Decoctions but salted water honey and Oyl however it is not but if People would pay them as they desire they would perhaps make them good My opinion is that there is required for a Glyster at least two or three English quarts of Decoction because being in a less quantity then that it but moistens and washes little for as a horse drinks ten times more then a man and that People give also twenty times more then the doze for a man to purge him it follows that the same proportion should be observed for his Glysters A Glyster being prepared after this manner should not be given till the horses great Gut be cleared of its dung which by Farriers is called Raiking and is performed by first anointing your hand well with a little Oyl or Butter and then thrusting it up into his Fundament taking care not to scratch the Gut with your Nailes and with it drawing forth all the dung you can conveniently bring away or otherwayes thrust up into it about the bigness of a large Hens Egg of Castile Soap anoynted with Oyl to make it enter with the more ease half an hour after which the horse will empty so that using this you need not thrust up your hand to Raik him because the Soap will do it sufficiently of it self having thus Raik't or caused your horses to empty you are next to place him with his fore-parts a little lower than his Croupe and thrusting in to his Fundament a horn made for that purpose open at the small end pour into it by degrees the Glyster which must be but Milk-warm and if it should stop in the born without passing down you are to make the horse move his Tongue and then strike him gently with the palm of your hand upon the Reins which will make it enter after which you are to put your horse in the stable again tyed up to the Rack without moving him afterwards contrary to the common practice for the Farriers ordinarly cause walk a horse while the Glyster is yet in his Guts It is also fit that your horse by tyed up to the Rack two hours before he take his Glyster and that he also eat none untill he hath rendered it or about an hour after he hath taken it People should also endeavour as much as possible to give horses their Glyster with a Seringe as they do men but then it must be made so large as to contain the whole Glyster and the hollow of its pipe which enters his Fundament should be so big as that a man may put his finger into it this method is better than that with a horn for it is both quicklier done and the horse receives it better without so much as needing to be taken out of the stable and therefore as he is less moved after receiving it so he will have the less cause to render it too soon this method is at present much in fashion and with a great deal of reason seeing it is the only one that is good 〈◊〉 may see the form of such a Seringe in the upper part of the 6 Plate Those who cause walk
already said a day that fair and calm CHAP. LXX Precautions to be observen in blood-letting and if he be a young Horse that it be in the increase of the Mooâ—â—â— if old then after the Full and also take care that the Horse be tyed up early in 〈◊〉 morning to the Rack and that he neither get Water nor Combing for fear of too 〈◊〉 moving and agitating his Spirits then he is to draw with a pair of Fleems 〈◊〉 should be of a reasonable breadth for the Reason before given about three pounds blood and then to leave him tyed to the Rack for two hours After which he shal give him some scalded Bran or a Mash and seeing our Author hath not in any part of his Book given the least Directions to make one by Reason I judge that they are not much made use of in France Malt being but very scarce there because of the small quantity of Ale they drink yet since it is a mixture very good for Horses and much used in these Islands I have thought fit to set down in this place the true Method of making a good Mash as followeth Take four English Quarts or half a Peck of good well ground Malt How to make a Mash and put it into a Pailor wooden Vessel by it self then take a Gallon or four English Quarts of fair Water and set it on the fire and when it hath boiled a very little put as much of it into the Malt as will moisten it working and stirring them with a piece of flat wood after which pour in the rest of the Water and mix all very well together then cover up the Vessel closs with a double covering or some Cloaths and let it stand thus for two hours or till such time as you intend to give it to your Horse the Mash being thus made and your Horse ready to take it uncover the Vessel and with your hand stir all well together crushing and squeezing the Mai t as much as possible and when luke-warm give it the Horse to drink It must I say be little more as milk warm when he taketh it and if it should prove either too hot or too thick when you are to give it you may rectifie both by adding a little cold Water to it but be sure not so much as to make it either too cold which would turn it raw or too thin which would abate a great deal of its pleasant taste and strength You may also if you intend he should eat none of the Grain or Malt a little whereof can never do him prejudice squeeze the Liquor quite from it and so let him drink it throwing away the Malt or rather giving it to your Hogs or Cows This is the best Method I know to make a good Mash which in many cases is found to agree well with Horses especially such as are any-wise indisposed or sick and which was therefore the cause of my setting it down in this place our Author not having as I have said made the least mention of it to my knowledge in his whole Book The Germans cause gallop their Horses before blooding to the end say they that the bad blood which is as the Lee may be mixed with the good and so both drawn together but they are deceived in this because the blood is filled with Spirits which being agitate and stirred up with this kind of coursing doth immediatly evaporate in a great abundance with the most subtile part of the blood when ever the Vein is opened so that blooding after this manner is more prejudicial than profitable If those who thus cause their Horses gallop before blood-letting were perswaded of the Circulation of the Blood they would not be in so gross an Error as to believe that the Blood is with the same tranquillity in the Veins as Wine is in a Hogs-head whose Lee lyeth at bottom but would be convinced that the whole Mass of the Blood circulates as well the gross part as that which is more subtile seing then this is so there is no need of any violent agitation of it such as galloping to oblige it to come forth but rather upon the contrary the Horse should be kept calm and quiet for fear of evacuating and lossing too many of his Spirits as I have already explained Those who are very careful of their Horses cause them eat only Bran in place of Oats both the day before Blooding the day it self and the day thereafter and for these three days they should also let them rest or at least that day wherein they are bled and also give them only bran in it You are also in taking blood to regulate the quantity according as your Horse is a great feeder and as his Veins are full and stretched and accordingly as it issues forth with violence having still regard to the quality of the Disease his Strength Age and the Season It is a general Maxim that a man without very good and pressing Reasons she 〈◊〉 never make great evacuations by blood-letting because there is made by it a too 〈◊〉 dissipation of the Spirits whereby the Horse is weakned so that his Members 〈◊〉 so easily perform their functions as also there are thereby formed crudities iâ— Veins which are the Source and Origine of several Diseases CHAP. LXXI How to judge of the Quantity and Quality of Blood ALthough it is not the common Practice of Farriers to receive a Horse's 〈◊〉 into a Vessel when they open any of his Veins it is however very â—â—â—â—â—sary CHAP LXXI How to judge of the Quantity and Quality of Blood that so a man may first judge of the Quantity he takes from 〈◊〉 and afterwards of its Quality Therefore when a Man opens a Horse's Vein he should instead of letting 〈◊〉 Blood fall to the ground receive it into a convenient Vessel the contents whereof should have measured before hand to know how many pounds of Water it containâ— that so heÌ„ may proportionably draw as many pounds of Blood in the same Vessel 〈◊〉 example a Man knows how much space two English Quarts of Water take up in a Vessel the same space will be filled with four pounds of Blood for an English Quaâ—â— of Water weighs about two pound and Blood is near of equal weight with Water having drawn the quantity of Blood he designs to evacuate he shall let it fix and â—â—â—geal that he may the better judge of its quality now although Blood be somewhâ—â— lighter then Water yet the difference is so very inconsiderable that it is not 〈◊〉 noticeing You shall then when you blood a Horse observe if it run calmly and slowly 〈◊〉 without any impetuosity as also if it cleave to your fingers when you touch it 〈◊〉 cause if it do it is a sign that it is Viscuous and will be subject to occasion obstruâ—â—â—ons therefore in that case you are to Blood your Horse frequently for this kin◠〈◊〉 Blood is a sign of Repletion
never saw horses go so well as they all sorts of Aires as well for the mannage de Guerre Passades terra a terra as in the leaps and they are the only best horses for Stallions providing they be short joynted An old Nobleman who was a Souldier under Henry the fourth told me in France that he had seen Barbs several times overthrow great Flanders horses in a Shock Take the shank bone of a Barb which I have several times made tryal of my self and you will find it almost all solid bone and that it hath no greater hollow in the middle than what will scarcely receive a straw whereas the Shank bone of a Dutch horse hath a hole in it wherein you may almost thrust your finger The Barbs are most Nervous Strong and Swift and are also excellently well winded Some of them are dull and Melancholick yea even in the feilds until they be awaked or that there be some thing required of them the Mountain Barb is the best he is very couragious and many of them carry the marks of wounds they have received from Lions It is certain that the courage of Barbs is remarkable for in Action they alwayes go on until they have their bones broke or so long as they have a drop of Blood in their Body They also bring their Master off from any Battel or dangerous Engadgment where without doubt he would have lost his life had it not been for his horses Courage so that they cannot be bought at too dear a Rate to be made use of upon a day of Action although to do them justice in other things except in that and the Mannage I assure you they donâ— like much fatigue and few of them are able to travel under a Man I learnt of a Gentleman who enquired in the two kingdoms of Tunis and Algiers after all those parts where they Bred up horses and who saw all which was any thing good in all those places having run through all the most remote Countryes of these two kingdoms where he bought about 30 horses not having bought so much as one in the weekly Mercat of Tunisâ— he told me that all the horses of these Countryes are Fat and go without shoes their food being Barley twice a day and but a little Straw and that they cause them also drink only once a day and but little He had bought a little Nagg of four years Old with which he had made four or five dayes journeyes at about thirty leagues at least each day without suffering him either to eat or drink upon the way but only before parting in the Morning and at Night he gave him Barley and the other half of his water and yet at the end of his journey his horse was hearty and Vigorous without giving any sign of being fatigud he brought the same horse to France who was not capable to Ride ten Leagues without being so very fatigu'd that he was not the next day in a condiâ—â— to Ride as many It must therefore certainly be the Climate and manner of feeding in Africk which occasions this extraordinary change and alteration The back all their horses at eighteen Months old at latest at two years and the first time they mount them they purposely gallop and fatigue them for Eight or Ten dayâ— together until they either Cold them or cause them cast at the Nose and couâ—â— so that some of them dye thereof but if they escape then the more they have 〈◊〉 and cough'd the more they esteem them saying that after that they have 〈◊〉 their tryall for all They don't use the common method of tying their horses by the Heads they are only made fast by the four feet and the Horses and Mares are placed pell 〈◊〉 together in the Stable without offering to trouble other Yea one will see 〈◊〉 Moors comming to the Faires and Horse-mercats who alighting in the middle 〈◊〉 the Streets throw the Reins over their horses Necks so leaving them in which place they will continue three hours without so much as stirring from it although other horses pass and repass both before and behind them They esteem Mares infinitely more than horses as well because of their Switness as because they can be three dayes without drinking as they say whereaâ— horse can be but one when their horses are sick or indisposed they have no 〈◊〉 remedy but Fireing which they apply themselves For example if they have the Colick they fire them beneath the Belly or have they the Vives Then they apply it behind the Jaw-bones In fine for all diseases they use Fireing so that for their very selves they make use of it If they have a head-ake they fire their fore-head and so likewayes in all other diseases the same as for a Sciatick the Haunch or Thiâ—â— c. and they confidently affirm that they are eased by it The people of quality keep their horses Housed and feed them with either a little Barley or Wheat Straw and with Barley twice a day the Commons take no care about the horsing of their Mares but leave them to take their fortune with their horses in the Pastures where they are kept almost the whole year for although they make no Hay in these Countreyes yet they have in many places good Pastures They breed up also many Mules in Barbary where they are very dear and of great use and they are the Moors who are driven from Andalaza which raise up these Mules and who dwell in a very good Countrey Each family is careful to have a good horse in the stable as well because of the intestine Wars they have among themselves as because of the Courses they are 〈◊〉 customed to have at Marriages and other joyful Festivals They never shoe their horses and this Gentleman told me that since he came to France he sensibly observed that his Horse's feet did daily straiten and become Hoof-bound not withstanding of any care he could take to prevent it which is so much the more surprizing in that the Air and Soyl of that Countrey are hotter and dryer than iâ— France The reason why there cometh not so very fine horses to us from Africz is because those who bring them from Barbary are Mariners or Masters of Ships who take indifferently what the Moors bring to them for providing they get them at an ease rate it is enough whereas if they were persons skilled in horses who went to search after them in those parts of the Kingdoms of Tunis and Algiers and other 〈◊〉 where they bring up fine horses then we should have excellent ones transported 〈◊〉 as there is a necessity for a man to go two or three dayes journey into the 〈◊〉 and to lodge in the Tents of the Arabians who Camp in the open Fields exposed to the hazard of being knockt down or at least robb'd few skilful People will take that paines and run these Risks as this Gentleman did who brought with him the 〈◊〉 beautiful horses
unwholsome and dangerous the first breeding heart burning and the last causing Scouring When you are Mounted Walk or Rack him only a foot pace for you must neither Amble nor Trot because they are both prejudicial to Speed or Swiftness at least a Mile or two or more if you think fit upon smooth and equal Ground and if it have a Gentle Rising so much the better there Gallop him Gently afterwards Walk him softly that so he may cool as much one way as he warmeth another and when you have thus exercised him a pretty Space and seeing the Sun begin to rise or else newly risen Rack him down to some fresh River or clear Pound and there let him drink at his Pleasure after he hath drunk bring him gently out of the Water and Rack him away very easily and not according to the ignorance of some Grooms who rush their Horse presently as he cometh out of the Water into a Gallop for that bringeth commonly along with it two mischiefs either it teaches the horse to run away with you so soon as he is watered or it maketh him refuse to drink fearing the violence of his exercise which is to follow when you have thus walked him a little calmly put him into a Gallop gently exercise him moderatly as you did before then Walk him a little space after which offer him more Water if he drink then Gallop him again gently if not then Gallop him a little more to occasion thirst and in this manner give him alwayes exercise before and after water when you judge he hath drunk sufficiently bring him home gently without a wet hair or the least sweat upon him and when you are come to the Stable dâ—oâ— provoke him to piss if you can by stirring up some of the Litter which is at the Stable door under him if he do not stale at first no matter for a little custom will bring him to it and it is wholsome both for his health and the sweet keeping of the Stable This done bring him to the Stable and tye him up to the Rack then rub him well with Wisps afterwards loose his Breast cloath and rub his head and Neck with a dry cloath then take off his Saddle and hanging it up with his Body cloath rub him all over especially that part of his Back where the Saddle was placed then cloath him up first with a Linnen Sheet and then over that a good strong Housing Cloath and above it his VVooling Body cloath which in Winter it is not a miss to have lyned with Cotton but in Summer a single one is sufficient when these are all on girt on his Surcingle and stop it with small and soft wisps which will make him so much the easier After he is thus cloathed stop his feet with Cow dung or his own Dung being a very little moistned with fresh Water then throw into the Rack a little bundle of Hay well dusted and wrapt hard together and let him eat it standing upon his Bridle when he hath stood an hour or so upon his Bridle take it off and rub his Head and Neck very well with a Hemp or Hair cloath for this is good to dissolve all gross and thick humors which may be in his Head then after you have made clean the Manger take an English Quart or Scots Chopin of sweet dry old and clean drest Oats for those which are unsweet breed infirmities those that are moist cause swelling in the Body those that are new breed Worms and those which are but half drest deceive the Stomack and so bring the Horse to ruine as for Black Oats although they are tollerable yet they make foul Dung and hinder a man from knowing so exactly the state of his Horses Body as he ought now this Proportion of Oats you shall clean and dress in such a Sieve as shall keep the good and full and let a Light Grain or Oat pass thorow it and if he eat them with a good Appetite let him have again the same Quantity and so let him rest till Eleven a clock with the windows closs for the darker you keep him the better because it will make him ly down and take his rest which otherwise he would not so readily therefore you are to arm your stable with Canvass both for Darkness Warmth and that no filth may come near him eleven aclock being come rub his head and neck as before and dress him another English quart or Scots Chopin of Oats then leave him the Stable being made dark till one a clock in the Afternoon at one a clock use him just as you did before with Rubbing Feeding taking away his Dung and then leave him dark till watering time but only at one a clock give him another small and hard bundle of Hay to chaw upon till VVatering time Watering time being come go to the Stable and having made all things clean Bridle take off his Cloaths and dress him as in the Morning then cloath Saddle lead him forth and urge him to empty afterwards take his Back and Rack him abroad but not to Rising Ground as in the Morning if you can have the conveniency of any which is plain and there Air him in all points as you did in the Morning when you have watered him and spent the Evening in Airing until it be near Night for nothing is more wholsome and consumeth foulness more then Airly and Late Airings Rack him home to the Stable door and there alight and do as you did in the Morning both without doors and within and so let him rest till nine at Night At nine come to him and rub down his Leggs well with Wisps and his Head and Neck with a clean cloath and turning up his Cloaths rub all his hinder parts then give him an English Quart or Scots Chopin of Oats in the same manner as you did before and after that a little hard bundle of Hay then toss up his Litter and make his Bed soft leaving him so till next Morning The next Morning do every thing to him without the least Omission as hath been formerly declared and thus keep him for the first Fortnight which will so take away his Foulness and harden his Flesh that the nixt Fortnight you may adventure to give him some Heats but before I proceed to the second Fortnights feeding I shall answer an Objection which may be urged touching the quantity of Provender which I prescrive being but one English Quart or Scots Chopin of Oats at a Meal seeing there are many Horses who will eat a larger Proportion and Quantity so that to scant them to this little were to starve or at the best to breed VVeakness To this I answer that I set not down this Proportion of Provender as an infallible Rule but as a President which may be imitated or augmented at pleasure for I have given you this Caveat that if he eat this Quantity with a good Stomack you may give him another still
Chopin of clean Oats putting two or three handfuls of split Beans very well pickt amongst them and break also amongst these two or three shaves of Bread clean chipt and then leave him for two or three Hours At Evening before you dress him give him the like quantity of Oats Beans and Bread and when he hath eaten them Bridle dress and cloath him but you shall neither Sadle nor Air him abroad this evening because the Horse being foul and the Scouring as yet working in his Body after the Heat he must not get any cold water at all after he is drest and hath stood two Hours on his Bridle then wash three English Pints or three Scots mutchkins of clean Oats in Bear or Ale and give him them for this will inwardly cool him as if he had drunk Water and you are sure he can receive no prejudice by it after he hath eaten his washt meat and rested after it a little you shall at his feading times with Oats and spelt Beans Oats and Bread or all together or simply one of them according to the liking of the Horse Feed him that night in plantiful manner and leave a Knab of Hay in his Rack when you go to Bed The next day early first Feed then dress cloath Sadle Air Water and bring him home as at other times only have a more careful eye to his Emptying and observe how his Grease and Foulness wasteth at his Feeding times feed as was last shewed you only but little Hay and keep your Heating dayes and the preparation of the day before them as hath been alreadie ordered and thus you shall order him during the second Fortnight in which your horse having received four Heats Horseman like given him with four Scourings there is no doubt but his Body will be drawn inwardly pretty clean you shall therefore during the next or third Fortnight order him according to the Directions following 11ly The third Fortnights Feeding The third Fortnight you shall make his Bread finer than it was formerly As thus The Second Bread TAke of elean 〈◊〉 and fine Wheat an equal proportion of each according to the Quantity of Bead you intend to bake and grind them well together then Bolt and Knead it with Barm or Lightning and make it up as you did the former Bread with this Bread being a little stale and the Crust taken away feed your horse as before shewed for the second Fortnight puting it amongst his Beans and Oats and also observe to Dress Air heat Feed and prepare him before the heat as in the former Fortnight only with these few differences First You shall not give the heat which falleth upon the day of the Week the Match is to be run in so smartly and violently as before but with a little more ease and pleasure to the Horse that so his Body and Limbs may not be overstrained and made fore before the Match next you shall not after his heats give him any more of the former Scourings but instead thereof instantly upon the end of his heat after he is a little cooled and cloathed up and in the same place where you rub him give him a Ball as bigg as a Hens Egg of these Cordial Balls the Composition whereof is as followeth 12ly The true Receipt of Mr. Markhams famous Cordial Balls so much esteemed by the Generality of our English Farriers TAke Anniseeds Cuminseeds Fennegreek seeds Carthamus seeds Elecampain Roots and Colts foot of each two Ounces beaten and scarched very fine as also two Ounces of the flouer of Brimstone then take an Ounce of the juice of Liquorish and dissolve it one the fire in half an English Pint or half a Scots Mutchkin of White Wine which done take of the Chymical Oyl of Anniseeds one Ounce of Sallet Oyl Honey and Syrup of Sugar or for want of it Molosses of each half an English Pint or half a Scots Mutchkin then mix all these with the former Powders and with as much fine Wheat Flower as will bind and knit them together work them into a stiff Past which keep in a Gally Pot closs covered and make Balls thereof as big as a Hens Egg to give your horse as you shall find occasion for them Now for the use of these Balls because they are Cordial and have many excellent Vertues you must understand how and upon what occasions to use them if then it he to prevent sickness take a Ball and anointing it all over with fresh Butter give it your Horse in the Morning fasting in manner of a Pill then Ride him a little after it or let him stand upon his Bridle for an hour which of them you please Feeding and Watering him according to your usual Custom and do this three or four Mornings together Again if you use them to cure either a Couch or violent Cold or to satten a Horse then give them after the same manner for a week together or longer if you find it needful but if you use them in the nature of a scouring as in the case I have above told you for your running Horse then give them instantly after his Heat Lastly if you find that your Horse hath at any time taken a little cold or Rhume which you may easily know by his inward ratling then taking one of these Balls disolve it in an English Pint or Scots Mutchkin of Seck and so give it him warm which you will find a very good and effectual remedie also to disolve a Ball in warm Water and give it your Horse to drink worketh the same effect and fatteneth exceedingly to give a Horse one of these Balls in the morning before travel will prevent his too soon weatieing to give it in the Heat of Travel will refresh his Spirits and to give it after travel will help to recover weariness and prevent inward sickness they are also good upon many other occasions which would be too tedious here to rehearse therefore let what I have said suffice both as a true â—â—scription of their composition and also vertues and use 13ly The Fourth and last Fortnights Feeding For the Fourth and last Fortnight you shall make your Bread much finer then for either of the former As thus The last and finest Bread TAke three parts of fine Wheat and one part of Beans according to the Quantity of Bread you intend to bake grind and Bolt them thorow the finest 〈◊〉 you â—an get then knead it up with new strong Alt and Barm beaten toâ—â—ther and the Whites of twenty or thirty Eggs or more according to the quantity 〈◊〉 Flower you bake and be sure to put no Water at all but in place thereof some small qâ—â—ntity of new milk then work it up Bake and order it as the former and with this bâ—oâ—d having the crust cut first away and clean Oats well dryed and dressed as also 〈◊〉 pure Split Beans all mixed together or severally as you shall think fit Feed you â—orse at his ordinary Meals as you
application of 'em and in the composition of every Medicine you must have a special regard to the restoring of their Appetite that the Remedy may not only be proper for the Cure of the Disease but agreeable to the Stomach The application of these Rules to particular cases would require an account of all the Diseases to which Horses are subject and therefore I shall at present content my self with laying down this general Observation that when a Horse abstains obstinately from all manner of Food you must use all means that are not contrary to his Distemper to make him eat lest you be forc'd at last to have recourse to violent Methods such as the usual way of pouring in his necessary Sustenance with a Horn which cannot be done without drawing up his Head with a Halter and putting him into a very uneasie posture which hinders him from breathing freely and increases the Fever when he has any I confess you may make him swallow a Draught without using the Halter but even that cannot be done without exposing him in some measure to the same Inconveniencies I cannot approve the Method of those who if a Horse abstain from eating for the space of twelve or fifteen hours and even tho' he be seiz'd with a Fever immediately give him a Quart or two of Milk with Yolks of Eggs which they imagine is sufficient to prevent all the ill effects of his preceding Abstinence But besides that a Horse may be suffer'd to fast two days without any danger this sort of Nourishment is not at all agreeable to his Stomach and even is apt to make him Sick tho' he was not so before 'T is true Milk yields good Nourishment and is easily digested but 't is subject to the common Inconveniency of the best Aliments that it quickly corrupts in a disorder'd Stomach where it curdles and occasions violent Pains and if it be not cast forth at the Mouth which a Horse cannot do since he never Vomits it hardens and produces dangerous Obstructions So that Hippocrates had reason to forbid the use of it in Diseases of the Head Fevers and some other cases tho' he recommends it on certain occasions Lac dare capite dolentibus malum malum etiam febricitantibus If that famous Author thought it inconvenient for Men who are accustom'd to it and can discharge it by Vomiting how prejudicial must it be to Horses who never taste a drop of it after they leave off Sucking and besides cannot Vomit I have made some Trials of it but always without the least Success especially when the Horses were Feverish In Stomacho aegrotantium Animalium acessit lac sed non imprimitur vitali Caraciere propterca aciditas fit putrefactiva quae non nutrit sed malum auget Those who will not be disswaded by these Reasons fromfeeding their Sick Horses with Milk may blame their own Indiscretion for the ill success of the Cure For let a Person who is in Health drink a Glass of Milk fasting and immediately Vomit it up again as some can do without the least difficulty he will find that t is already become sowre and even half coagulated or turn'd to Choose by reason of the Acid or Sharp Juice in the Stomach of all sorts of Animals For 't is a vulgar Observation that Acids have a power to curdle or coagulate Milk which therefore cannot be agreeable to the Stomach of a Sick Horse where it presently turns to Corruption and instead of nourishing him encreases his Disease 'T is true this Experiment cannot be made upon a Horse who never Vomits but it may serve for a convincing Argument that Milk is rather hurtful than profitable to a Diseas'd Horse Some give their Horses strong Flesh-Broths or Jellies which I have found by experience to be very prejudicial to 'em for it would be more proper to give em Extracts of Hay and Oats which are their usual Food The dangerousness of this Method will appear more evidently if we confider that Horses have so strong an avernon to Flesh and Fat that such Broths are apter to destroy than to restore their Appetites And all the World knows that if the Teeth of a Horse who is in perfect Health be rubb'd with Fat or Suet he will forsake his Meat much more when he is actually Sick I am not ignorant that the Fat may be taken away from Broath but still 't is plain that any sort of Broth is nauseous to a Horse and disagreeable to his Stomach and therefore ought never to be given since there are other Aliments which are more natural and in all respects more convenient I commend a very thin Broath made of Bread especially the Crum boil'd with Water and a little Salt for 't is certainly very proper Nourishment for a Horse that will neither eat Hay Oats nor Bran. I have seen some Horses drink this Liquor like Water which nourish'd 'em for a considerable time and if they should happen to loath it you may force it down their Throats with a Horn for a very little quantity will serve to sustain ' em You may also feed the Sick Horse with a Broth or Liquor which is both cheap and easily prepared and besides is of the same nature with his usual Nourishment 'T is made of Oats or cleans'd Barley well boil'd in pure Water without Butter Fat or any other mixture you must strain the Liquor from the Grains and give it him luke-warm It differs from his ordinary Food only by the boiling of the Oats or Barley which cannot make it prejudicial to a Stomach that is weaken'd by the continuance of a Disease This Method seems to be founded on Reason and agreeable to the dictates of good sence And experience will discover its usefulness Take a pound of Barley-flower well fears'd and purifi'd from the Bran boil it in about two pints of Water to a sufficient thickness then take it from the Fire and add a quarter of a pound of Sugar The quantity of Broth here prescrib'd is sufficient to sustain a Horse four and twenty Hours and must be given with a Horn. It moistens the Body when dry'd by a Feverish heat or any other cause but if the Fever be very gentle and the want of Appetite proceed from some other Cause you may add to the Broth an Ounce of the Cordial-Powder hereafter describ'd which will contribute powerfully to the recovery of his Appetite Or you may mix with the Broth an Ounce of Ever of Antimony in Powder which will make him Hungry and allay the preternatural heat of his Entrails When a Horse is troubl'd with a Fever Palpitation or unusual beating of the Heart or any other hot or violent Diseases which seldom continue long you must be careful in proportioning the quantity of his Food and neither give nor suffer him to eat too much Excessive Eating has to my certain knowledge prov'd fatal to several Horses who might have escap'd if they had been kept to a convenient that
Nature has already taken that course and we only assist her to shake off the load that overwhelms her Immediately after the taking of the Remedy the Horse seems just ready to expire by reason of the violent Beating which it causes in his Flank but that Storm is quickly appeas'd 'T is by no means convenient to administer this Remedy to Horses that have lost their Appetite for they are not able to bear the violence of its Operation Nor can it be given in very cold Weather without hazarding the Horse's Life for all extraordinary Evacuations are equally dangerous in extreamly Cold and Hot Seasons When any of the noble or principal Parts are vitiated you may save the Charge and Trouble of a tedious Sickness by giving this Medicine which will hasten the Horse's Death For t is impossible that he should subsist long when one of the noble Parts is corrupted and since you must lose him the sooner you are rid of him 't is the better This Remedy should be given rather in the Wane than in the Encrease of the Moon For when 't is administer'd during the Encrease it makes such havock and so disorders the Oeconomy of Nature that it cannot be restor'd to its wonted course in a long time after but in the declination or Wane it does not produce such violent Disturbances It ought not to be given on the day of the Full-Moon but it may be administer'd with very good Success the next day after These Observations are very useful and may be cautiously observ'd when the disposal of the Time is in our Power There is a certain Salt in the Matter that is evacuated which is grateful to the Horse's Taste and makes him lick and swallow it But since 't is sharp and biting it may ulcerate his inward Parts and therefore you ought to wipe his Nose with Hay as oft as you can Besides you must never suffer him to drink raw Water but instead of that give him Water that has been boil'd mixt with a little Bran or rather Flower If you could make him drink it hot it would be so much the better but few Horses will drink any Liquor that is not either cold or at least only luke-warm You must never forget to separate the Horse during the time of his Evacuation from all other Horses For not only this is a contagious Distemper but a sound Horse may catch the Glanders from one that is troubl'd only with the Strangles and even tho' he should not lick the Matter that flows out of his Companion 's Nose which he will certainly do if he can because the very Smell is sufficient to communicate the Disease which may be also propagated by drinking out of the same Pail I shall propose other Remedies to promote Evacuation by the Nose in my Discourse of the Glanders which may be us'd upon occasion tho' that which I have already describ'd is of excellent use when there is not an Ulcer in the Bowels If the violence of the Evacuation caus'd by this Medicine make the Horse abstain from Eating which happens very rarely give him the Electuary describ'd in the preceding Chapter or some Cordial Powders and if after all his aversion to his Food continue make him chew the Balls propos'd in the Eighth Chapter CHAP. XIII Of the False or Bastard Strangles SOmetimes the Humours are not dispos'd to produce the Fermentation that causes the Strangles at the usual time which defect of Fermentation may proceed either from the strength or weakness of Nature so that in such cases the agitation of the Humors is imperfectly and weakly perform'd for want of proper Remedies from whence 't is plain that the noxious Matter cannot be fully expell'd but a Ferment remains in the Body which in its proper time will agitate the Humours that are dispos'd to follow its Motions and cause a sort of Fermentation which will oblige oppress'd Nature to renew her Endeavours to cast forth the Remainders of those Impurities which she could not fully evacuate before Sometimes in this kind of Strangles she expels 'em by the Nose and sometimes also by Swellings under the Throat as in the true Strangles When the Horse is old the Humour is usually discharg'd by a large Swelling at the side of the Jaw-bone in the same part out of which the Vives are drawn which suppurates and breaks at the age of Ten Twelve or Fifteen Years These Horses must be very diligently assisted for they are hardly able to expel the venomous Matter for which purpose I make use of the Treacle-Balls which I have frequently repeated six or ten times and some softening Clysters when the Disease was accompany'd with Loss of Appetite for Clysters are never hurtful in any Case whatsoever Usually these Horses void no Matter by the Nostrils but the whole Malignity is evacuated by the Humour that is drawn out of the Swelling and after 't is wholly expell'd I make 'em eat two Ounces of Liver of Antimony in Powder mix'd with Bran till they have consum'd two Pounds to compleat their Recovery for they are commonly very much worn and extenuated by their Disease Sometimes the False Strangles are known by the same Signs that denote the Disease properly so call'd which are much different from the Glanders only the last mention'd Distemper begins not with a great Beating in the Flank and difficulty of Breathing as the False-Strangles do And when after the use of Remedies a Swelling appears at the side of the Jaw-bone in the part from whence the Vives are drawn you may certainly conclude that the Horse is troubl'd with the False-Strangles which are rarely evacuated by the Nostrils in old Horses but almost always by a Tumor at the side of the Jaw-bone tho' sometimes when they are not above six or seven Years old the Swelling breaks forth between the two Jaw-bones in which case they also void Matter by the Nose and 't is plain by their Age that their Distemper is not the Glanders This Distemper makes the Horses a great deal more sick than the true Strangles and sometimes they die for want of due Assistance or the Disease generates to the Glanders And therefore great care must be taken to keep 'em warm and to administer effectual Remedies You may give the sick Horse once in two days a Dose of the Electuary of Kermes or of the Lieutenant's-Powder Cordial-Powder Cordial-Balls or Pills and some Clysters then Syringe him and put Feathers into his Nose and Bags into his Mouth as in the cure of Strangles When he slights his Food and eats little you must not give him any Powders but good softning Clysters after which give him the Cordial-Waters of Scorzonera Bugloss Carduus Benediclus and Roses of each half a Pint with an Ounce of the Confection of Al-Kermes without Musk or Amber-grise or of the Electuary of Kermes and the same Evening a good Clyster with Sal Polycrest repeating the same every two days But if he is only troubl'd with a
loathing of his Food without Beating in his Flank or a Fever you must observe the Directions propos'd in the Sixth Chapter prepare a Bag for him with an Ounce of Assa-foetida and every day make him drink a Pint of good Spanish Wine which is very good for the Bastard Strangles Afterwards if he has any Kernels you must bring 'em to Suppuration which you will find a harder Task to perform than in the true Strangles whether they be under the Throat or at the side of it And if they be not prevented by proper Remedies they will either strike inward or harden and remain in that condition or perhaps grow so big as to hinder Respiration To advance the Suppuration you may give him two or three Doses of Cordial Balls which are very useful to drive out the Humour If notwithstanding these Remedies the Matter or Quitter is not yet generated you must give him three Doses more with a Pint of Spanish Wine mixt with the same quantity of some other sort of Wine for each Dose then rub the top of the Gland with a Retoire holding a red-hot Iron near it that the Retoire may penetrate which will promote the Suppuration and draw the Matter powerfully If all these Remedies prove ineffectual you must have recourse to the Medicine for resolving Glands describ'd in the Twentieth Chapter which if it be carefully prepar'd will infallibly resolve and dissipate the Gland or Kernel Besides all these Remedies you may burn the Hair on the Glands with a searing Candle and afterwards apply to the part a large Plaister made of Emplastrum Divinum or of Manus Dei or of the greater Diachylum with the Gums both which may be had from Apothecaries spread the Plaister on thin white Leather and apply it to the Gland laying over it a Lamb's Skin which ought also to cover some of the parts under the Head You must let the Plaister stick till the Matter is ripen'd in the Kernel and then open it with a red-hot Iron putting in Tents as before If these Plaisters be not strong enough to bring the Glands to Suppuration you must use another of the Ointment of Beetles or that which follows CHAP. XIV An Ointment to ripen Kernels THis Ointment is not only fit to be apply'd to the Glands between or at the side of the Jaw-Bones but good for all manner of Swellings that ought to be suppurated if the part be often chaf'd with it and kept very warm 'T is prepar'd thus Take four Ounces of Basilicum melt it in a Skellet and add an Ounce of Emplastrum Divinum or of Manus Dei which is as good and is kept by all Apothecaries after they are melted into one Mass remove the Skellet from the Fire and add three Ounces of old Treacle the older the better mix 'em all thorowly and make an Ointment with which you must every day chafe the Gland or the part that is to be brought to Suppuration and you will soon perceive its Efficacy Sometimes the Ointment is too hard for the Farriers of Paris desire their Basilicum to be made very hard and the Apothecaries to please 'em add a great deal of Rosin to thicken it which does not at all augment its Vertue and therefore in that case you may add to the whole quantity an Ounce of old Oil Olive which will bring it to a due consistency To avoid Repetitions I referr the Reader to the Directions propos'd in the Chapter concerning the True Strangles which must be observ'd in the present Case and even with greater Care because this is a more dangerous Distemper CHAP. XV. Of the Cold Rheum or Morfounding THE word Rheum in the general signifies all sorts of Defluxions that flow from one part and fall upon another but properly speaking the Rheum in Horses is a Defluxion under the Throat and on other neighbouring parts of raw phlegmatick and superfluous Humours that are gather'd either by a great Cold or for want of Digestion or by reason of some particular Distempers or exhal'd from the inward parts The remote causes of this Disease are of a different Nature Sometimes 't is occasion'd by being suddenly expos'd to the Cold after having suffered a vehement Heat Thus immoderate Exercise or Labour beyond the strength of a Horse heats not only his outward but even his inward parts And if he be suffer'd to catch Cold presently after or expos'd to the cold Air in a Harvest-night immediately the Defluxion seizes on some inward parts of the Body and hinders 'em from performing their Functions Sometimes thick and viscous Humours being dissolv'd and melted by long and violent Exercise fall upon the Lungs where they cause Obstructions which are attended with difficulty of Breathing Or if Nature be strong enough to expel 'em they flow out of the Nose in the form of white or green Snot which according to its sharpness produces a Cough The abundant flowing out of the Humour has given occasion to frequent Mistakes and several Horses have been suspected to have the Glanders who were only troubled with a Cold. This Disease may be also occasion'd by suffering a Horse to Drink while he is hot without riding him afterwards or by his drinking very cold Water too greedily in Summer or melted Snow The signs of a Cold are these Dulness Want of Appetite a Cough and running at the Nose To distinguish it from the Strangles you must enquire whether the Horse has been expos'd to any of those Inconveniencies that may cause a Cold and if he has you may certainly conclude that to be the Disease Another sign is when his Throat is drier and harder than usually You may easily perceive whether 't is harder by feeling it and this hardness proceeds from the Heat and Driness which are the effects of the Cold. Sometimes the Cold is so violent that it throws the Horse into a Fever with manifest danger of his Life in which case his Neck-Vein must be open'd and oftentimes the same Operation is repeated Bleeding is also esteem'd proper when a Horse is troubl'd with so great an Oppression in his Breast that he cannot Breathe Horses are also let Blood when the Cold is accompani'd with a Quinsie or Inflammation of the Throat that hinders 'em from swallowing In these three Cases Bleeding is profitable for a Horse that is troubl'd with a Cold. This Disease is very dangerous when it seizes a Horse in the Encrease of the Moon for his Lungs are oppress'd with a multitude of Humours that encrease with that Planet besides the Defluxion falls upon all the inward parts of the Body and almost always the Disease is of long continuance as being caus'd by Fulness For 't is certain that all Diseases proceeding from Fulness when they happen during the encrease of the Moon are stronger and more apt to overwhelm Nature and disturb her in the performance of her Functions by reason of the encrease of Humours at that time But when it happens in
the Wane of the Moon 't is of shorter continuance and less violent for the Humours decrease with the Moon and the Horse recovers speedily If these Observations be not attentively consider'd by those who undertake the Cure of Horses they will hardly be able to make a certain Judgment concerning the length and dangerousness of their Distempers or to prescribe a successful Method of Cure This Assertion is grounded on a certain knowledge of the Causes The way of curing a Cold is the same with that which I prescrib'd for the Strangles For you must cover the Horse's Neck with a Furr'd Skin keep him warm give him the Electuary of Kermes put Baggs with Assa-Foetida into his Mouth thrust Feathers into his Nose Syringe him and proceed in all other respects as in the Cure of the Strangles If you perceive that your Horse has not wholly lost his Appetite you may give him the Cordial Powder every three days or rather the Electuary of Kermes And when the Disease is attended with a total loss of Appetite you cannot give a better Remedy than that Electuary in a Pint of Spanish Wine once in two days if he has not a Fever or if he have a Fever you may give him the Cordial Waters with Clysters both before and after The Arman describ'd Chap. VII is very good in this case It may be given five or six times in the day tying it to the Bit and will be found to be a Sovereign Remedy Take the sick Horse's Urine while 't is yet hot mix it with an equal quantity of Wine about a Pint or a Pint and half of each and make him drink it all up then cover him and let him stand Bridl'd two hours Repeat the same several times If you cannot have his Urine hot take a Pint of Flesh-Broath without Fat or Salt and as much Wine mix 'em for a Draught Repeat the same three or four days and if he Sweat not after the first Dose add to the Draught an Ounce of the Cordial-Powder and cover him well Continue after the same manner for some days For a Cold accompany'd with a violent Cough Take Honey of Roses and Juice of Liquorice of each four Ounces Fenugreek-seed Grains of Paradice Cummin-seed Cinnamon Cloves Ginger Gentian Birthwort-roots Anni-seed and Coriander-seed of each two Drams Reduce all the hard Ingredient into Powder and give the whole to the sick Horse in a Pint of White-Wine with six Ounces of Carduus-Benedictus-Water Let not this Composition offend those who are only pleas'd with Cooling Remedies for Horses must not be us'd like Men. If you cool 'em too much when they are troubl'd with this Distemper you will stifle em and therefore beware of purely cooling Medicines You will quickly be sensible of the good effects of This which contains many hot Ingredients but since they are agreeable to the nature of Horses they do not inflame 'em and cause only so much Heat as is necessary to strengthen the Parts Experience will convince you of the Truth of my Assertion for the Remedy will succeed and I shall take occasion hereafter to demonstrate that there is need of a great deal of Prudence to administer cooling Remedies to a Horse with safety and success You must also walk him frequently in the Sun-shine if it be Summer and observe the same directions that I prescrib'd in the case of Want of Appetite Chap. VI. and also in the Chapters of the Strangles A Draught for a Cold join'd with a Palpitation or Beating in the Flank When the sick Horse is troubl'd with a Cough a vehement Beating in his Flank and even Palpitation of the Heart you cannot assist him more effectually than by giving him two Clysters and then the following Draught after he has stood two hours in the Morning with a watering Bit in his Mouth 'T is composâ—d of the Waters of Scorzonera Carduus Benedictus Scabious Roses and bitter Succory of each half a Pint Give the Horse a Quart of these Waters with an Ounce of Zedoary and two Drams of Saffron both in fine Powder then rinse the Horn with the half Pint that remains and make him drink that also After which let him stand four hours with a Waterbit in his Mouth and as soon as you unbridle him lay moisten'd Bran before him leaving him to eat at his pleasure till Night and then give him a good Clyster with an Ounce and an half of Sal Polychrest Take Assa-foetida and Powder of Savin of each half an Ounce and tie 'em in a Bag to the Bit let the Horse stand two hours then unbridle him and after two hours more put in the Bag again For besides that this Bag gives him an Appetite it eases his Head by making him void a great quantity of Water and bitter Flegm Instead of the Zedoary and Saffron you may mix an Ounce of the Confection of Hyacinth without Musk or Amber-grise with the Cordial Waters and the same may be repeated two or three times if need require and if you found any Benefit by the first Dose for that which gives Ease may if continu'd perfect the Cure The main part of the Cure consists in giving the Horse one or two softening Clysters with Sal Polychrest every day A Softening Clyster Take Leaves of Mallows Violets Herb-Mercury Pellitory of the Wall of each three Handfuls Annis-seeds one Ounce or a Handful of green Fennel if it be in the Summer let 'em boil half an hour in a large Pot or Kettle in three Quarts of Water for a little Horse or four for a large one adding an Ounce and a half or two Ounces of Liver of Antimony in fine Powder After the Decoction is half-cold press it out and add to the strain'd Liquor four Ounces of Lenitive Electuary and a Quarter of a Pound of fresh Butter Mix and make a Clyster which must be injected after you have rakâ—d the Horse then put him again into the Stable and let him stand half and hour bridl'd If these Remedies be apply'd with Prudence when the Occasion requires and without either Rashness or Negligence the Horse will certainly be eas'd by 'em unless the Disease be extremely violent CHAP. XVI The Vniversal Cordial-Powder TAke Sassafras Zedoary Elecampane Gentian Carlin-Thistle Angelica Cubebs Spanish Scorzâ—nera Master-Wort and Marsh-Mallows of each half a Pound Birth-Wort round and long Bay-Berries Bark of Oranges and Citrons Savin of each four Ounces Cardamoms Liquorice Myrrh Shavings of Hart's-Horn and Ivory Coriander-Seed Seeds of Carraway Cummin Annise and Fennel of each two Ounces Cinnamon an Ounce Cloves Nutmeg and Oriental Saffron of each half an Ounce all fresh and gather'd in due time for a Root dug up in Summer is of no Value and therefore they must be gather'd in the Spring when they begin to shoot forth or about the time of Advent before the Frost The Medicine will be more effectual if you add a Pound of the Grains of Kermes but since they cannot be kept without
doing for the Knot slipping it was impossible to find the End of the Vein and besides the Motion of the Blood is stopp'd as effectully by taking up the Vein as by cutting it Let the Horse's usual Food be moisten'd Bran let him not lie loitering in a Corner of the Stable but use moderate Exercise and his Ordinary Drink must be prepar'd thus Melt two Pounds of Brimstone in an Iron Spoon and while it boils throw it into a Pail of Water then take out the Brimstone melt it again and cast it into the same Water which the sick Horse must drink for the Water will retain the sweet and balsamic Salt of Brimstone which is the Balsam of the Lungs The progress of this Disease even when 't is incurable is not very quick but rather insensible for the Sharpness of the Matter increases by degrees as the Ulcer grows greater and the Part affected is piece-meal consum'd in the mean time the neighbouring Parts are spoil'd the whole Body pines away and receives no Benefit by the best and largest Supplies of Nourishment Some Horses cannot endure the Water prepar'd with Brimstone and therefore you must take the Paste of a Peny White-Loaf when 't is just ready to be put into the Oven and steep it in the Water for the Tartness of the Paste will correct the loathsome Taste of the Brimstone and make the Water grateful to the Horse and besides it nourishes him and comforts his inward Parts As the Ulcer increases in a part so near the Heart it causes a Hectic Fâ—ver the usual effect of the Glanders by which the whole Body is dry'd and the Horse dies about six Months or a Year after But since 't is hard to know certainly whether the Glanders be of this kind which almost always proves Mortal you must endeavour to discover the nature of the Disease by the application of proper Remedies by the success of which you may perceive whether there be any hopes of the Cure Thus you may exhibit the Drink which I prescrib'd for 't is very proper in all the various sorts of Glanders especially in the most dangerous kind that which affects the Lungs And to convince you that you ought not to despair of the Cure at the first appearance of this Distemper 't is observ'd that some Horses recover of themselves in the Stable but this happens only when there is not an Ulcer the matter not being sharp enough to corrode and waste the part However since 't is impossible to judge certainly of the Malignity of the Distemper you must not neglect the use of Remedies The Horses that are seiz'd with this Disease are frequently put into a way of Recovery by the use of good Remedies which would even perfect the Cure if the Lungs were not already wasted but God alone can restore a consum'd Part. I remember I attempted the Cure of a Horse troubl'd with the Glanders and kept him in the constant use of Remedies for a whole Month together Every Morning I made him drink three Pints of the Emetic Wine with two Ounces of the Cordial Powder and in the Evenings I Syring'd his Nose with half a Glass of the same Wine which dissolv'd the Kernel between his two Cheek-Bones and gave him a good Appetite to his Meat His Eye look'd well he voided less Matter and had all the signs of Amendment after which I purg'd him and committed the rest of the Cure to Nature but the Horse by degrees pin'd away and at last dy'd After his Death I open'd his Body and found his Lungs wholly turn'd to a Mass of Corruption I confess I ought not to have purg'd him during the time of his Evacuation at the Nose For Experience has since convinc'd me that the Purgation of a Horse when he voids Matter by the Nose is apt to give him the Glanders tho' he have it not already This puts me in mind of another Horse that was committed to my care to whom I gave two Doses of the Remedy describ'd in the following Chapter which made him void abundance of Matter Then I purg'd him and afterwards gave him three Doses of the Cordial Pills in Wine for three days together and eight days after three Doses more but the Evacuation of the Matter was wholly stop'd I order'd him to be air'd and walk'd and to compleat the Cure according to my judgment at that time I purg'd him again ten days after and at last took out the Kernel which was large and fix'd The Wound being clos'd I let him Blood and concluding him to be cur'd sent him to his Master Six Months after he began to void Matter again and continu'd in that condition above six Years during which time he was able to walk a foot-pace and Work very well but at last he pin'd away and died I thought fit to communicate these two Instances out of a hundred others I have met with in my Practice to demonstrate that oftentimes the Horse is in the greatest danger when he seems to be cur'd And therefore when a Farrier undertakes to cure a Horse of the Glanders you may conclude that either he will hardly be able to perform his Promise or that the Disease is not really what you imagine it to be 'T is a most certain Rule that a Horse should never be Purg'd while he voids Matter at the Nose for a Purging Medicine may throw him into this Distemper tho' he were free of it before We must follow Nature in the Cure of Diseases and not compel her to change her course or to submit to one that is opposite to that which she has already taken as Purgation is in the present case 'T is true most Farriers observe that Method but I 'm fully convinc'd that 't is very dangerous and oftentimes fatal The Emetic Wine never purges a Horse tho' the Dose be augmented to two or three Quarts for it works by insensible Transpiration and is an excellent Remedy You will find it describ'd in the Twenty Third Chapter CHAP. XIX How to expel the Matter by the Nose I Shall proceed to describe some Remedies proper for this Distemper And if the Case be not altogether desperate you will quickly perceive the good effects of ' em Before you give any Remedies you must consider whether the sick Horse be a hearty Feeder For if he be nice and squeamish the Cure will never succeed according to your desire since some of the Medicines you must give him will encrease the natural Infirmity of his Stomach so that it will cost you as much Pains and Time to restore his Appetite as to cure the Glonders and at the end you will find it impossible to compass your design But if the Horse that is committed to your Care be a good Eater in the first place make him abstain from his Oats then take Aqua Vitae and Oil Olive of each a Quart mix or brew 'em together in a Pot till they be perfectly united and spurt some
till he has recover'd his Appetite and then give him another Dose If this Remedy work too violently and cause too great an Agitation in the Horse's Body infuse two Ounces of Tabacco in a Quart of Oil-Olive let it stand in hot Ashes all Night and in the Morning strain out a Glass-full which you must give him luke-warm one half at each Nostril This is a gentler Medicine and besides that it will make him void some Matter it allays the sharpness of the Humours but you must observe the same Directions as before concerning Beating in the Flank and Loss of Appetite You must take care to augment or diminish the Dose according to the good or bad Condition of the Horse's Appetite and the great or small Quantity of the Matter which he voids Nature oftentimes heals those internal Ulcers which are the Source of the filthy Matter that runs out of the Nose when by a great Evacuation she is eas'd of the Burthen of sharp and malignant Humours that foment the Distemper The Cure of an Ulcer consists wholly in cleansing it for you may commit the healing of it to Nature This Remedy will expel a prodigious Quantity of Matter some Horses bear it well without losing their Appetite and even the Kernel disappears in the Wane of the Moon but if it grow again you must repeat the Medicine If after a long Continuance in this Method the Horse begins to void less Matter and according to all Probability the Flux of Matter will quickly cease forbear the Use of the Remedy for some Days and if the Evacuation be wholly stopt as it sometimes happens give him a Dose of the Cordial Powder for three Days together in a Quart of White or Red Wine after which the Kernel will perhaps return no more and the Horse will perfectly recover I have given this Remedy to some Horses who were not at all troubl'd with a beating in the Flank after the taking of it nor lost the least stroak of their Teeth they were cur'd for some time but afterwards some of 'em relaps'd into their former Disease When the the Lungs which are the usual Seat of this Distemper are much wasted the Disease is incurable and the above-mention'd Remedy hastens the Horse's Death but since 't is impossible to save him the best Way is to dispatch him speedily When you undertake the Cure of this Distemper whatever Remedy you design to use you ought always during the Encrease of the Moon to strengthen Nature and help her by gentle Methods to cast forth the Matter that offends her for which Purpose repeated Doses of the Cordial Powder Treacle Electuary of Kermes and the Cordial Pills are very effectual And during the Wane you must syringe the Nostrils and give Remedies to promote the Evacuation of the Matter This Method seems to promise good Effects but I will not positively warrant the Success Perfumes are not very proper in this Case 't is true they expel a great deal of Matter and even without Violence but they make the Horse too lean and dry and spoil his Appetite CHAP. XXI A Perfume to draw forth the offending Humours TAke Betony Vervain Mugwort Speedwell Bawm Wormwood Scabious Agrimony Mint Hyssop and Sage burn 'em in a Chafing-dish and putting a Bag with a Hole in it about the Horse's Head make him receive the Smoak into his Nostrils for a quarter of an Hour which will expel abundance of Matter The wild Vine that grows in the Hedges call'd black Briony slic'd small while 't is green and afterwards beaten casts forth a Smell that will make the Horse void a great deal of Matter Some say it hurts the Sight but Experience will convince you of the contrary It has most Virtue when it bears its Flower To declare my Opinion ingenuously I never observ'd any Horses to receive great Benefit by Persumes but I was willing to insert 'em here for the Satisfaction of some Persons The Syringe makes Persumes and even Feathers useless and spoils not the Horse's Appetite but since Farriers are very fond of these Medicines and continually propose the Use of 'em I thought fit to describe the best that can be made tho' even that is not very effectual and I dare not advise you to use it During the Use of these Remedies keep the Horse to a moistening Diet which facilitates the Evacuations you are oblig'd to procure Some dislike moisten'd Bran and recommend Oats but I always found Bran to be the most proper Food for Oats give Nature too much trouble to digest ' em I have seen Horses void Matter at the Nose six Years together and yet during all that time perform their wonted Service hunt eat and undergo Fatigues like other Horses The Use of Remedies was laid aside they were not kept to any Diet and the the whole Business of the Cure was left to Nature but at last the Disease carry'd 'em off I have also seen others tho' very few who cou'd not be cur'd by Medicines and yet sometime after the Use of Remedies and Hope of Cure were both laid aside they recover'd their perfect Health CHAP. XXII Another Remedy for the Glanders TAke a Pot large enough to hold five Pints or three Quarts fill it a third part full with the second Bark of the Aller or Alder-Tree which grows in watery Places and serves to make Stools Ladders and other Utensils of small Value scrape the Bark or cut it small and having added two Quarts of Water boil it to the Consumption of one half stirring it from time to time then add another Quart of Water to that which remains and boil away that also after which add another Quart and consume that too then press out the remaining Quart and dissolve in the strain'd Liquor half a Pound of Oil-Olive pour out half a Pint of the Liquor thus mix'd and give the rest to the Horse to drink luke-warm then inject the other half Pint into his Nostrils and afterwards walk him abroad in his Cloaths for half an hour This Remedy will draw forth Abundance of Matter and tho' he only voided Matter at one Nostril before it will make him run at both If the Horse be not cur'd eight Days after repeat the same Remedy and perhaps he will recover I have both cur'd some Horses with this Medicine and us'd it several times without any Success at all but it never produces any dangerous Effects If this do not cure the Horse take up his two Neck-Veins and afterwards give him a Dose of the Cordial Pills four Days together which will either cure him or you may conclude him to be past Recovery Another Remedy for the same Distemper Take of Oriental Caster grosly beaten an Ounce Gentian beaten and Savin slic'd small of each an Ounce and a half boil them in five Quarts of strong Vinegar to three and after the Liquor is cold strain it thro' a Linnen Cloth Give the Horse a Quart of this Liquor after he has stood
bridl'd three Hours then cover him and put him in the Stable when the Remedy works he will be very sick his Flank will beat and sometimes he will be seiz'd with a Trembling all over his Body if he offer to lie down do not hinder him for he will rise again in a little time Two Hours after the taking of the Remedy walk him half an Hour and if you observe that he voids part of his Lungs at the Mouth as it sometimes happens with Coughing you may conclude the Disease to be incurable and dispatch him speedily but if he only run at the Nostrils provided he do not void Blood or green Matter you have no reason to despair Assoon as he has recover'd his Appetite as you may expect he will after the Space of one or two and sometimes three Days give him another Quart in the Morning observing the same Directions as before and after he begins again to feed heartily give him the third Quart ordering him as at the first After which lead him abroad every Morning for half an Hour and if he be in a way of Recovery the Running at the Nose will diminish by degrees and at last totally cease If after he has receiv'd one Dose he cast forth greenish Matter 't is a very dangerous Sign and in all probability the Horse will never recover This Receipt has cur'd some Horses that were thought to have the Glanders many received no Benefit by it and it has kill'd others whose Lungs were so totally corrupted that they could not possibly have liv'd long and therefore their Masters were well rid of ' em There is a great affinity between the Glanders and Farcin and the latter when 't is past Remedy degenerates into the former which in that case is absolutely incurable CHAP. XXIII Of the Emetic Wine THE Emetic Wine restores lost Appetite the frequent use of it is very proper for all sick Horses and 't is mix'd with Purging Remedies with admirable Success For tho' it never purges when it is given by it self it promotes the Operation of Purgatives by opening the Passages and sometimes provokes Urine very powerfully when Nature stands in need of such Evacuations And besides 't is excellent for Clysters Take five or six pieces of the finest Glass of Antimony beat 'em small and infuse 'em all Night in a Quart or five half Pints of White-Wine or Claret Next Morning take out the Powder which will serve a whole Year without losing its Vertue You may also make Emetic Wine by letting it stand four and twenty Hours in a Cup of Regulus of Antimony which will serve perpetually if you take care after every Infâ—â—on to scour the Cup-with Water and to wash away the Dregs or Sediment that sticks to it Or you may put two Ounces of Liver of Antimony in Powder in a three Quart Bottle full of White-Wine or Claret after four and twenty Hours you may take out five half Pints and fill up the Bottle with fresh Wine and by taking out and filling up the same quantity constantly you may have fresh Emetic Wine every day in the Year without any other Charge than that of the Wine Or you may make very good Emeâ—â— Wine by infusing two Ounces of Algarot in a Bottle of that Liquor The Angelical Powder will also produce the same effect and a great deal better than any other Preparation of Antimony you must put an Ounce of it to three Quarts of Wine Thus you see Emetic Wine is not very chargeable and I can assure you 't is extremely useful The continu'd use of this Wine purifies the Blood resists Corruption preserves the Wind by opening and clearing the Passages of the Lungs keeps the Horse in perfect Health and prevents Sickness In those Countries where Wine is scarce and Beer common you may use the latter instead of the former in all the Preparations of Antimony which I order to be made with Wine for it will also grow Emetic and produce very good Effects and there cannot be a better Liquor for Clysters than Emetic Beer to which you may add any other proper Ingredients as you do to the usual Decoctions I shall conclude this Discourse of the Glanders with a very useful Remark You must observe during the Cure whether your Horse thrives and grows fat which is a very good sign for if the Lungs were wasted he would certainly pine away And therefore when you observe this you may entertain some hope of his Recovery but you must not be discourag'd by the tediousness of the Cure for two or three Months are quickly past and the Cure is seldom perfected so soon It may be very useful to give a Horse that has been long tormented with Medicines a Quart of Emetic Wine or Beer with a Horn and to inject half a Pint of the same Liquor into his Nostrils continuing after the same manner thirty days If during that time he void abundance of Matter at the Eyes like to that which he vents at his Nose you may conclude the Disease to be incurable especially if he continue to run at the Eyes eight or ten days If while the Horse is under Cure you observe any Knots of the Farcin to break forth upon his Body tho' they may be easily cur'd and the Farcin be not malignant yet the Horse will never recover There is nothing wanting to compleat this Account of the Glanders but a sure Remedy to cure it which I must confess I could never find neither do I believe it can be found But oftentimes a Horse is groundlesly suspected to have the Glanders When I say Glanders I mean that which is incurable which cannot be distinguish'd from the less malignant Kinds till you find it will not yield to the best Remedies in which case you may confidently pronounce it to be incurable And therefore you must always attempt the Cure lest you be afterwards troubl'd to think that a Horse of value has perish'd by your neglect giving credit too easily to the Opinion of ignorant Pretenders CHAP. XXIV Of the Diseases of the Head caus'd by Choleric Humours ALL Mortal Diseases which Farriers do not understand are in France call'd Distempers of the Head among which there are some that resemble the Jaundice in Men and are very fatal and pernicious To give you a distinct Idea of 'em you must know that they proceed from an Inundation of Choler which affects the principal parts of the Body That which floats in the Stomach destroys the Appetite and spoils Digestion that which is lodg'd in the Veins and Arteries causes a Fever which quickly proves Mortal and that which is carry'd to the Head disturbs all the Functions that are perform'd there which makes the Horse go heavily and renders him dull unactive and benum'd If you let a Horse Blood while he is in this condition as soon as it grows Cold you will perceive it to be yellow on the surface and the Water that swims on the top
without any Reason they imagine to be very dangerous If you desire a further Confirmation of the Truth of what I have said you may easily satisfie your Curiosity by making the following Experiment on a living Colt of small Value Separate the Skin from his Head and you will not only perceive the Communication of the two Nerves or Sinews but that the Optic-Nerve will appear stiffer and more stretch'd assoon as you cut the other which you may find without much difficulty tho' it lies deep and near the Bone But they who dare not venture on this Operation may content themselves with taking up the Eye-Vein I 'm confident you will not find this Remark in any other Author and I 'm fully satisfy'd of its Justness and Solidity since 't is not only agreeable to Reason but confirm'd by many and succesful Trials both in the Case of Rheums and Moon-Eyes If both the Eyes be affected you must perform the Operation on each Side The most frequent Causes of the Loss of a Horse's Eye are in my Opinion the too great Abundance of Nourishment and the Defect of Visual Spirits both which are remov'd by the two above-mention'd Operations For the cutting of the Nerve promotes the Course of the Spirits and the taking up the Vein keeps back the superfluous Nourishment which will be yet more effectually perform'd and the Cure hasten'd by taking up the two Jugulars commonly call'd the Neck-Veins When a Horse is troubl'd with Rheums you must give him something to cool his Blood Thus an Ounce of Sal Prunellae in Powder mix'd every day with his Bran will allay the Heat and lessen the Defluxion but if you perceive that this weakens his Stomach too much and makes him forsake his Meat you may substitute Liver of Antimony instead of it till he recover his Appetite and then give him Sal Prunellae again till the Cure be compleated To what has been said I shall add a very rare but true Observation I saw a Horse who had so good Eyes that 't was impossible to find any Defect in 'em being one Day under his Master in the Field a great Thunder-clap depriv'd him of both his Eyes in an instant and he remain'd blind ever after A Remedy for Rheums in the Eyes If the Eye be swoll'n hot clos'd up and red or blood-shotten you must immediately prepare a restringent Charge to stop the flowing of the Humours Take common Bole-Armenic in Powder mix it with Vinegar and the Whites of two Eggs till it be reduc'd to a kind of Paste which you must apply Morning and Evening about the Eye for half a foot round and bathe the Eye with Aqua-Vitae or use that which follows Take a new-laid Egg boil'd hard and having taken off the Shell cut it thro' the middle and take out the Yolk in the place of which put a piece of white Vitriol about the bigness of a Nut then join the two halves of the Egg and wrapping it in a piece of clean and fine Linnen infuse it in half a Glass of Rose-Water for the space of six hours after which throw away the soak'd Egg as useless and reserving the Water pour eight or ten Drops of it into the Horse's Eye with a Feather Morning and Evening which will quickly perfect the Cure If you make use of Aqua-Vitae you must bathe the Eye with a little fine Sponge soak'd in it five or six times a day and Experience will convince you that you cannot chuse a better Remedy either for Rheums or Blows If the Distemper require a present Remedy you may instantly prepare that which follows Take the White of a new-laid Egg an equal Quantity of Rose-Water white Vitriol in fine Powder the bigness of a small Nut beat 'em well with a stick Some of this being put into the Eye will divert the Rheum and take away the Heat These Waters will not keep good above seven or eight days at most after which they turn sharp Their Virtue is to allay the Heat and stop the Humour that flows into the Eyes and the Smarting which they cause is inconsiderable and lasts but a Moment They are also very useful for Men. If the Distemper will not yield to this Remedy make use of the following Water You ought to make choice of a good Medicine at first and not change it lightly afterwards for nothing retards the Cure more than the Change of Remedies Every one thinks his own best but when you have begun with one and find Benefit by it you ought to stick to it afterwards An Eye-Water for Horses Take the Herb Ale-hoof or Ground-Ivy which grows in shady Places and is altogether different from common Ivy for its Leaf is smaller thinner and less shining but of a stronger smell besides it dies in the Winter whereas the creeping Ivy resists the cold Weather and therefore they are guilty of a very great Errour who instead of this make use of Ivy that creeps on the Ground Take I say four Handfuls of true Ground-Ivy beat it in a Marble Mortar with the Whites of six hard Eggs then add half a Pint of very clear White-Wine rose-Rose-Water a quarter of a Pint Sugar-Candy and white Vitriol of each an Ounce and a half Beat 'em all together and incorporate 'em very well with the Pestle strewing upon 'em an Ounce of white Salt then cover the Mortar and place it in a Cellar after it has stood there five or six Hours pour the whole Composition into a Hypocras-Bag of clean white Sâ—rge and set a Vessel under it to receive the Water that drops thro' which must be preserv'd in a Glass-Bottle and every Morning and Evening pour some of it into the Horses Eye There are few Rheums which this Water will not cure but if there remain a white Film or Skin upon the Eye you must consume it with the Powders that shall be afterwards describ'd Another Eye-Water Infuse a Piece of blue or Cyprus-Copperas in any one of the following Waters which are all endu'd with a sigular Virtue to cure Rheums in the Eye viz. the Waters of Plantane Fonnel Eye-bright Rue Celandine Roses Chervil or for want of these you may use common Water The Infusion will be of a bluish Colour drawing towards green and impregnated with the volatil Salt of Vitriol which is quieting sweet balsamic and astringent and consequently excellent for Redness and Inflammations of the Eyes nor can it offend that tender Part by reason of its Substance which partakes of Copper for 't is of too close a Contexture to be penetrated by a simple Water which is not a true Menstruum or Dissolvent The Poor may safely use this Remedy for Diseases in the Eyes for 't is both cheap and good And at the same time you must apply the following Ointment An Ointment to divert the Rheum from the Eyes Take of the Oinment call'd Album Rhasis one Pound Salt of Lead extracted in preparing the Oil according to the Method prescrib'd
follows the course of the Moon or to the other which wasts and destroys the Eye I have borrow'd this Observation from a Treatise concerning Horses compos'd by one John Taquet who expresly affirms that the loss of the Foals Eyes is not occasion'd by the substance of the Oats which may be suppos'd to heat 'em but only by their straining too hard in chewing that hard sort of Food And to prevent these fatal Consequences he advises those who have Foals to cause their Oats to be ground or stamp'd by which means he says they will grow strong and lusty without the least danger of Rheums or any other Infirmity of the Eyes Since I never found this Remark in any other Author I thought fit to insert it here submitting it intirely to the Reader 's Judgment Some Horses become Moon-Ey'd at the Age of Eight or Ten Years who were always very sound before which is an Infirmity entail'd on 'em by their Sire And besides when young Horses are overtaken by a great Storm in the Fields they are oftentimes either render'd Lunatic or struck Blind with the Thunder and Lightning Hard work hastens the total Blindness of a Moon-Ey'd Horse and besides Heat and extream Cold are equally prejudicial to him To conclude This Infirmity usually ends in the loss of one or both Eyes for the best Remedies are not always successful and we may justly call that a good Medicine which is found to be effectual on several Occasions tho' it be not always Infallible CHAP. XXXVI Of Haemorrhagy or Bleeding HAEmorrhagy is a voiding of Blood by the Nose or Mouth occasion'd by a redundancy of the Blood mixt with a Liquor full of Spirits and Salt which makes the Blood boil and ferment till the Vessels not being able to contain it some of the Veins burst and disgorge the Blood thro' the Nose and the mixture of that Salt Juice with the Blood is caus'd by unusual Fatigues in hot Weather The redundancy of the Blood may also proceed from too much Feeding or it may be deprav'd and vitiated or its Boiling may be occasion'd by violent Exercise which opens the Mouths of some Veins from which it gushes out impetuously either by the Nose or Mouth To convince you that a Liquor full of Spirits and Salt is apt to make the Blood boil and ferment it will be sufficient to inform you that if you mix either the Spirit of Wine Vitriol Hartshorn or Soot with the Blood that is taken out of the Vein while 't is hot you will immediately perceive a violent Ebullition whereas Salt of Tartar and the Solution of Allum trouble and precipitate the Blood and none but such as are wholly Ignorant of the Internal Motions and Methods of Nature will deny that there are such Liquors full of Salt and Spirits in the Bodies of Horses If the Bleeding be not stop'd it may either kill the Horse or extreamly weaken him because Nature is quite spent and exhausted by such an excessive Expence of Blood and Spirits When such Accidents happen the Horses remain unfit for Service a great while after but they seldom die unless they be also seiz'd with a Fever which does not usually happen Since these Accidents seldom or never happen but in very hot Weather every Rider whose Horse is fat or rather fiery and full of Mettle who ' out of Wind should keep him in and restrain him at the first and endeavour by all prudent Methods to prevent the Disorders that are occasion'd by Bleeding or perhaps some other more dangerous Distemper And 't is certain that in such cases the most present Remedy is always the best Assoon as you perceive the Blood to issue out of the Horse's Nose or Mouth or both you must immediately let him Blood in the Flanks or the Plate-Veins of the Thighs or rather in the Neck if you cannot take Blood enough out of the other Parts then take a large quantity of Knot-grass call'd in Latin Centinodia because at its perfect Growth it has a hundred Knots on one Stalk which is a Specific Remedy to stanch Blood beat it to a Mash and fill the Horse's Nostrils with it binding also some of it to his Temples and Reins where the Saddle ends and even to his Stones if he be not gelt This is a very common Herb but if you cannot find it take Nettles and apply 'em after the same manner You may also put the Horse into Water up to his Flanks and let him stand in it two Hours if it be Summer which is the usual time in which these Accidents happen If you are not in a convenient place to plunge him into Water cover his Head and Back with a Cloth seven or eight times doubld and dipp'd in Oxycrate or Vinegar and Water keep him in the Stable with his Head upright not suffering him to lie down and from time to time throw cold Water on his Cods or Sheath the next Day bleed him again and give him cooling Clysters Some Horses have been troubld with voiding of Blood six or seven Days together but it did not run so violently at last as at the Beginning and they were cur'd by the above-mentiond Remedies CLYSTERS The following Clyster will help to allay the boiling of the Blood if the Horse be also let Blood Take Mallows and Marsh-Mallows of each one handful Plantane two handfuls Succory Lettuce and Purslane of each one handful boil 'em in five Pints of Water with an Ounce and a half of Sal Polychrest in Powder and add to the strainâ—d Liquor a quarter of a Pound of the Ointment Populeon without Verdigrease which some Cheats mix with it to give it a fine green Colour or if you mistrust that take a quarter of a Pound of true Unguentum rosatum not Grease wash'd with Rose-water and colour'd with Alkanet Make a Clyster to be injected after you have rak'd the Horse If the Blood continue still to flow take Plantane Leaves beaten and mix'd with Male Frankincense Aloes or Myrrh and put 'em into his Nostrils holding his Nose up as if you were going to give him a Drench Then cover his Head Back and Reins with a Cloth five or six times doubl'd and dipp'd in Oxycrate as you were taught before and throw cold Water frequently on his Sheath and Stones if he has any Sometimes the Blood flows so violently out of the Nostrils that it cannot be so soon stopp'd in which Case you may use the following Powder which is easily prepar'd Take the Dung of a Stone-Ass dry it in the Shade till it may be reduc'd to Powder and blow it plentifully into the Horseâ—s Nose thro' a Glass-Pipe Trunk or Reed This will quickly stench the Blood The same Powder is of admirable Use for Men that are apt to bleed at the Nose who may carry some of it in a Box and snuff it up at the Nose I have often seen the Effect of it and it smells only of dry Herbs but some nice Sparks will
Intermissions of his Fever you may take the Advantage of one of those Intervals to prepare and exhibit the following Liquor Mix a Pound of fine Barley-Flower with a sufficient quanityt of Water as if you design'd to make Gruel boil it till it begin to thicken then add the quantity of an Egg of Sugar and while 't is moderately warm inject it into the Horse's Nose one half into each Nostril Since the Passages of the Nose end in the Mouth you will perhaps be surpriz'd that I do not prescribe this Nourishment to be given to the Horse in the Beginning of the the Disease when he stands so much in need of it as not being able to take any Food at the Mouth but I consider that every thing that a Horse takes by the Nose does extremely fatigue and torment him and therefore even the most cooling sorts of Nourishment such as Barley given after that manner might increase his Fever if he has any or throw him into a Fever tho' he were free of it before For tho' this Fever be only accidental and not much to be dreaded 't is nevertheless impossible to give any Nourishment by the Nose without manifest hazard and therefore I think we ought not to have recourse to that Method till the Horse be in danger of starving in which case 't is better to make an Attempt to save his Life tho' with some hazard than to suffer him to die of Hunger CHAP. XXXVIII Of the Vives 'T IS certainly a manifest Impropriety of Speech to say that the Horse has always the Vives because he always has those Parts where that Distemper is seated and shews it self when he is actually troubl'd with it These are certain Glands or Kernels near the Neck which being of a soft and spongy Substance and held to be the Drainers or Emunctories of the neighbouring Parts are subject to Inflammation which causes a Swelling that obstructs the Throat and stops the Wind so that if the Horse be not speedily assisted he is in danger of being choak'd The Pain and Uneasiness occasion'd by the stoppage of his Wind makes him lie down frequently and immediately start up again tumble struggle and toss his Body after a strange manner thinking by these various Motions to get rid of the Pain that torments and stifles him This Distemper may be very fitly compar'd to that which is call'd the Quinzie in Men. 'T is thought that the Vives are always accompany'd with the Colic because the same Symptoms appear in both The most usual Cause of this Disease is a sudden Change from one Extremity to another especially from a violent Heat to a sharp Cold as when a Horse is suffer'd to drink immediately after hard Riding or any vehement Exercise for by this means the Humours are melted and falling too plentifully on the Kernels swell 'em and occasion all the above-mention'd Disorders The Vives are also caus'd by over-working or riding a Horse beyond his Strength and out of Wind or by neglecting to cover and walk him after violent Exercise and a Horse may bring 'em upon himself by eating too large a Quantity of Oats Barley Wheat or Rye besides which they may proceed from several other Causes which are almost always owing to the Indiscretion either of the Rider or Groom Of Remedies for the Vives Bend the Horse's Ear downwards towards his Throat near the Cheek-bone and mark the place where it touches the Skin for that is the Part where the Inflammation is seated that causes the Swelling and if the Hair can be easily separated from the Skin by plucking it off with your hand 't is a Sign of Ripeness and that 't is time to resolve or at least to give vent to the Matter contain'd in the Swelling Then take hold of the Kernel which you will find in that Part with a Pair of Pincers or Plyers and beat the Swelling gently with the Handle of a Shooing-Hammer till you judge it to be sufficiently rotten or bruise the Kernels or Tumours with your hand till the Vives be rotted and soften'd making the flatuous or windy Spirits break thro' the Skin by way of insensible Transpiration after which the Swelling will certainly be resolv'd and disappear This is the easiest and surest Method 'T is the general Custom of Farriers to open the Vives with a Lance making an Incision upon the Kernel or Swelling out of which they take a certain Substance like the Fat of Beef but harder and afterwards stop the Hole with Salt Others pinch forth the Vives out of the Inside of the Ear pretending that the same Matter that is included in the Kernels which are the Seat of the Vives is also contain'd in that part of the Ear but this is a ridiculous Fancy 'T is better in my Opinion to rot the Vives than to open 'em because the last of these Methods renders the Horses more obnoxious to this Distemper Farriers think 't is the safest way to open 'em but I chuse rather to corrupt 'em unless the Swelling be so great that the Horse is in danger of being stifl'd in which case you must open 'em without delay to give Ease to the Horse After you have rotted or in Cases of Necessity open'd the Vives bleed the Horse under the Tongue wash his Mouth with Salt and Vinegar blow some of the Vinegar into his Ears rubbing and squeezing 'em hard to make it penetrate for it powerfully asswages the Pain that is communicated to the Jaws by reason of their Nearness to the Seat of the Vives Then take Hemp-seed beaten two handfuls two Nutmegs grated and six Yolks of Eggs mix 'em with a Quart of Wine and make the Horse drink it walking him gently half an hour after Sometimes the Distemper will not yield to this Remedy in which Case you must give the Horse a good Clyster with Sal Polychrest and repeat the Remedy of Hemp-seed c. Besides you must not grow weary of walking him abroad for Exercise rouzes the Natural Heat and puts it in a Condition to resist its Enemy This I recommend as a very good and sure Remedy and besides 't is cheap and easily prepar'd I can assure you from my own Observation that 't is a most present Remedy to thrust a Bodkin or Shooe-Maker's Awl quite thro' the Horse's Nostrils two or three fingers breadth above their Opening There will run out as much Blood on each side as would fill the Shell of an Egg and then it will stop of it self At the same time that you bleed him under the Tongue you must also let him blood very plentifully in the Flanks then cause him to be rak'd thus Chuse a Boy or any Servant that has a little Hand which you must make him besmear with Oil or Butter and stretching it out at full length with the Fingers join'd close together thrust his Arm up to the Elbow into the Horse's Fundament and draw out his handful of Dung But since a heedless and unskilful
If the Horse be not swoln one simple * i. e. That discusses Wind. Carminative Clyster will for the most part be sufficient to perfect the Cure Galen one of the great Luminaries of Physic ascribes the Original of the Flatulency or Wind which is generated in the Body to a middle degree of Heat strong enough to raise Vapours from a cold and viscous Humour but not sufficiently vigorous to disperse 'em after they are rais'd For meer Cold is wholly destitute of a Power to attenuate digest or dissolve and therefore can never produce Wind and on the other side a Heat that acts upon the Humours with a force considerably Superior to their Resistance makes 'em too thin to generate Wind which probably proceeds from a weaker degree of Heat according to the Doctrine of Galen When these Windy Vapours abound in the Body they stretch and distend the Guts beyond their due measure and occasion violent Pains Besides they blow up the Horse's Body as if it were ready to burst which Swelling is the most peculiar sign of the Wind-Colic in which as in all the other Kinds of that Distemper the Horse tumbles and tosses with extraordinary violence Wind may also occasion that painful and dangerous kind of Colic call'd Convolvulus which is a Motion of the Intestines against Nature tending from below upwards and may proceed either from the Irritation of the Spirits or the malignant Fermentation of the Excrements retain'd in the Guts The violence of this Distemper will be mitigated by the use of the following Remedies but almost always it proves Mortal at last and when a Horse dies of it Farriers usually say that he had the Red-Colic The same Remedies that are good for the Wind-Colic are also us'd in this case but with littles uccess The cure of the Wind-Colic is perform'd by Bleeding the Horse in the Flanks and under the Tongue and by walking him frequently for Exercise rouzes and envigorates the natural Heat and enables it to dispel the Wind that causes the Distemper Cover him well and walk him at a Trot and sometimes at a Foot-pace and if the Violence of the Pain be not abated give him the following Clyster which I prefer before many other Remedies A Clyster to expel Wind. I have often had experience of the admirable Efficacy of this Clyster and therefore I may boldly recommend it to all those who shall have occasion to use it Take a Pound of large fat Figs chop'd boil 'em in three Quarts of Water for a full half Hour then add two handfuls of Rue cut sinall and boil 'em again pretty briskly for a quarter of an hour After the Liquor is half cool'd strain it out and pour off two Quarts of the clearest throwing away the rest In this Decoction dissolve half a Pound of Oil-Olive and inject the whole luke-warm after which walk the Horse before you put him up in the Stable This Clyster will draw all the Wind into the straight Gut and afterwards expel it It usually remains a great while in the Body and for that reason works more effectually A Clyster for the Wind-Colic The following Clyster is also very useful in this case Take an Ounce of Sal Polycrest and six or eight Handfuls of Sage Boil 'em in three Quarts of Claret to the consumption of a third Part Strain and adding two Ounces of Oil of Bay inject the whole by way of Clyster If the Horse be not cur'd by this Clyster an hour after he has rejected it give him a Pound of Oil-Olive mixt with a Quart of Aqua-Vitae pouring it in with a Horn then walk him abroad well cover'd making him Trot one quarter of an hour and go a Foot-pace another An excellent Clyster to break and dispel Wind. Take two Ounces of the Scoriae of Liver of Antimony in fine Powder boil 'em a little but very briskly in five Pints of Beer then adding three or four Ounces of good Oil of Bay make a Clyster to be injected luke-warm and repeated every two hours till the Cure be perfected This is the best Remedy that can be Invented In the next place I shall subjoin the description of an Oil which is a specific Medicine for the Wind-Colic and also good against several other Distempers For it expels the Impurities of the lower Belly and makes room for the rest to descend This is a cheap and durable Medicine and therefore 't will be convenient for those who have a great number of Horses to keep some of it by 'em especially in an Army CHAP. XLIV A Carminative and Purging Oil for Clysters TAke Rue Calamint Origanum or Wild-Marjoram and Penniroyal all dry'd in the shade of each one handful seeds of Cummin Carrots and Fennel Bay-Berries of each one Ounce Oil-Olive two Pounds White-Wine a Pint. Reduce the Herbs to Powder beat the Seeds and put 'em all together in an Earthen glaz'd Pot covering it with another Pot somewhat less and luted with Clay or Paste Boil 'em over a flow Fire till half the Wine be consum'd that is about six hours Strain out the Oil after t is half cool'd and adding four Ounces of the Pulp of Coloquintida put it again into the same Pot covering and luting it as before then boil it with a gentle Heat six or eight hours after which let it boil briskly half an hour and after 't is half cool'd uncover the Pot and press out the Oil which must be kept in a convenient Vessel for Use Three or four Ounces of this Oil in an ordinary Clyster will expel the Wind effectually and bring forth the tough and viscous Humours which for the most part occasion this Distemper 'T is better tho' much cheaper than the usual Electuaries and Experience will convince you of its Virtues I have seen Horses die of the Wind-Colic after a diligent but unsuccessful Application of all the above-mention'd Remedies and when they were open'd after their Death their Guts were found extremely distended as if they had been purposely blown up I know no other way to prevent such Accidents than by injecting good Clysters walking the Horse perpetually and letting him rest as little as you can You must also give him two stinking Pills and repeat the same Dose an hour after and a third time if the Disease continue in the mean time you must inject a Clyster between the Doses for by a careful Observance of this Method the Wind may be dispell'd You must not be afraid of giving three Doses of Pills in the space of three hours for they will not over-heat the Horse's Body and perhaps may cure the Distemper CHAP. XLV Of the Third Kind of Colic THis Kind is not so easily known as the two former and often puts an end to the Horse's Life which the other Kinds rarely do 'T is caus'd by a sort of Glassy Phlegm that owes its Sharpness either to its Rottenness and Corruption or to its Saltness and biting Quality and forces Nature to violent
together it will appear that I had reason to prescribe so many different Remedies I have seen a great number of Horses lost by the Ignorance of those who undertook to Cure 'em For those pretended Artists endeavour'd only to make 'em Stale tho' the Disease was truly a Wind-Colic On the other side most Farriers and Grooms imagine that a Horse is troubl'd with the Gripes when his Urine is supprest and that Mistake is so strongly rooted in 'em that 't is impossible to convince 'em of their Error So that when a Horse is troubl'd with a Stoppage of Urine and the Farriers pretend that the Distemper proceeds from the Gripes you may certainly conclude that they are mistaken and that the Disease is an effect of another Cause When the stoppage of Urine is occasion'd by a confirm'd Obstruction or by an Inflammation of the Neck of the Bladder you must not persist in the use of Internal Medicines to provoke Urine which would only serve to encrease the Pain and Inflammation and stifle the natural Heat by driving vast quantities of serous and flegmatic Humours into the Bladder But instead of these you may safely apply the external Remedies describ'd in this Chapter It was never observ'd hitherto that Horses were subject to the Stone or Gravel or that the stoppage of Urine that occasions this kind of Colic was ever occasion'd by Sand or Gravel Nevertheless in the Year 1668. an old Spanish Horse died in our Academy after a Sickness of some Hours during which he Sweat all over the Body To discover the Cause of so cruel a Distemper I order'd his Body to be open'd by our Farrier who found in his Kidneys a Stone that weigh'd four Pounds and two Ounces brown and shining like polish'd Marble resembling a little Dutch Cheese and of a very regular Figure for it was not the breadth of a Line thicker on one side than on the other Both its Figure and Weight have remain'd entire ever since and it has been seen by almost all the People of Paris with admiration I presented it to my good Friend Count Bertholin who made all those who saw it taken out of the Horse's Body attest the truth of the matter of Fact before a Notary He preserves it still and shows it to all those who desire a sight of it nor could I forbear relating so unusual an Accident For a Flux of Urine Having already discours'd of the Stoppage of Urine I shall proceed in the next place to give an account of the Cause and Cure of a contrary Distemper in which the Horse voids an excessive quantity of crude and undigested Urine resembling Water and at last dies not being able to support the long continuance of such an immoderate Evacuation This Flux of Urine is occasion'd by the Heat and Sharpness of the Blood and an Inflammation of the Kidneys which like Cupping-Glasses suck all the serous Humours out of the Veins and discharge 'em into the Bladder every thing that the Horse drinks passing immediately thro' his Body without the least Alteration The remote Causes of this Distemper are Immoderate and Irregular Exercise or Working of young Horses cold Rains in the beginning of Winter and eating of Oats that are Imported by Sea where being of a spongy Nature they imbibe and suck in the volatile saline Spirits that rise out of the Sea When you undertake the Cure of this Disease in the first place you must order the Horse's Diet feeding him with Bran instead of Oats and give him a cooling Clyster next day let him Blood and the day after inject another Clyster after which Bleed him again the following day The whole quantity of Blood that is taken away must not exceed four Pounds that is two at each time After you have let Blood twice and injected two Clysters boil two Quarts of Water and put it into a Pail-full of common Water with a large handful of Oriental Bole beaten to Powder Mix the whole very well and make the Horse drink it luke-warm if it be possible neither must you give him any other Liquor for his ordinary drink Morning or Evening Horses that are troubl'd with this Distemper drink excessively and some of 'em are so thirsty and their Bodies so heated that they would drink six Pail-fulls of Water every day You must not restrain 'em but let 'em have their full liberty to drink as much as they please provided the Water be prepar'd as before with boiling Water and Bole for the more they drink the sooner will they be cur'd When the Horse begins to Stale as he us'd to do when in Health and his Belly and Dung return to their natural Condition you must restore his Oats by degrees exercise him moderately at first and afterwards Ride or Work him with discretion CHAP. L. Of a Horse that Stales Blood DUring the great Heats of Summer if a Horse be ridden long and hard or over-heated by immoderate Exercise he will Piss pure Blood and this Disease is frequently Mortal especially if some Vein or large Vessel be broken which discharges the Blood into the Bladder Some Horses Piss Blood abundantly without a Fever loss of Appetite or any other appearance of Indisposition in which case the Flux of Blood proceeds only from the excessive Heat of the Kidneys and may be easily cur'd It would seem indeed that they could not long bear so vast an expence of Blood but since a little Blood will serve to tinge a great quantity of Urine 't is commonly thought that all they Piss is pure Blood whereas oftentimes the tenth part of it is not Blood and if proper Remedies be applied during the first days of the Distemper the Cure will be easily accomplish'd I shall forbear giving a particular Account of the Causes and Consequences of this Disease out of complaisance to those who are profest Enemies to Speculation and only look for Remedies in a Book of this nature Bleed the Horse and give him every Morning three Pints of White-Wine made Emetic by the Infusion of unwash'd Crocus Metallorum otherwise call'd Liver of Antimony The Nitre will give the Wine a red Colour and make it of admirable efficacy for it will both Cleanse and Heal which are the two main Scopes of the Cure Keep your Horse Bridl'd four Hours before you give him the Wine and as long after Repeat the Dose everyd ay and in six or seven Days the Flux of Blood will cease and the Horse will be in a fair way of Recovery For the Emetic Wine expels all Impurities out of the Bladder and consolidates the part which is all that can be desir'd for the Cure of this Distemper If the Pissing of Blood be accompany'd with Heat and a Palpitation of the Flanks as it usually happens give the Horse a good cooling Clyster every Evening bleed him a a second time if need require and dissolve two Ounces of Sal Polycrest in the three Pints of Emetic Wine which you were order'd
Success that are to be found in many Physical Books It must indeed be acknowledg'd that there are some Authors who only write their own Experience but their Number is inconsiderable and 't is a hard task for an ordinary Reader to distinguish 'em from the Multitude CHAP. LII Of the Sixth Kind of Colic call'd by some the Red Gripes FEW Horses are attack'd by this Distemper and few that are attack'd escape If you be not acquainted with the Constitution of your Horse you will hardly be able to distinguish this from the other Kinds of the Colic And a Mistake in this case is very dangerous for all the Remedies already prescrib'd for the Colic are hot and therefore no more fit to cure this Distemper which proceeds from a Heat caus'd by the Fermentation of the Bile than Oil is to quench fire since the Natural Heat would soon be overcome and stifl'd by that of those Remedies But the Cure is still more difficult than the Knowledge of this Disease because it consists in a Fermentation of the Bile which seldom or never yields to Medicines Nevertheless to proceed methodically in the first place bleed your Horse in the Neck and an hour after in the Flanks after which give him a Clyster of the warm Blood of a Lamb or at least of a young Sheep in order to which bring a Lamb young Sheep or Calf into the Stable by the sick Horse and having cut its Throat receive its Blood into the Clyster-Bag which must be warm'd at the Fire that the Blood may not be coll'd and so lose its Spirits Assoon as all the Blood of the Animal is extracted it must be immediately injected after you have rak'd the Horse without the least Mixture and hot as it comes out of the Vessels This Clyster tempers the Sharpness of the Humour contain'd in the streight Gut and eases the Horse wonderfully who will not void it till the first time he dungs in case he recover for Nature makes use of it and at last discharges it with the Excrements in form of great Clots like Balls Instead of this Clyster which ought never to be omitted when it can be procur'd you may use the Decoction of Purslane Lettuce Succory half a Cucumber if the Season permit and an Ounce and a half of the Scoriae of Liver of Antimony in fine Powder let the Ingredients boil only half a quarter of an hour and dissolve in the Straining six Ounces of Honey of Roses to help Nature to separate and discharge the offending Matter If you perceive that the Horse is still tormented notwithstanding the Use of those Remedies cast him on his Back with his Legs up and spread four Napkins moisten'd in luke-warm Water over all his Belly without touching his Flanks Hold him in this Possure for a quarter of an hour during which time repeat the moistening of the Napkins twice after which some Horses are either cur'd or eas'd whereas others receive no Benefit but sink under the Violence of the Distemper If you are loth to give your self the trouble of casting the Horse you may observe the following Directions If the Horse be seiz'd with this Distemper in Summer order him to be bath'd and keep him as long as you can with his Belly half under-water letting him drink as much as he pleases If you cannot conveniently bathe him dissolve four Ounces of Crystal-Mineral in a Pail-full of Water and give it him to drink But above all give him frequent Clysters for the Choler occasions such violent Disorders in a little time that the Horse cannot hold out above six and thirty Hours at most If he begins to desire Food 't is a Sign that the Distemper abates but you must not give him any I thought fit to propose these Remedies though very few recover from this Disease which almost always seizes on vigorous Horses If all your Endeavours prove unsuccessful you must lay the blame on the Violence of the Distemper If all the above-mention'd Remedies produce no Effect give the Horse two stinking Pills in a Pint of Beer and half an hour after a Clyster thus prepar'd Boil an Ounce and a half of the Scoriae of Liver of Antimony in five Pints of Beer or if that cannot be had of Whey and after five or six Waums remove it from the fire and adding a quarter of a Pound of the Ointment call'd Populeum inject it blood-warm Half an hour after give him another Dose of Pills and continue after the same manner till he has taken three Doses and receiv'd as many Clysters If it be in the Power of Remedies to recover the Horse these Pills will certainly answer your Expectation but if the Horse die after all you must not imagine that the Pills kill'd him but only blame the extreme Violence of the Distemper Farriers call it the Red Gripes which is the common Name they give to all Mortal Diseases that are unknown to 'em It will perhaps be objected that 't is contrary to the Rules of Art to give hot Remedies as the stinking Pills in a Disease of this Nature but it must be consider'd that 't is impossible to allay such an Ebullition or Fermentation by the usual cooling Medicines which are altogether useless in this Case That Effect can only be expected from Alkali's which resist and destroy the acid Liquor that occasions the Heat from whence the Ebullition proceeds Now Assa-foetida contains a great deal of Alkali and from the Union of that Salt with the Acid there results a sort of friendly and balsamic Salt that acts jointly with the Liver of Antimony which is very agreeable to the Nature of Horses and strengthens it extremely And even that Medicine alone fixes and thickens the Bile that ferments in the Intestines and being rather cold than hot tempers the Heat of the Bay-Berries So that 't is plain from what has been said on this Occasion that the Mixture of these three Drugs in a convenient Proportion strengthens the natural and destroys the adventitious Heat that causes this Distemper CHAP. LIII Of the Stavers HOrses are subject to a certain Distemper call'd the Stavers or Staggers which deprives 'em of the Use of their Senses to such a degree that they are almost wholly stupefy'd and besides it makes 'em stagger and beat their Head against the Walls It proceeds from hot sharp and thin Vapours which rising from the Entrails disturb the Brain and hinder its Functions more or less according to the degree of their Sharpness and the measure of their Quantity The Causes of this Distemper are hard Riding or Labour in hot Weather noisome Smells in the Stable long Races wheeling about or quick Turns too often repeated excessive Eating and above all the Abundance of hot and sharp Humours in the Stomach which ferment and boil over and leaving their natural place deprave all the Concoctions The Signs of this Disease are obvious for the Horse reels and staggers as if he were drunk beats
Hurt by a Blow from another Horse by a Fall or when his Shoulder is bruis'd by the Saddle In all which cases you must in the beginning order the Sorance as if it were a proper Shoulder-splait There are several other ways to know whether Horses be Shoulder-splaited but there are few or none of 'em who do not draw their Leg or cast it a little outwards And the surest way is to observe how they tread when you turn 'em short for with a little practice and attention you may easily discover whether the Grief be in the Shoulder A Remedy for a Strain Blow or any other Hurt in the Shoulder When you perceive that the Grief is in the Shoulder if the Weather be not Cold and the Horse halt but a little lead him to a Pond or River and make him Swim half a quarter of an hour in the Morning and as long at Night At his coming out of the Water rub the part with Aqua-Vitae and if the Hurt be small it will be cur'd without further trouble Thus by the rolling of a Stone under a Horse's Foot when he is Galloping his Shoulder may be strain'd or a Shoulder-wrench may be occasion'd by a false Step In such cases if the Hurt be small the Cure may be perform'd by bleeding him in the Neck swimming him Morning and Evening and rubbing his Shoulder with Aqua-Vitae at his coming out of the Water as I intimated before If this Remedy prove ineffectual bleed him in the Neck receiving the Blood in a Vessel and stirring it with your Hand to prevent its curdling then mix half a Pint of Aqua-Vitae with the Blood and charge the Shoulder rubbing it hard with your Hand to make the Aqua-Vitae penetrate the Skin which with the astringent and strength'ning quality of the Blood does frequently perform the Cure without any other Remedy But you must keep the Horse shackl'd if he walks awry or describes a crooked Line with his sore Leg. If the Lameness continue still you may conclude that the Hurt is greater than you imagin'd But there is no Hurt so great either in the Shoulder or Hip that may not be cur'd with the Ointment of Montpelier apply'd after the following manner The day after you let the Horse Blood and charg'd his Shoulder with Blood and Aqua-Vitae put a Patten-Shoe on the contrary Foot if he does not lean on his Sore Foot and fetter his two Fore-feet if he walk sloping from side to side then chafe the Shoulder very hard first with Spirit of Wine and then with black Soap to make 'em pierce the Skin rubbing in half a Pint of the former and about half a Pound of the latter and leave the Horse in that-condition four and twenty Hours after which chafe him every day with Ointment of Montpelier keeping him shackl'd and shod with the Patten-Shoe about ten days if need require at the end of which take off the Patten-Shoe and trot him out gently to see how the Cure goes on If he Halt a little still continue to rub him every Morning with the Ointment of Montpelier and at Night without taking off the Ointment or any part of it chafe him with Spirit of Wine Continue thus till he Halt but a very little or only yield or feign and then make a Bath or Fomentation of convenient Herbs with Lees of Wine and Honey bathing and chasing the Shoulder with it every day After the Lameness is quite gone suffer him to remain in the Stable for a considerable time without either Walking or Riding him all the while for nothing but Rest can make him perfectly Sound And 't is a general Rule that Repose is absolutely necessary in all Hurts of the Shoulder that Nature may have leisure to repair the Disorders caus'd by the Strain Ointment of Montpelier Several Apothecaries make use of Tallow colour'd red with Alkanet and wash'd in Rose-water to give it a Smell and sel it for Ointment of Roses But the true Unguentum Rosatum is made of Roses from which it takes its Odour for the Colour is a meer Trifle since it adds no Virtue to the Composition And the like abuse is frequently committed in making the Ointment Populeum by adding Verdigrise to give it a bright green colour and make it more saleable Take then of the true Ointments of Roses Marsh-Mallows Populeum and Honey of each one Pound mix 'em cold and keep 'em in a Pot close cover'd This is the true Description of that famous Ointment so highly esteem'd by Lovers of Horses for its manifold Virtues for it strengthens without Heat and is proper in all cases when there is occasion for Charges or Ointments CHAP. LV. The Baron's Ointment for Strains in the Shoulders or Hips TAke of new Wax Resin Pitch and common Turpentine of each one Pound Oil-Olive two Pounds Grease of Capons Badgers Horses and Mules and the Marrow of a Stag of each five Ounces Oils of Turpentine Castor Worms Commomil St. John's-Wort Linseed and of Foxes of each four Ounces Oil of Gabian or if that cannot be had Oil of Peter two Ounces Put the Oil-Olive in a Bason over a clear Fire with the Wax Resin and Pitch beaten together stir 'em over the Flame till they be dissolv'd then add the Fat 's and Stag's Marrow and afterwards the Turpentine incorporating all together over a very gentle Fire in the last place pour in the Oils stirring the whole Mixture half a quarter of an Hour after which remove it from the Fire and continue to stir till it be cold This Ointment is good for Shoulder-splaits Sprains Pricks Hip-shot Wrenches in the Hough or Thigh Wringing Surbating bruised Legs Sinews sprung or sprain'd and for all manner of Defluxions and Feebleness in any part of the Body Before you apply it you must heat the part by rubbing it with a wisp of Straw or with your Hand then chafe it with the Ointment as hot as the Horse can bear it holding a Fire-shovel red-hot near the part to make the Ointment penetrate and repeat the same Application once every two days till the Horse be cur'd If the Grief be in the Shoulder you may put Pasterns on his Legs and a Patten-Shooe on the sound Foot if need require You must not be surpriz'd at the Swelling which will happen in the Part for after the Pain is remov'd you may easily take away the Tumour with convenient Baths or Fomentations You may cure even Old Hurts by this Method but since the Ointment is not always to be had you may use the following Remedies In the first place you must let the Horse blood and charge his Shoulder with Blood and Aqua-Vitae as before The day following apply the Honey-Charge which you will find describ'd Chap. 57. renewing it daily for three or four Days and the Disease must be very stubborn and deeply rooted if it yield not to this Remedy You must not be surpriz'd if the Honey-Charge raise a Swelling for that is a good Sign
and takes away the Pain besides the Tumour may be easily cur'd by convenient Fomentations and even by bathing it with the Water that has been us'd to wash Dishes if the Lameness be quite gone But if this Remedy be not attended with Success wipe the Shoulder very clean and rub it till it grow hot then chafe it with the following Mixture Take Oil of Spike an Ounce Oils of Peter and Turpentine of each two Ounces Spirit of Wine three Ounces Mix ' em After which put Pasterns on his Legs and a Patten-Shooe on the contrary Foot If need require two hours after you have rubb'd the Shoulder with the Essences you may apply a good Charge such as the Red Honey-Charge and two days after put a new Charge over the old the main Design of these Applications being to concentrate the Virtue of the Essences and promote their Operation Four or five days after bathe the Shoulder with the Fomentation hereafter describ'd laying it above the Charges then take off the Pasterns and Patten-Shooe and walk the Horse gently that you may perceive what Benefit he has receiv'd for after the Application of the Essences the Pain for the most part ceases and the Horse halts no more Nevertheless you must suffer him to rest for some days for tho' the Lameness be cur'd the Part continues weak and if you do not give Nature time to repair her Losses the Lameness will return worse than ever and the Cure will be more difficult than at first You must not imitate the old and pernicious Custom of Farriers in that which they call dry swimming for it weakens a Part that is too feeble already obstructs the Cure augments the Pain and consequently the Defluxion 'T is perform'd thus they tye up the sound Leg so that it cannot touch the ground and make the Horse hop on three Legs by which means they pretend the griev'd Leg is heated and the Pores both of the Skin and Flesh open'd to facilitate the Penetration of the Remedies which are endu'd with a Virtue to dissipate and consume part of the Slime Phlegm or thicken'd Humours to asswage the Pain and cure the Grief This Method may perhaps be allow'd when the Hurt is old and all other Remedies fail tho' even in that Case you must not torment him by tying up only the sound Leg but rather put Pasterns on both the fore Legs for the way that Farriers usually take is the greatest Abuse in the World and no Man of common Sense will use it For a Shoulder-strain you may bleed the Horse in the Neck and charge the Shoulder with Blood mix'd with Aqua-Vitae two hours after chase the Part very hard with a Composition of equal Quantities of Aqua-Vitae and Essence of Turpentine well mix'd in a Glass without taking away the Blood Two hours after anoint the Part with half a Pound of Ointment of Montpelier rubbing it in with your hand next Morning chafe the Shoulder again with a quarter of a Pound of the Ointment and at Night with half a Pint of good Aqua-Vitae continuing after the same manner for eight Days together during which time the Horse must not be suffer'd to lie down Then take him out and trot him to see whether he halts and if the Lameness be gone let him rest fifteen Days to strengthen the Part. But if at the end of the time prescrib'd you perceive that his Lameness still continues you must proceed to give the fire thus Find out the Joint or Part where the Shoulder moves and make a Circle about it of the bigness of a Trencher then pierce the Skin with a red-hot Iron thro' the whole space contain'd in the Round leaving the distance of an Inch between the Holes Clap a good Plaster on the Part and over that some of the stuffing that is usually put into Saddles put Pasterns on the Horse's Legs and a Patten-Shooe on the contrary Foot When the Scab falls off wash the Part every day with Aqua-Vitae and if the Lameness continue after the Sores are heal'd you must take Patience and give the Fire time to operate rubbing the burnt Part every day with Ointment of Montpelier and walking him in your Hand But if after all the Horse continue still to halt you may e'en give him over for desperate CHAP. LVI Of a Shoulder-splait IF a Horse be Shoulder-splated by a violent Strain or be grown very lame of an old Hurt you must at last proceed to Rowelling but you ought to try all other Remedies before you have recourse to so cruel an Operation Cast the Horse on a soft place and hold him so that he cannot stir then rub or beat the Shoulder with a Clod of Earth Brick or Currier's Pommel till it be crush'd or bruis'd moistening the Part with Water as you bruise it After which cut open the Skin on the lowest part of the Shoulder about half a Foot wide of the part where the Shoulder is join'd to the Brisket and three fingers breadth from the Joint and make another Hole opposite to the Elbow behind the Shoulder overagainst the Side keeping free of the Joint or place where the Shoulder moves to avoid drawing the Matter thither In the next place raise the Skin from the Flesh with your Cronet or Iron Spatula thrusting in the Instrument to its whole Length at the Hole in the lower part of the Shoulder and separating the Skin as far as the Mane then blow into the Holes and put in two large Goose-quills anointed with Basilicum and fix 'em so that they may not fall out Three Days and three Nights after the Operation take out the Quills to give a vent to the Matter and besmearing 'em with old Hogs-grease Tallow or Basilicum put 'em in again after which you must take 'em out once every Day for fifteen or twenty Days and then taking 'em quite away the Holes will close up of themselves Some pretend that the Rowel must not be kept in above ten days for fear of breeding Felanders and drawing such a Flux of Humours upon the Part that can never be stopp'd or diverted afterwards But the bare Digestion of the Humours requires nine days so that if the Rowel be taken away on the tenth day what benefit can be expected from it 'T is plain then that we must give Nature time to evacuate the Impurities and the thick Slime or Jelly that obstructs the Motion of the Leg. 'T is true indeed nine days may suffice for a fresh Hurt but after other Remedies have been try'd in vain the Rowels must be kept in longer And the breeding of Felanders and hard Lumps of Flesh may be easily and effectually prevented by anointing the Quills keeping the Holes open and taking care to give a free Passage to the Matter You must observe that the bruising or crushing of the Flesh before Incision is only proper when the Shoulders are plump and full of flesh for when these Parts are lank and destitute of Flesh
into an Oven to bake in a glaz'd Earthen Pan that you may not lose the Fat or Grease with which you must anoint the Legs of a tir'd Horse every Evening and next Morning chafe 'em with Aqua-Vitae above the Grease continuing after the same manner seven or eight days To encourage the Man whom you employ to rub the Horse and make him diligent you may give him the Goose to eat Another During the Heat of Summer make your Horse stand two whole hours every day up to the Hams in a Stream or Current of Water which will do him more good than a multitude of Ointments 'T will be very convenient to make him lie abroad in the Dew all the Month of May or if you chuse rather to keep him in the Stable you may lead him out every Morning to a Meadow and gathering the Dew with a Sponge bathe and rub his Legs with it Spirit of Wine mixt with a little Oil of Wax will strengthen the Sinew resolve the hard Knobs that grow on it and by removing those Obstructions facilitate the motion of the Leg. CHAP. LXI For Blows swell'd or gourdy-Legs whether the Swelling be occasion'd by some Accident or proceed from any other Cause I Shall in the next place proceed to treat of swell'd and gourdy-Legs and prescribe convenient Remedies to resolve and dissipate all sorts of Swellings occasion'd by Blows Bruises Desluxions long Journies hard Riding and keeping young Horses too long in the Stable or any other Swellings or Tumors whatsoever that happen in a a Horses Legs either before or behind If the Swelling be caus'd by a violent Blow with another Horse's Foot or by a Fall Bruise or any other such like cause apply one of the Honey-Charges describ'd in the Fifty Seventh Chapter and continue the use of the Remedy till the Cure be perfected But if the Legs or any part of 'em remain still swoln chuse any of the following Remedies that you shall judge most convenient When the Swelling is occasion'd by a slight Accident you may take it away by applying only cold Lees of Wine once every day or to make the Remedy more effectual you may mix a fourth part of Vinegar with thick Lees of Wine But if the Swelling continue apply the following Charge A Remedy for a Blow and to asswage a Swelling Boil a Gallon of Lees of Red-Wine softly over a clear Fire stirring perpetually till they begin to thicken then add fine Wheat-Flower and Honey of each two Pounds Black Soap one Pound boil and stir till the whole Mixture be reduc'd to the Consistence of a Charge The continu'd use of this Remedy will strengthen the Horse's Legs and take away the Swelling This Charge may be also apply'd to a Swelling that spreads it self under the Belly and advances between the Legs but the Duke's Ointment is much more effectual in that case To Cure a Swell'd Leg. Tumors of a long standing grow hard because the Humour contain'd between the Skin and Flesh is so raw and undigested that Nature is not able to concoct it And therefore the Swelling must be asswag'd and the harden'd Humor resolv'd by the application of a piercing Remedy such as that which follows Endeavour to get some of the Horse's own Urine for so the Remedy will be more effectual but if that cannot be had take of Cow's-Urine a Pint Flowers of Brimstone half an Ounce Allum a Dram boil away to half a Pint and bathe the Swelling with this Liquor chasing it hard then take a Clout that has been worn dip it in the same Liquor and wrap it about the part renewing the Application Morning and Evening till the Cure be perfected You may easily procure the Urine prescrib'd for this Composition by going into a Stall where Cows are lying and rousing 'em up For they use always to Stale assoon as they rise especially in the Morning when their Meat is laid before ' em A Bath to resolve a Swelling in the Thigh or Leg. Take ten Pounds of green Roots of Mallows or Marsh-Mallows when you prepare the Remedy in the Spring or during the time of Advent before Christmas but at all other times take six Pounds of the dry Roots Beat 'em to a mash and boil 'em gently with ten Quarts of Water in a Kettle for two Hours then pour in as much hot Water as you have lost by evaporation adding three large handfuls of Sage-Leaves and continue to boil an Hour and a half or two Hours longer Take off the Kettle and add two Pounds of Honey and one Pound of Black Soap incorporating all together suffer it to cool till you can almost endure to thrust the end of your Finger into it and then mix a Quart of strong Aqua-Vitae with the whole Composition Foment the Swelling with this Bath and afterwards chafe it with a handful of the dregs or thickest part of the same Then walk the Horse half an Hour and continue to observe the same Method every Day for seven or eight Applications will resolve the Swelling unless there be an Imposthume that tends to Suppuration as you may easily perceive by the heat and hardness of the Part in which case lay aside the use of the Bath and apply Basilicum Take Black Soap and Honey of each one Pound good Aqua Vitae half a Pint and mix 'em cold This is a very good Remedy to take away Swellings you must rub the Part with it every day and walk the Horse half an Hour afterwards repeating the Application till the Horse be cur'd Or if the Swelling be small bathe it with the Solution of Allum in Wine A Remedy for a hard Swelling proceeding from a Blow or any other Cause Beat the Whites of six Eggs with a large piece of Allum for half a quarter of an Hour till they be reduc'd to a thick Froth after which add a Glass of true Spirit of Wine for Aqua-Vitae is not at all proper in this case shaking the Spirit with the Froth till they be very well incorporated Then mix and incorporate the whole with half a Pound of common Honey and charge the Horse's Legs three or four times scouring off the Charge with Water in which Dishes have been wash'd If the Legs continue swoln repeat the Charge and the Swelling will quickly disappear For this is a very good Remedy and I have often try'd it with success both on the fore and hinder Legs To prevent the Swelling of the Legs Some Horses after long Galloping and others after a great Journey tho' perform'd only at a Foot-pace are seiz'd with a Swelling in their Legs before they have stood two Hours in the Stable and after they have enjoy'd a little Rest their Legs become perfectly round the Tumour coming and going by Turns To prevent this Inconveniency assoon as your Horse arrives at his Journey 's End charge the Parts where the Tumour uses to appear with Cows-Dung mix'd with Vinegar which will keep down the Swelling This Remedy cures as
upon the Skin and in the mean time order another Iron to be heated which must be apply'd on another part of the Skin but still over the Splent Continue after the same manner till the Swelling be dissolv'd then lay a Plaister over it and shavings of Cloth over that taking care that the Horse do not bite it off Another Remedy for the Splent The Remedies already prescrib'd are easie and almost infallible yet I cannot forbear mentioning another with which I cur'd three Splents in one Horse and one on the Knee of another all in one Morning Soften the Splent according to the usual Method then wrap a red-hot Iron in a wet Cloth stroke the Swelling with it two or three times till all the Hair be come off and the Part be as clean as your Hand and afterwards prick it with a sharp Nail and rub it with white Salt Then prick a head of Garlic with a Bodkin dip it in boiling Oil of Nuts and apply it to the Splent repeating the Application till the Tumor be soften'd Pill a raw Head of Garlic and apply it to the burnt Part covering it with Flax and binding a piece of Cloth over all Keep it on Eight and forty Hours then take off the Bandage and six Days after you may lead your Horse to Water but you must not Travel him till the Sore be heal'd Twice every Day at his coming from the Water bathe the part with Aqua-Vitae This Remedy as well as the last leaves a Scar where the Hair will never come again but 't is so small that the Hair which grows about it will easily cover it I have often seen the Bone under the Swelling scal'd not only by the application of violent Caustics or eating Medicines but by giving the Fire too violently out of an over-eager desire to root out the Splent This Exfoliation or scaling of the Bone lasts very long and is dangerous but you may use the above-mentioned Remedies securely for they never occasion such Disorders To cure a Splent Methodically Soften the Splent as before and with a sharp-pointed Fleam draw a Line about all the part you would have taken off entring about half the depth of the Skin then melt a convenient quantity of the Plaister call'd Apostolorum add a sufficient quantity of good White-Vitriol and after 't is half cold but still very pliable make a Plaister of the bigness of the Splent which must be kept twelve Hours on the Swelling after which take it off and wrap dry Flax about the Part with a Bandage over it to hinder the Horse from biting it off The Scab will fall off like the Kernel of a Nut and you must constantly bathe the Sore Morning and Evening with Spirit of Wine till it be heal'd Another Remedy to take away a Splent There is a Plant call'd Briony which has a very large Root and sends forth long Branches that ramp on the Hedges like the Citrul After you have shav'd and soften'd the Splent take a slice of White-Briony-Root of the bigness of a Crown-Piece boil it in Water a quarter of an Hour wrap it in a fine Linnen-Cloth and as hot as you can well endure it upon your Hand apply it in the Cloth to the Splent about half a quarter of an Hour The two succeeding days repeat the same Application with two fresh slices of the Root taking care that they touch not the Splent and that the Horse do not bite 'em off This Root suppurates the Red-waters and makes a sort of Scab or Escar fall off but the Hair will grow again and leave no mark of the Sore After the three first Days you must Air the Horse every Day and after twelve Days are expir'd he will be fit for common Service The efficacy of this Root depends upon its Caustic Quality which consumes the Splent without hurting the Sinew If the Splent be upon the Knee I know no better Remedy than the following Ointment of Worms but if that fail as it frequently does the best and safest way is instead of applying Caustics which weaken the Leg extreamly and may lame the Horse irrecoverably to give the Fire and extirpate the Splent entirely as in the case of the Spavin CHAP. LXX Ointment of Beetles for Splents Wind-galls and even the greatest Farcy-Knots or Cords IN May and sometimes in April between Ten a Clock in the Morning and Two in the Afternoon you may find a certain Beetle or Black-Worm in till'd Grounds or Corn-fields in low and shady Places It has the resemblance of a Head at the end of its true Head and a sort of Wings which are fasten'd to its Body like two Targets covering all the fore-part of the Shoulders tho' it does not fly It s Back is scaly and its Tail very fat and as it were welted It has six Feet and creeps very slowly There are some of 'em very long thick and fat and the smallest are about an Inch long 'T is cold to the touch and if you place it on your Hand it commonly voids a very stinking Oil. These Insects are call'd in Latin Maii aviculae or Scarabaei unctuosi that is May-Worms or Oily-Beetles Take three hundred of 'em and stamp 'em with a Pound of Oil of Bay Set the Ointment a part for three Months then melt it strain thro' a Linnen-Cloth throw away the gross substance and preserve the rest as a Sovereign Ointment for the Uses that shall be afterwards declar'd The Oily Beetle or May-Worm This Ointment produces the effect of a Retoire or Ruptory-Plaister without any considerable Swelling It draws out all the Corruption and Rottenness that is lodg'd between the Skin and the Flesh and raises Blisters full of Red-Water which are succeeded by Scabs that dry up of themselves and the Sore is heal'd without a Scar for all the Hair that falls off grows again When you have occasion to use it shave off the Hair very close and hold a hot Bar of Iron near the part while you apply the Ointment which will exert its Operation in the space of nine Days It must be apply'd cold and if the Swelling be a Splent you must first soften it according to the usual manner Tho' Wind-galls are not always attended with Pain yet they are sometimes both painful and dangerous because they may grow hard and lame the Horse especially if they be on the Sinew of the hinder Legs I shall afterwards propose several Remedies for these Tumours but they only make 'em disappear for a time whereas this Ointment takes 'em away so entirely that they return not in a very long time First you must shave off the Hair then anoint the Wind-gall holding a hot Bar of Iron near the part and the Swelling that will immediately appear in the Leg may be asswag'd by applying Aqua-Vitae in the space of nine Days during which time the Wind-gall will be wholly dissipated You may depend on this Method as that which I have several times try'd with
and Circumspection The Retoire is of excellent Use to asswage and dissolve any Swelling for the Red Water which it draws forth being evacuated the Tumour must needs be lessen'd The Application may be safely repeated and even when 't is not of sufficient Force to take away the Swelling it serves as a Preparative for the Fire which utterly extirpates the Tumour Thus if your Horse be troubl'd with a large Wen you must first apply a Ruptory to draw forth the most serous Humours and to rarifie those that are not extremely thick and turn 'em to a reddish Water by its Heat and after a second Application of the Retoire has produc'd all the Effects that can be expected from a Medicine of that Nature you must proceed to give the Fire which will powerfully asswage the Tumour The Retoire serves also to ripen a Kernel under the Chaul or to dissolve it when it does not tend to Suppuration and besides 't is very proper to ripen Anticors and Swellings in the Withers to remove Sit-fasts and to extirpate Wind-Galls and the Ointment of Beetles is properly a Retoire The Application is thus perform'd After you have rubb'd the Part anoint it with the Retoire laying it on very thin lest it shou'd run down and holding a hot Bar of Iron near the Part to make the Retoire sink into it This must be done two days together and the Swelling that is occasion'd in the Part will vanish of it self when the Remedy has produc'd its Effect You must only apply it once to a Wind-Gall which is too near the Sinews to bear two successive Applications but if you intend to dissolve a very hard Farcy-Knot you must rub it with the Retoire two or three days together that the Water may be sufficiently drawn forth Thus you must use this Remedy with Judgment according to the Nature of the Part and the Hardness and Largeness of the Swelling I shall afterwards have occasion to add some Observations concerning the Effects of this Remedy in treating of the Diseases which it cures and therefore I shall content my self at present with subjoining the Descriptions of two or three good Ruptories A Retoire or Dead Fire Take two Ounces of Quick-Silver quench it by degrees in a Mortar with a like quantity of Brimstone in powder and after 't is wholly deaden'd add four Ounces of old Butter an Ounce of Euphorbium in powder a Dram of Cantharides also in powder and two Ounces of Oil of Bays Mix 'em cold in the Mortar and reserve the Ointmant for Use To give you an Instance of the Manner of applying it suppose your Horse be troubl'd with a Wind-Gall you must proceed thus Shave off the Hair and anoint the Part holding a hot Bar of Iron near it and taking care that the Ointment do not touch a sound Part for it would certainly raise a Swelling then tye up your Horse so that he may not be able to reach the Swelling with his Teeth for nine days The Ointment will finish its Operation in three days and in the mean time the Horse must not stir out of the Stable nor go to Water nor be suffer'd to lie down Another Retoire Take four Ounces of Oil of Bays two Ounces of Euphorbium beaten to powder and half an Ounce of Cantharides in fine powder Mix 'em cold and apply as before Or take a quarter of a Pound of Basilicum two Ounces of Red Precipitate in fine powder and half an Ounce of Euphorbium Mix and apply as before There are so many different Preparations of Retoires that every Farrier has one distinct from the rest but in my Opinion those that I have describ'd are sufficient for any occasion whatsoever and I dare warrant their Success if they be apply'd by a skilful Hand CHAP. LXXV Of Wrenches or Luxations and Dislocations of the Pastern-Joint MAny pretend to cure these Accidents with Gesticulations and Words which are seldom attended with Success and are never without Superstition The Joint is said to be strain'd or Luxated when it slips aside with Violence and tho' it does not go out of its Place the Sinews and Ligaments that fasten it to the Pastern are stretch'd 'T is occasion'd by a Slip or false Step in uneven and rough ground and if it be neglected the Humours falling into the part grow hard and by corrupting the Sinews at last make the Horse down-right lame There are some Strains which seem at first to be very violent tho' they only make the Horse halt for five or six steps and may be cur'd by Rest alone without applying any Remedy but there are others which make the Horse irrecoverably lame all the rest of his Life And besides it happens not unfrequently that during the Cure of the strain'd Joint the contrary Foot is quite spoil'd and lam'd by being forc'd to sustain the Weight of the whole Body I have seen some Horses founder'd that were kept in the Stable by reason of a Strain and the Foundering not being perceiv'd in time fell into their Feet and made 'em incurably lame tho' the Strains were in a hopeful Condition And therefore such Accidents must never be neglected but the Cure must be begun with all possible haste by the Application of convenient Remedies Strains in the hinder-Legs are much more dangerous and stubborn than those that happen in the fore-Legs The Cure is very tedious and seldom succeeds the Horse in the mean time pines away and even after his Recovery you will oftentimes find your self oblig'd to strengthen the Part by giving the Fire And besides you must order his Shooe to be made about a finger's breadth larger than his Foot the better to sustain the Joint and ease the Sinews and Ligaments that were weaken'd by the Strain This Caution must be heedfully observ'd for it helps the Joint to recover its wonted Vigour Remedies for a Strain Assoon as a Misfortune of this Nature happens you must immediately alight and lead your Horse to a Place where he may rest without suffering the Part to cool for a due Observance of this Caution if possible will very considerably hasten the Cure Then dissolve white Vitriol to the quantity of an Egg in a Quart of cold Water and wrap the Joint about with a Linnen Cloth four times doubl'd dipt in the Water tying another Cloth above it Repeat the Application every six Hours and the Cure will be perfected in two days at most if the Remedy be apply'd before the Joint cool but if the Application of the Remedy be delay'd too long or if the Strain happen in one of the hinder Joints the Cure will require a longer time If you either dislike or cannot procure the Vitriol tho' 't is certainly an excellent Remedy chafe the Part with Spirit of Wine or Aqua-Vitae and apply the Red Honey-Charge warm with Flax about the Joint in form of a Pultiss which must be kept on the part four and twenty Hours Then chafe the part again with
the Matter and discover the bottom of the Sore but if there be no Scale or any other Impurity in it dress the Hole as if it were occasion'd by a Prick with a Nail To prevent these Bleymes you must keep your Horse's Feet clean and moist making him stand five or six Hours every Day with his Fore-feet in his own Dung moisten'd with Water It will be also convenient when he is Shod to knock down the Heel that the Sinew may be extended for 't is usually crooked in those Horses that have great Heels and besides the same caution will prevent the Contraction and Narrowness of the Heels for the Bleymes are almost always occasion'd by the shrinking of the inside of the Hoof to prevent which Inconveniency if that part of the Hoof be already shrunk pare the Foot and set on a Pantofle-Shooe and if your Horse be very much Hoof-bound draw three or four Lines with a hot Iron on the Hoof from the lower part of the Cronet to the Shooe and keep the inside Quarter very supple and moist I have seen Horses forc'd to stand eight or ten Days in Litter by reason of this Infirmity the preventing of which will save a great deal of Charge to their Masters The second sort besides the usual symptoms of the first infects the Gristle which must be extirpated as in the Cure of a Quitter-bone This kind of Bleyme is infinitely more dangerous than a Quitter-bone for many Horses are kill'd by it others remain for ever Lame and some escape after a long and tedious Cure 'T is sometimes occasion'd by an Over-reach which without making any outward Wound makes a Contusion within and the bruis'd Blood turns to Matter which seeking a passage infects the Gristle and being retain'd grows to a Scirrhous Lump which must be taken out below and the Gristle above and the Sore cur'd by the Remedies already propos'd in a like case During the Cure instead of Oats give your Horse moisten'd Bran with two Ounces of Liver of Antimony every Day to divert the course of the Humours and purifie the Blood You may consult the Chapter that contains the Method of Cure for Quitter-bones where you will find the Remedies that are proper in this case The third sort of Bleymes is occasion'd by small Stones and Gravel enclos'd between the Shooe and the Sole but this kind may be easily cur'd If the Shooe be ill set on or not kept fast by the Nails the Horse is in danger either of Surbating or of the Bleymes and those who have flat Feet are most subject to this Infirmity because the Sand or Gravel enters easily between the Sole and the Foot In order to the Cure you must pare the Foot to discover the Sore and if you perceive that there is no Matter generated take out the bruised Sole but if the Matter be already gather'd let it out and dress the Sore like a Prick with a Nail If the Cure be seasonably attempted it will be quickly perfected but if you find that the Distemper has already gather'd strength you must have recourse to the Vulnerary Water the burning Balsam the Oils De Merveille and of Gabian To conclude the Cure depends on the evacuation of the Matter below the neglect of which might be attended with very troublesome Consequences CHAP. XCXI Of Scab'd Heels or Frush SOmetimes the Frush falls away by degrees by reason of an Eating Scab which pierces to the Quick and occasions so great an Itching that the Horse cannot walk without halting but these Sores are not so dangerous as they are troublesome and painful Before the Horse grows Lame his Feet stink of old rotten Cheese so that you may easily discover the nature of the Grief since 't is impossible to come into the Stable without perceiving the Smell And besides they beat the Ground from time to time with their Feet by reason of the intolerable Itching in those Parts To begin the Cure you must pare the Frush with your Buttress as near as you can then quench a sufficient quantity of unslak'd Lime in Vinegar strain out the Liquor boil it and throw it boiling hot on the Frush after which apply a Restringent Charge of Powder of unslak'd Lime mixt with the Second Water or the black Restringent made of Soot Vinegar and Whites of Eggs. The Countesses Ointment is very useful in this case for it performs the Cure in three or four Applications but the Dreâ—â—ing must be kept on with Splents If the Disease return after you have cleans'd the Sores apply the Neat-herds Ointment which will heal them tho' the Internal Cause can hardly be remov'd and besides the Horse may be let Blood in the Toe from time to time All the Ointments prescrib'd for running Sores or putrify'd Legs are also good in this case For Preservation you must often pare the Frush and rub the Place once or twice with the Second Water which will consume part of the Corruption and dry up the root of the Scabs so effectually that they will not break forth again for a long time after Then bathe the Part every Day with the following Water cold Take of Allom and white Vitriol of each a Pound and a half boil 'em in a Gallon of Water till it be reduc'd to two Quarts At last when you perceive the Itching gone melt Tarr or Black Pitch upon the Scabs and keep the Feet well pick'd and free from Dust or any other Ordure that might dry ' em The last nam'd Remedy is very effectual CHAP. C. Of the Crown-Scab THE Crown-Scab is a white or mealy Scurf caus'd by a burnt yellow and malignant Matter that breaks forth at the roots of the Hair where it sticks to the Skin and makes the Hair bristle and stare and at last Scalds it quite off You may distinguish the Nature of the Distemper by the bristling of the Hair on the Cronet and not unfrequently on the whole Pastern to the Joint The place is cover'd with a mealy Scurf and the Cronet swoll'n by the abundance of Humours that fall upon the Part. The most subtle Particles of those Humours exhaling thro' the Pores of the Skin harden into a kind of Salt that sticks to the Skin and produces the Scurf which usually appears on the Cronet There are two sorts of Crown-Scabs Some are dry without the least humidity and others are moist by reason of a stinking Water that Issues out of the Pores and communicates its stench and moisture to the Neighbouring Parts Besides at the beginning of the Foot under the Cronet the surface of the Hoof is crack'd and split by the driness and acrimony of the Humour contain'd in the Cronet from whence the Hoof receives its Nourishment But I shall have occasion to treat of this Distemper in that part of this Work that contains Instructions for the curing of Horses In the mean time it may be observ'd that it is neither painful nor makes 'em unfit for Travelling unless in
of Remedies you are at last oblig'd to give the Fire but since some Men will not be perswaded of the incredible effects of this Remedy and others cannot procure it when they have occasion to use it I shall communicate the description of an Ointment for Wounds that will advance the Cure more in one Day than other Ointments do in a considerable space of Time CHAP. CV The Hermit's Ointment for Wounds in Horses TAke the green Leaves of Long-Birthwort Paul's-Betony and Sage of each a handful and half Sanicle one handful Roots of Marsh-mallows and Comfrey dry'd in the Shade of each an Ounce slice the Roots very small and boil 'em in a Skillet with a Pint of Cream for the space of a quarter of an Hour after which add the Leaves chopt small and boil 'em so long till you can perceive nothing in the Skillet but a pure Butter produc'd by the boiling of the Cream then strain it out into a Pot and put into the same Skillet a quarter of a Pound of the Lard of a Hog fed with Acorns cut into Slices and mixt with the remaining Herbs and Roots boil all together about a quarter of an Hour and strain out the melted Lard upon the Butter in the next place boil two Ounces of Oil-Olive in the Skillet with the same Herbs and Roots for the space of a quarter of an Hour and strain it out into the Pot with the Butter and melted Lard after which squeeze out all the Juice and Fat of the Herbs and Roots in the same Pot and while they are still hot add an Ounce of melted Tar and an ounce and a half of Burnt-Allom in Powder incorporating the whole Mass and stirring it till it be cold When you have occasion to apply this Ointment melt a little of it in a Spoon and with a soft Pencil anoint the Wound very lightly covering it gently with Flax or Powder of old Ropes and renewing the Application once a Day The Wound will be quickly heal'd by this Method if Nature the principal Operator assist the efficacy of the Remedy by Sodering Gluing Nourishing Preserving and Restoring the Part to its proper Temperament and Condition Besides the Application of the Ointment you must consider diligently whether there be any unnatural or extraneous Substance in the Wound which must be taken out and if you perceive Excrescencies of spongy Flesh you must either give the Fire or consume 'em with White-Vitriol dissolv'd in Spirit of Wine which is of admirable use in this case and after the Scab is fall'n or rather the Swelling asswag'd apply the Ointment If you have occasion to cleanse any part in the Wound which you cannot see and dare not burn for fear of hurting the Sinews you may use the following Water which is an admirable Cleanser Lime-Water or the Yellow-Water Those who love to disguise Trifles with hard and lofty Names call this the Phagedenical-Water You may easily prepare it thus Take two or three Pounds of unslak'd Lime newly made put it into a large Bason of fine Tin and pour upon it by degrees five Quarts of Rain-Water then set the Bason in a convenient place for two Days stirring the Water often after which suffer the Lime to fall to the bottom pour off the Water by inclination strain it thro' brown Paper and to three Pints of it add half a Pint of good Spirit of Wine an Ounce of Spirit of Vitriol and as much Corrosive Sublimate in fine Powder Mix and preserve it for use in a Glass-Vial If you perceive a great deal of Corruption in the Wound or any appearance of a Gangrene add to the whole quantity of the Water an Ounce of Arsenic diminishing the Dose proportionably according to the quantity of the Water I shall take this occasion to give a brief Account of the signs and cure of a Gangrene Of a Gangrene A Gangrene may be consider'd in two different respects for in its Progress 't is only a tendency to Mortification whereas it ends in a Sphaceâ—â—s or confirm'd Mortification The signs of it are a sudden loss of Sense and consequently an insensibility of Pain lividness and afterward blackness of the Part affected a noisome Smell resembling that of a dead Carcass and an extraordinary softness in the Part that was before hard and distended The Cure of a confirm'd Gangrene is impossible and ought not to be attempted but while 't is in the beginning and even in its progress the Case is not altogether desperate As soon as you perceive any part of a Wound to be seiz'd with a Gangrene you must immediately scarifie it to the quick with your Fleam wash it with Sea or Salt-Water and cover the whole Wound with Flax steep'd and soak'd in the strongest Lime-Water dressing it twice a Day after the same manner A Detergent and Cleansing Water for a Gangrene If the Lime-Water be too weak you may prepare another thus Take crude Allom one Pound German-Copperas grosly beaten half a Pound Verdigrease in fine Powder three Ounces boil all together in a Gallon of strong Vinegar to the consumption of one half then without straining the Liquor reserve it for use in a Glass-Vial The use of this Water is the same with that of Lime-Water shake the Bottle as often as you have occasion to apply the Liquor and if after the first Application you find that it is too weak add two Ounces of strong Aqua-Fortis to each Quart shaking 'em well together Another cleansing-Cleansing-Water Take very strong White-Wine two Pints and a half Aqua-vitae half a Pint Spirit of Vitriol two Ounces mix them in a Glass-Bottle capable of containing two Quarts and an Hour after add two Ounces of Verdigrease in fine Powder White-Vitriol four Ounces and Green Copperas one Pound the two last grosly beaten stop the Bottle very close with a Cork and Hog's-Bladder then let it stand in Infusion on hot Embers twenty four Hours shaking it every six Hours after which preserve it for use shaking it every time and applying it according to the Directions prescrib'd for the use of Lime-Water It may be kept three Months without losing its Virtue The greatest simple Wound may be quickly cur'd by a prudent and diligent observation of the Method and Directions prescrib'd in this and the preceding Chapters When a Horse's back is Gaul'd during a Journey the best way is to take out a little of the stuffing of the Pannel over the Swelling then sow a piece of white and very soft Leather on the inside of the Pannel anoint it with Salt-Butter and every Evening wipe it clean rubbing it till it grow soft and anointing it again with Butter or for want of that with Grease Wash the Swelling or Hurt every Evening with cold Water and Soap and strew it with Salt till the Horse be Sadl'd in the Morning The Sea-rush that is usually wrapt about Glasses that are brought in Chests from Venice is of admirable efficacy for the cure of Saddle-Gauls during
Egg incorporate 'em together in a Mortar and squeeze 'em thro' a Linen Cloth giving the strain'd Liquor to the Patient to be drunk fasting and ordering him afterwards to wash his Mouth with Wine and Water to take away or qualifie the unpleasant taste of the Potion and to abstain from eating three Hours after This Potion preserves the Heart from the Venom and prevents the ill Effects of the Poison if it have already seiz'd on that Part. 'T is sufficient to scrape and wash the Wound the first Day but you must repeat the Application of the Pultis and renew the Dose of the Potion at least nine Days together neither of which can be neglected without extream Danger If at the end of nine Days the Wounds are not perfectly cur'd as it usually happens you may dress 'em like simple Wounds and the Patient may freely converse with his Friends which he ought not to do before the nine Days are expir'd especially if he was bitten long before the Application of the Remedies The same Method is to be observ'd and the same Remedies apply'd in the Case of Beasts only you may substitute Milk instead of Wine because Dogs may be more easily made to drink the former than the latter All the above-mention'd Ingredients are common ex cept Scorzonera which is a sort of Goat's Beard having a Root cover'd with a Black Bark and is an excellent Remedy against all sorts of Venom or Poison especially against the Bitings of Vipers and Mad Beasts but neither that nor the Roots of Eglantine are absolutely necessary in this Composition the other Ingredients being alone sufficient to resist and foil the Enemy This Plant thrives as well in our Gardens as the ordinary Goat's Beard The same Potion is a good Preservative against the Plague and for those who breathe in an infected Air. Another easie Remedy As soon as any Person is bitten by a Mad Beast or suspects himself to be bitten to prevent all the troublesome and fatal Consequences of such an Accident without taking a Journey to be dipt in the Sea burn or calcine the under part or lower half of an Oister-shell and having reduc'd it to Powder fry it with Oil-Olive and with four Eggs make an Omelet or Pancake which the Patient must eat fasting and abstain from eating six Hours after If you repeat the same Remedie two or three times the Patient will be secur'd from any future Danger As for Dogs you must make 'em eat the calcin'd Shells in Powder mixt with Oil-Olive after which they must fast for a considerable time repeating the Dose twice as I prescrib'd in the same Case for Men. 'T is to be observ'd that the upper half of the Shell is useless You must give the Powder of four or five Shells well calcin'd and mixt with good Oil-Olive to Horses Oxen or Cows repeating the Dose only twice once in two Days and making 'em fast six Hours before and as long after it There is no danger in exceeding the prescrib'd quantity of the Powder and therefore you may give to Horses and other Cattle as much as you can make 'em swallow Since there are several Places where Oyster-shells cannot be so easily procur'd great quantities of 'em may be calcin'd in those Parts where they abound and kept in Powder to be us'd upon Occasion for the Powder is incorruptible The Calcination is thus perform'd Lay a good quantity of the Shells on hot Embers and open 'em with a piece of a Cole which being kindl'd burns or calcines the Shell Let them lie in the Fire till they grow brittle and perfectly white after which beat 'em to Powder and keep 'em for use Treacle-Water is also a good Remedy in this Case but 't is in vain to have recourse to Treacle for the Cure of a Distemper when the most effectual Remedy may be found in every Garden CHAP. CXIII Of the Biting of a Venemous Beast THo' I have already propos'd an excellent Remedy for the Cure of Horses and other Cattle that are bitten by Mad Beasts 't will not be improper to subjoin a Method of Cure appropriated to the bitings of certain venemous Creatures resembling Mice but of a greyer Colour and sharper Nose The biting of these Creatures are so dangerous and fatal that Horses and Dogs die of it without a speedy and well-regulated Assistance And even Cats who eat 'em are wasted by the Malignity of those little Animals and die in a kind of Consumption They breed among rotten Straw in Barns and Stables When a Horse is bitten by one of these Mice in the Pastern or Fet-lock Joint the next Day the Part swells and the Tumour ascends to the Hough stretching upwards to the Cods and Fundament which swell to a prodigious height and the Horse dies in forty eight Hours if a Remedy be not seasonably apply'd Sometimes these Animals bite Horses under the Belly which swells extremely and the Tumour either rises towards the Throat or extends to the Sheath and grows so excessively big that the Horse is quickly kill'd by its Malignity As soon as you perceive the Swelling if it be in the Leg tie a Ribbon or Garter of the breadth of an Inch above the Swelling to stop its Progress and beat the swoll'n part with a Branch of a Goosberry Bush till it be all over bloody Then chafe it with a large quantity of Orvietan or Treacle and at the same time make the Horse swallow an Ounce of either of these Medicines in Wine the next Day anoint the part again and exhibit inwardly half an Ounce of the same Remedy If you have neither Treacle nor Orvietan anoint the swoll'n Parts with the Electuary of Kermes Mithridate or the Cordial Powder mixt with Spirit of Wine and exhibit inwardly a convenient Dose of the same Remedy with which you anoint the Part. After the second Dose and anointing of the swoll'n Leg untie the Garter chafe the Leg with Spirit of Wine and sow a Cloth dipt in the same Spirit about the Swelling after which rub the Part with the Duke's Ointment to asswage the Swelling The same Remedy cures the bitings of all sorts of Venemous Creatures that are follow'd with a Swelling but you must never forget to preserve the Heart from Malignity with proper Cordials I never try'd this Method for the biting of Serpents whose Poison is so subtil that immediately it reaches the Heart for I 'm persuaded that the Essence of Vipers is the only effectual Remedy in those Cases CHAP. CXIV Of Pursiveness or Shortness of Breath I Shall in the Second Part inform the Reader how he may know a Horse thatis subject to these Distempers Pursiveness is a difficulty of Breathing caus'd by stuffing of the Lungs or Obstructions in the Veins and Arteries especially in the Passages or Chanels of the Lungs and accompany'd with a beating and heaving in the Flanks and a Dilatation or stretching of the Nostrils The Disease is seated in the Lungs and proceeds
principle of all these Disturbances is Cold that is a viscous and heavy Flegm that obstructs the Veins or the Passages of respiration And this observation may serve to deter all those who are not perfectly acquainted with the Causes and Effects of a Disease from attempting the Cure of it Purgation is very troublesome to Short-Winded Horses and therefore ought to be omitted but in cases of extream necessity you may loosen your Horses Belly without any disturbance after the following manner How to Loosen a Pursive Horse's Belly Keep your Horse two Days without Drinking and in the mean time give him his usual allowance of Food but you must not ride him then offer him a Pail-full of Water and as soon as he has swallow'd one Draught pull up his Head and restrain him from drinking more till you have pour'd two Pounds of the best Oil-Olive into the Pail after which suffer him to drink up all the Water and Oil which will loosen his Belly and supple the surface of the Guts that were dry'd by the heat occasion'd by Putrefaction Thus the Excrements or peccant Humours that were lodg'd in the Passages will be evacuated without disturbing or over-turning the oeconomy or natural disposition of the Body and the Horse will be very sensibly reliev'd supposing that you were convinc'd by certain and evident signs of the necessity of Purgation To prevent the loss of the Oil if the Horse should refuse to drink it you may make an Essay by pouring a little Oil upon the Water and offering it to the Horse for there are some Horses who will not taste it tho' at the same time they are extreamly tormented with Thirst by reason of the aversion they have for all unctuous things and therefore the surest way is to give him two Pounds of fresh and sweet Oil-Olive with a Horn keeping him Bridl'd four Hours before and as long after for thus you need not make him abstain so long from Drinking as you must do if you give him the Oil mixt with Water however you may choose which Method you like best but the last is certainly the surest After the Purgation you may repeat the use of the above-mention'd Powder which in that case will operate very powerfully and if after all the Horse continue Short-Winded you may conclude that the Cure will be very difficult if not impossible If you administer the Oil without very apparent signs of an urgent necessity you must expect to be allarm'd with the ill Consequences of a Preposterous Purgation for if your Horse be of a Choleric Constitution or have too much Fire in his Temper he will absolutely forsake his Meat and swell eight or ten Hours after the Dose in so prodigious a manner that you wou'd think he was just ready to burst But the danger is not so great as the Swelling seems to threaten and you may easily preserve your Horses Life by observing these Directions After you have walk'd him half an Hour give him a Clyster of Beer and the Scoriae of Antimony such as you will find describ'd in several parts of this Book half an Hour after walk him again for the space of an Hour and as soon as you bring him into the Stable inject another Clyster which will open your Horse's Body and produce a plentiful Evacuation for twenty four Hours nor must you be surpriz'd if he refuse to eat during that time for his Appetite will return after the Purgation is over These Disorders never happen to Horses that are of a most Constitution lazy and full of Humours in which case you may administer a Purgative Remedy safely and with good Success This diversity of Constitutions must be observ'd with a great deal of care and sagacity CHAP. CXVII An excellent Powder for Pursive Horses TAke three Pounds of Linseed and spread 'em in an Earthen Pan then put the Pan into an Oven as soon as the Bread is taken out shut the Oven and stir the Seed in the Pan once every Hour Continue after the same manner to put the Pan into the Oven immediately after the Bread is taken out till the Seeds grow dry and brittle and all their Moisture be exhal'd Then take two Pounds of Liquorice rasp'd or rather a Pound of the black Juice of Liquorice which is more effectual and almost as cheap Aniseeds half a Pound Sage and Leaves and Flowers of Hyssop dry'd of each half a Pound Carduus Benedictus and Leaves and Flowers of Lesser Centory of each four Ounces Leaves of Long Birthwort two Ounces Speedwel and Sanicle of each two handfuls Roots of Elecampane four Ounces Comfrey and Roots of Marsh-Mallows or Mallows of each two Ounces Gentian half an Ounce Missleto of the Oak two Ounces dry all the Ingredients in the Shade reduce each of 'em to Powder a-part mix 'em together carefully and preserve the Powder in a Leathern-Bag close ty'd Give the Horse every Morning two small Silver Spoonfuls of the Powder in two Measures of moisten'd Wheat-Bran making him fast an Hour and a half after it At Noon and at Night mix a Spoonful with his Oates which must be also moisten'd and in the mean time give him no Hay but only good Wheat-Straw If your Horse be not eas'd by a methodical use of this Remedy you may conclude his Disease to be incurable I thought it needless to treat particularly of the Cough because the above-mention'd Remedies cure that Symptom as well as the Distemper for which they are prescrib'd since both proceed from the same Cause I am not ignorant that the Cure proceeds more successfully when Pursiveness is the only Distemper than when 't is accompany'd with a Cough and 't is to be observ'd that either a Cough or heaving in the Flanks may be singly cur'd without much difficulty but when they are both joyn'd together they are not easily to be remov'd The successful effects of those Powders gave me occasion to consider and endeavour to discover the reason why cooling Remedies are not only useless but oftentimes hurtful in a Disease that is accompany'd with so many signs of Heat And after a tedious Examination of the Nature and Circumstances of this Distemper I was inclin'd to believe as I hinted before that its original cause is almost always Cold since it usually proceeds from tough and flegmatick Humours that obstruct both the Veins and Passages of Respiration The adventitious and accidental Heat communicated to Water by the Fire does not change or destroy its natural coldness and the same Observation may be apply'd to those cold and flegmatick Humours when they are heated by Putrefaction which occasions a Fermentation and Ebullition accompany'd with external signs of Heat tho' the Humours are still really Cold. From hence 't is plain that tho' a cooling Remedy may allay the Fermentation for some time the Disease will be afterwards more confirm'd since the Flegm that causes it is not only increas'd by the coldness of the Medicine but grows thicker
that none of the Remedy may be lost then let the Horse stand two Hours bridl'd and renew the Dose once every two Days for the space of a Month till the Cure be perfected Or you may with less trouble give half an Ounce of the Powder every Morning in moisten'd Bran for fifteen or twenty Days Whatever Method you think fit to take for administring the Powder you must always remember to walk your Horse gently an Hour or two every Day and even you may make him perform his usual Service only you must neither ride him too hard nor make him sweat too much The Angelical Powder may be exhibited very safely and with good Success to Men for the curing of Intermitting Feavers The Dose is from two to six Grains in any convenient Vehicle or from two to four Ounces of its Infusion in Wine It cures the Plague being given in Substance when the Disease begins to appear before the Patient's Strength be wasted CHAP. CXIX The Yellow Pills for short-winded Horses THis is an excellent Remedy and infallibly performs the Cure if it be not absolutely impossible Take half an Ounce of Gum Tragacanth one Dram of Oriental Saffron in Powder infuse and macerate 'em in a Pint of Colts-Foot-Water till it turn to a Gelly Then take two Pounds of Glass of Antimony very transparent and of a Citron Colour beat it to a fine Powder and mix it in a Mortar by degrees with the Gelly or Mucilage of Gum Tragacanth beating and incorporating them with the Pestle till they be reduc'd to a Mass that will retain any Figure Make it up into Pills weighing nine Drams each and having dry'd 'em on the bottom of a Strainer turn'd upwards keep 'em in a Box. These Pills are incorruptible Make your Horse eat one of 'em every Day reduc'd to Powder and mixt with moistne'd Bran and in the mean time you may ride him and if he forsake his Meat forbear repeating the Pills till he begin to recover his Appetite If the heaving in his Flanks be encreas'd instead of being abated 't is a Sign that the Lungs are incurably ulcerated and therefore you must entirely lay aside the use of the Pills which in this Case wou'd only hasten his Death The same Dose may be also given in a Pint of White-Wine after the Horse has stood bridl'd two Hours You must also keep him bridl'd two Hours after and in the mean time may give him his usual Allowance of Food observing the above-mention'd Directions concerning the Heaving or Palpitation of the Flanks and the loss of Appetite If you perceive that he begins to relish his Meat again repeat the Dose for thirty Days together observing still that if the Palpitation of his Flanks be augmented the use of the Pills must be absolutely discontinu'd But if neither that Symptom be increas'd nor his Appetite quite lost you must continue the use of the Pills till the whole quantity that was prepar'd be consum'd for as I intimated before the most stubborn Pursiveness will yield to this Remedy if the Disease be not altogether incurable At first your Horse perhaps will grow lean and seem to be wasted but he will afterwards recover his Flesh and grow fatter than before This Remedy must never be administer'd to Horses that have weak and tender Stomachs for even the greatest Feeders are wont sometimes to forsake their Meat on this Occasion and will neither taste Bran nor Oats in which Case you must forbear giving 'em any more Pills till their Appetite be restor'd but many Horses undergo the whole Course without losing one Stroak of their Teeth When the Lungs are ulcerated or putrefi'd these Pills will certainly kill your Horse if you continue the use of 'em after he has lost his Appetite but when the Disease is incurable as 't is in this case the best way is to dispatch him speedily The Glass of Antimony may be also prepar'd and exhibited after this manner Mix half a Pound of it with two Pounds of the Dough of a Loaf kneading 'em together till the Powder be throughly incorporated with the Dough then bake the Loaf and two Days after give the Horse an eighth part of it repeating the same Dose every Morning till he has eaten two Pounds if he do not lose his Appetite and if the heaving in his Flanks be not augmented This Remedy removes obstructions and opens the Passages very effectually cooling the Lungs that were heated for want of Air and the Natural Temperament of that Part being restor'd the Horse will recover his Health and Breath without any Difficulty The Charge of the two Pounds of Pills will not amount to above Seven Livres allowing a moderate Gain to him who prepares 'em for Glass of Antimony is sold very cheap at Paris Tincture of Sulphur for Short-winded Horses Since Sulphur is the Balsam of the Lungs the Tincture containing its pure Substance or Essential Salt must certainly be a very effectual Remedy in this Case for this Distemper being accompany'd with a Redundancy of putrefi'd tough and viscous Humours requires a powerful cutting Medicine and 't is certain that the Operation of Minerals is more effectual than what can be expected from Vegetables The Remedy is thus prepar'd Take Powder of Brimstone and unslak'd Lime of each one Pound put 'em into a glaz'd Earthen-Pot capable of containing fifteen Quarts placing it in a Furnace full of live Coals and stirring uninterruptedly till the Matter break forth in a bluish Flame which proceeds from the Sulphur then pour in about twelve Quarts of boiling Water stirring the Matter perpetually to prevent its growing hard After six or seven Waums the boiling Water will be ting'd with the Colour of the Brimstone and after it has boil'd half a quarter of an Hour it will be impregnated with the Tincture and must be pour'd off from the Matter Take four Pints and a half of this Tincture and boil it for the space of half a quarter of an Hour in a large Pot with three handfuls of the Leaves of Colts-Foot chopt small three Roots of Ellecampane stampt in a Mortar and three Stalks of Liquorice beaten then infuse them in hot Ashes all Night and in the Morning set it over the Fire till it grow hot after which strain out the Liquor and make your Horse drink it up keeping him bridl'd two Hours before and as long after and walking him gently for the space of half an Hour Repeat the Dose five Days together after which let him rest two Days then give him his Potion five Days as before and after two Days of Intermission finish the Course by exhibiting the Remedy five Days longer at the end of which the Horse will recover his Health if the Disease be not absolutely incurable If during the use of this Remedy your Horse forsake his Meat you must suffer him to rest till he recover his Appetite and then proceed as before The Tincture may be exhibited alone with very good Success
This Tincture of Sulphur is by many esteem'd a great Secret but whatever it might be call'd before it cannot pretend a Right to that Title since 't is now communicated to the Public You may pour in twelve Pints of fresh Water into the same Pot and proceeding as before make a new Tincture and even may repeat the Operation three or four times but 't is in vain to prepare so great a quantity of the Remedy unless you have three or four Horses to cure for the Tincture does not continue good above ten or twelve Days after which the Sulphur leaves the Water and is precipitat edat the bottom of the Vessel An excellent Ptisan for Asthmatic Persons may be made of this Tincture with the Addition of Liquorice and other convenient Druggs Some Gentlemen will perhaps complain of the tediousness of this Preparation But if they can find a Remedy to cure their Horses with less trouble I promise them not to be offended at the happiness of their Invention CHAP. CXX Of the Cough PUrsiveness is almost always attended with a Cough but the latter of these Distempers is frequently unaccompany'd with the former The Cough is an extraordinary Motion of the Parts that serve for Respiration by which Nature endeavours to expel the Matter that offends her out of the Lungs This Distemper usually proceeds from Flegm lodg'd in the Canals of the Wind-Pipe which is the Passage of the Air or Breath 'T is the vulgar Opinion that a great quantity of Flegmatick Humours distill from the Brain into the Chest but the Lungs of a Horse are so large and water'd with so many Vessels that they are sufficiently able to furnish Matter for a Cough without borrowing it from any other part of the Body The Cough is a struggling of Nature to throw off the Humour that oppresses her Sometimes 't is the effect of a great Cold or of the Driness of the Passages of the Lungs for want of Moisture or of the irritation of that Part by Smoak or Dust either in the Field or the Dust that sticks to his Hay or Oats and sometimes a Cough is occasion'd by Drinking either Muddy or too cold Water Sometimes a Horse is seiz'd with a Cough when eating too greedily some part of his Food slips into the Passage of Respiration but in this case there is no need of any Remedy When an old Horse Coughs you may know whether he is Pursive by an attentive Consideration of the Circumstances of the Symptom for if the Cough be moist you have no reason to suspect that your Horse is short-winded but if he be dry and often repeated you must observe his Flanks carefully to know certainly whether he be Pursive An old Cough is oftentimes more dangerous than a beginning Pursiveness Sometimes the Cough may be occasion'd by the Relicks of a Rheum or Foundering in the Body The following Powder is an excellent Remedy for all sorts of Coughs But before I proceed to the Description of that Medicine it will not be improper to communicate an Easie and Cheap but very Essectual Remedy Put into each of the Horse's Ears half a Silver Spoonful of Oil of Sweet-Almonds rubbing the Ear very hardto make it penetrate continuing after the same manner five or six Days By this Method you may cure any Cold that proceeds from Foundering and Rheums even tho' it be accompany'd with a Running at the Nose And 't is to be observ'd that this Remedy may be administer'd during the use of the following Powder since the Operation of the one doth not in the least hinder or retard that of the other A Powder for a Cough whether old or newly taken Take Carduus Benedictus Hyssop Colt's-Foot white Mullein Fenugreek Seed and Juice of Liquorice of each six Ounces Juniper-Berries Roots of Elecampane and Flower de Luce of Florence of each five Ounces Cardamoms Gentian Birthwort long and round of each three Ounces Seeds of Annise Cummin and Fennel of each an Ounce and a half Cinnamon and Nutmegs of each half an Ounce Live Sulphur half a Pound Beat all the Ingredients apart and searce 'em thro' a fine Hair Sieve then mix the Powders and keep 'em hard press'd in a close-ty'd Leathern Bag. This Powder may be kept long and is superiour in Virtues to most other Remedies 'T is Methodically compos'd being a Mixture of Cordials and specific Remedies for the Lungs for since the Cough is occasion'd by Flegmatic Humours rising from the Lungs into the Wind-Pipe the cure of it requires a cutting and attenuating Remedy and all the Indications are answer'd by this Powder To a large Horse you may give two Ounces of the Powder in a Quart of luke-warm Beer to those of a middle size an Ounce and a half and only an Ounce to small Horses let it stand in a cold Infusion in the Beer all Night and in the Morning make your Horse drink it luke-warm keeping him Bridl'd two Hours before and as long after and repeating it once a Day for fifteen Days Those who live in a Country where there is no Beer may instead of it mix a Pint of Water with a Pint of Wine or you may give your Horse an Ounce every Morning in moisten'd Bran. If your Horse be very fat and fleshy and consequently of a flegmatick Constitution you must give him the Powder in unmixt Wine instead of Beer Since there are some Horses who cannot be easily made to swallow any thing with a Horn and the lifting up of his Head and keeping it in that Posture may raise the Cough and since there are some Persons who have not the conveniency of Horns and others who are not willing to use 'em you may give the Powder in moisten'd Bran beginning with a small quantity and afterwards augmenting the Dose to a handful or two Ounces Some Horses at first have an Aversion to this Remedy and therefore you must begin with a small Dose but afterwards they became so fond of it that they eat their Bran more heartily when that is mixt with it And I have even seen some Horses eat the Powder without any Mixture from a Man's Hand It will not be improper to present the Reader with a particular description of all the Ingredients that enter the Composition of this excellent Remedy that such as are Novices in this Art may know the peculiar Virtues of each Simple If this digression seem tedious or useless to some Critical Readers 't is presum'd they will not be offended since they may skip over it without any trouble and that they will be so just as to consider that the description which they censure may be perus'd by others with Pleasure and Advantage I. Carduus Benedictus is a very useful Herb which is sown and prospers very well in our Gardens 'T is moderately hot it comforts strengthens and rejoyces the Heart corroborates the noble Parts expels peccant Humours by Sweat resists Poyson asswages Pains in the Kidneys and destroys Worms
breaking 'em all together in a Mortar till they be reduc'd to a hard Mass or Paste Make Pills weighing ten Drams each and dry 'em in the Shade on a Hair Sieve turn'd upside down When you intend to give your Horse this Remedy let him have his usual Allowance of Meat and then make him swallow a whole Pill in a Pint of Red or White Wine 'T is not absolutely necessary to keep him Bridl'd before you exhibit the Medicine but 't is certainly most convenient to let him stand Bridl'd an Hour before You must always remember to walk him about an Hour after and then you may ride him and in the mean time you may either work or ride him or put him in a Coach or if not you must keep him Bridl'd two Hours after the Dose Continue after the same manner to give him a Pill once a-day till the Cough be wholly cur'd if the Distemper be inveterate the Cure will at least require twenty Doses The same Pills may be also beaten and mix'd with moisten'd Bran. They may be kept very long and never grow moudly tho' they are almost always moist Tho' your Horse be not troubl'd with the Cough to preserve him from accidental Inconveniencies you may give him one of these Pills in the Morning before Hunting or hard Riding CHAP. CXXII Of. Châ—st-Foundering and Foundering accompany'd with a Fever THis Kind of Foundering is a preternatural Heat caus'd by the Fermentation of Humours in the Guts and Passages of Respiration and is accompany'd with the same Signs that denote Pursiveness but the Symptoms are more violent Only there is this difference between these two Distempers that there are few Horses troubl'd with Pursiveness at the Age of six Years whereas there are many founder'd This Distemper is often occasion'd by riding a Horse from his Wind and beyond his Strength It frequently accompanies the Melting of the Grease and sometimes 't is occasion'd by the Application of a violent Caustic or giving the Fire too roughly for the Cure of Diseases in the Feet but in this last Case the Distemper is not dangerous since it may be easily Cur'd by injecting one or two Clysters with Sal Polychrest Sometimes this follows some other Distempers when the Humours that fomented 'em are not entirely evacuated and continue to send up sharp hot and malignant Vapours which irritate the Lungs and cause the extraordinary Motion that is observ'd in ' em Horses are also Subject to this Distemper if they be suffer'd to feed on corrupt Provender when they are Young as Grass frozen in the Meadows during the Winter which putrefies in the Body and breeds a Ferment that occasions either this or some other dangerous Distemper 'T is caus'd by an Obstruction in the Passages of the Lungs which hinders Respiration if this Obstruction be newly generated or proceed from hot and subtil Matter it may be easily cur'd by the Application of convenient Remedies if it be not accompany'd with a Fever in which Case 't is frequently Mortal The Remedies prescrib'd for the Cure of this Distemper ought to be temperate and rather inclining to Cold than Heat to allay and stop the Fermentation and Ebullition of the Humors whereas the Medicines that are prescrib'd to pursive Horses must be rather Hot than Cold. In the Cure of this Distemper we must endeavour to allay the Heat that occasions the Boiling of the Humors prescribing all the Medicines in a liquid Form to dilute and qualifie the Heat of the Ingredients The Electuary prescrib'd in the preceding Chapter for the Cough is very useful in this Case and will certainly perform the Cure if it be administer'd regularly and repeated for a considerable Time If your Horse eat heartily you may cure him of his Distemper by giving him every Day from one to two Ounces of Liver of Antimony mix'd with moisten'd Bran but if he be naturally squeamish or has lost his Appetite on this Occasion 't will be in vain to attempt this Method If the Horse be Young and not troubl'd with a Fever the surest and easiest Method of Cure is to turn him out to Grass when the Herbs begin to spring forth and to leave him in the open Fields under the Dew during the Months of April and May for the young dewy Grass will scowre his Body and open the Passages Green Barley is also an excellent Remedy for this Distemper If this Method be impracticable by reason of the Inconveniency of the Place or of the Season of the Year you may observe the following Directions Feed your Horse with Wheat-Sheaves and Barley without allowing him either Hay or Oats Let him blood in the Flanks at the New Moon and the next Day give him a softening and opening Clyster which may be thus prepar'd Take of the five opening Roots beaten that is the Roots of Grass Madder Eringo or Sea-holm Capers and Rest-Harrow of each an Ounce Sal Polychrest half an Ounce boil the Ingredients in five Pints of Water for a Quarter of an Hour after which add the five softening Herbs namely Mallows Marsh-Mallows Mercury Violets and Pellitory of the Wall of each a Handful Boil 'em a quarter of an Hour longer then strain the Decoction add half a Pound of Honey prepar'd with the Herb Mercury and inject it by way of Clystâ—â— in the Evening repeating the same five or six Days together The Day after the administring of the last Clyster take White Mullein and Coltsfoot of each two Handfuls Chop 'em and boil 'em in three Pints of Water for a quarter of an Hour with half an Ounce of Sal Polychrest in Powder Assoon as you remove the Vessel from the Fire add three Handfuls of fresh Corn-Poppy Flowers or half an Ounce of the same Flowers dry'd and covering the Pot let 'em stand in Infusion till the Liquor be half cold then strain and adding an Ounce of Juice of Liquorice give the whole Decoction to your Horse with a Horn at Night inject the Clyster and next Morning repeat the Decoction Administer the same Remedies once every two Days for the Space of twelve Days but if during that time the Horse forsake his Meat you must endeavour to restore his Appetite by making him champ on a Chewing-Ball two Hours in the Morning and as long after Dinner and forbear the Use of the Decoction till he begins to eat heartily but this Inconveniency may be prevented notwithstanding the Use of the above-mention'd Remedies by giving him two Ounces of Liver of Antimony in Bran every Day when he is not oblig'd to take the Decoction which will not only preserve his Appetite but promote the Cure If these Remedies prove ineffectual and the Disease continue for a considerable Time it may at last degenerate to Pursiveness to prevent which if your Horse be of a phlegmatic Constitution Slow and Lazy you may give him the following Remedy to expel the thick and slimy Phlegm but if he be of a dark Sorrel Colour or
the Horse to his wonted Strength and Vigour The Stinking Pills are of excellent use in this case to prepare the Horse's Body if you give him a Dose every two Days repeating the Medicine two or three times A Clyster Boil a sufficient quantity of the five softening Herbs in two Quarts of Beer and a Pint or a Pint and a half of the Urine of a Cow or for want of that of a sound Man who drinks a great deal of Wine In the strain'd Liquor dissolve half a Pound of Honey prepar'd with the Herb Mercury and a quarter of a Pound of fresh Butter make a Clyster to be injected luke-warm in the Evening Continue the daily use of Liver of Antimony for fifteen Days and inject the Clyster once every three Days For his ordinary Drink dissolve a Pound of Honey in a Pail-full of Water give him no Oats and dissolve two or three Ounces of Polychrest in a Pail-full of Water to moisten his Hay After twenty Days lay aside the use of the Powder and Clysters and suffer the Horse to repose seven or eight Days at the end of which you may order convenient Fomentations continuing all the while to give him moisten'd Hay and Water mixt with Honey CHAP. CXXVII Of Sal-Polychrest or Fusible Sulphur 'T IS an undeniable Maxim founded on Reason that fusible Remedies are more effectual than others thus if Scammony were render'd fusible 't wou'd make an excellent Purgative and the same may be said of Tartar and several other Medicines 'T is generally acknowledg'd that Sulphur or rather the Flowers of it are the Balsam of the Lungs and 't is plain that if it be render'd fusible it will exert its force more effectually by cleansing opening purifying and even loosening the Belly since it penetrates more easily when 't is dissolv'd and is more capable of effecting the Operations that are ascrib'd to it than if it were indissoluble and lay like a heavy lump of Earth at the bottom of the Stomach 'T is thus Prepar'd Set a Crucible or Iron-Pot in the midst of a heap of live Coals till it be all over red-hot even at the bottom then cast into it with a Spoon a Mixture of Sulphur and fine Nitre both in Powder about half an Ounce of each and the Matter will take Fire and break out into a Flame as soon as it touches the Crucible As soon as the Flame disappears stir the Matter at the bottom of the Crucible and cast in the rest of the Sulphur and Nitre by Spoonfuls as before stirring the Matter at the bottom with some Iron Instrument that the Fire may penetrate it more effectually after you have cast in three or four Spoonfuls you must stir the Matter for some time and continue after the same manner till all the Sulphur and Nitre be cast into the Crucible then cover it and lay Coals on the top and every where round the sides suffering it to cool of it self After 't is cold beat the Matter to Powder which if the Operation be rightly perform'd and the Nitre very fine will be of a pale Rose-Colour if not 't will be white as Snow and fit for use or grayish and of no value Four Pounds of Matter will yield a Pound and half of Sal-Polychrest which is endu'd with qualities opposite to those of ordinary Sulphur for it dissolves in Water and grows red in the Fire without consuming That which resembles the colour of a Rose is better than the white tho' I must confess that supposing the Operation to be perform'd with the utmost exactness and the Nitre to be pure and fine 't is not always possible to produce that Rosie Colour which in some measure seems to be the effect of Chance This Remedy cools very effectually and even sometimes too powerfully for such Medicines as are moderately cold are most proper for Horses and for this reason 't is seldom or never given alone and not often internally You may correct it with Juniper-Berries or Nutmegs mixing an Ounce of the Powder with half an Ounce of the Berries or scrapings of Nutmeg in moisten'd Bran or if the Horse will not eat it so you may Infuse it all Night in a Quart of Wine and in the Morning heat it luke-warm and make the Horse drink it up fasting You may easily perceive by the first or second Dose whether your Horse's Condition requires a cooling Remedy for if not he will lose his Appetite and his Hair will bristle and stare especially in the Flanks and therefore if these signs appear you may conclude that his Body ought rather to be heated with good Cordial Powders than cool'd with Sal-Polychrest 'T is the general Opinion that sick Horses ought to be treated as Men who for the most part stand in need of cooling Medicines by reason of their Passions and inordinate Desires which together with their Intemperance heat the Blood and consequently all the Parts of the Body but Horses are free from those disorderly Motions and Vexations that disquiet Men so that their Blood and Humours are not so apt to be heated and inflam'd and consequently they stand rarely in need of cooling Remedies You may give from one to two Ounces of Polychrest in a Clyster to appease the beating of the Flanks and allay the heat of the Intestines for tho' his Dung be dry and bak'd three or four of these Clysters will reduce it to its natural Temperament and Consistency This is also an excellent Remedy for Men and might be us'd with very good Success by those who are troubl'd with a stoppage in their Lungs and spitting of Blood or to prevent the ill consequences of a fall from a high place but besides the above-mention'd Directions it must be dissolv'd in Water filter'd boil'd till there appears a Film on the top put into a Wooden Vessel and set to Crystallize in a Cellar The Crystals are of a square Figure almost like that of common Salt and must be kept in a Glass close stopt for Men but the first Preparation is sufficient for Horses 'T is also exhibited in Obstructions of the Liver Spleen Pancreas and Mesentery it loosens tough Matter and purges gently by Stool The Dose is from two to four Drams and it may be successfully given after this manner Take four Drams of Sal-Polychrest in Crystals one stalk of Liquorice beaten Flowers of double Damask Roses either fresh or dry two Pugils or instead of these Violet Flowers put 'em into an Earthen Pot with a Quart of boiling Water and let 'em stand in Infusion all Night In the Morning drink a large Glass-full of the Water and an Hour after another for it purges very gently and without heating the Body or you may make a Diet-Drink to be us'd even at Meals by dissolving half an Ounce of this Salt in two Quarts of Water I am so sensible of the excellency of this Medicine and of its usefulness to those who live in the Country at a distance from
End of a Campagne or after a long Journey If your Horse loose his Appetite when he begins to eat the Meal as it happens not unfrequently you may tye a Chewing-Ball to his Bit renewing it so often till he begin to feed heartily on the Barley for these Balls not only restore a lost Appetite but purifie the Blood prevent Diseases and contribute to the Fattening of the Horse CHAP. CXXXI Of the Shrinking of the Sinews and Gauntness of the Belly occasion'd by Foundering of the Body and other Distempers THis Distemper has some Affinity with that which was last describ'd and is occasion'd when by reason of hard Labour or some Indisposition as the Relicts of a Foundering or excessive Heat of the Body the Guts are straiten'd and the two Sinews that run along the Belly from the Sheath to the Girding-place reaching to that part of the Belly which the Horse touches with his Thighs as he goes grow hard and stiff and so painful that he loses his Flesh and the Straitness of his Guts proceeds from the Dryness and Shrinking of the Sinews In order to the Cure you must let the Horse blood in the Neck and the next Day chafe the Sinews with this Ointment An Anodyne Ointment For the Satisfaction of the Curious I shall explain the Meaning of this Term of Art Those Remedies are said to be Anodyne which by a mild Heat agreeable to that which is usually call'd the Natural Heat a temperate Moisture and a thin Substance insinuating it self into the Part where the Pain is seated cherishes the Natural Heat softens and loosens the Part and consequently allays the Pain From whence it may be infer'd that an Anodyne Remedy is that which takes away the Pain from the Part to which 't is apply'd Take the Ointments of Marsh-Mallows Roses and Populeon of each two Ounces mix 'em cold Or for want of these Ointments the Fat of Chickens Hens or Capons which is found near their Guts or about their Breast melted and strain'd thro' a Linnen-Cloth may be successfully apply'd to the same uses Anoint the Sinews with the Ointment or Fat holding a red-hot Bar of Iron near the part to make the Remedy sink into it The next Day or some Days after take hold of the Sinews with your two Fingers and separate 'em very gently from the Belly The Day after renew the Application of the Ointment and draw the Sinews as before continuing after the same manner till they be sufficient'y lengthen'd and relax'd after which the Pain will cease and the Horse regain his former Vigour and Lustiness In the mean time make a sound Man that Drinks unmixt Wine Piss on two double handfuls of Barley and after it has stood in Infusion a whole Night pour off the Urine in the Morning Then boil a handful of green or for want of these dry Fennel-seeds in a Pint of Water for a quarter of an Hour and sprinkle the Barley with the Scum that arises in this Decoction Make your Horse eat the Barley thus prepar'd every Morning for the space of fifteen Days mixing it with a little Oats if he seem to have an aversion against it and keeping all other sorts of Nourishment from him till he be accustom'd to eat this which will promote the Cure effectually and restore his Appetite The Remedy describ'd in the preceding Chapter consisting of a Preparation of Barley-Flower is also very useful in this case and with the assistance of the above-mention'd Ointment will restore the Horse to his perfect Health Instead of Oats you may give your Horse Rye sprinkl'd with boiling Water and afterwards drain'd and cool'd A double handful of Wheat eaten always before you suffer him to Drink will open his Flanks and make him lusty honey'd-Honey'd-Water or moisten'd Bran prepar'd according to the Directions mention'd in one of the preceding Chapters are very effectual in this case If you perceive that your Horse continues still lean and meager after the use of all these Remedies give him either the Golden-Sulphur or Liver of Antimony in his Bran. I have often observ'd that lean Horses are thought to be troubl'd with this Distemper when their leanness proceeds from a multitude of Worms or Trunchions that suck up all the Substance of their Food and consequently deprive all the parts of the Body of their usual and necessary supplies of Nourishment Trunchions are small and short Worms smooth and of a reddish Colour which at last eat their passage thro' the Stomach and occasion present Death They are never voided with the Dung so that 't is impossible to make a certain Judgment in this case But when you have reason to suspect that your Horse is troubl'd with these pernicious Insects the safest way is to give him half an Ounce of Mercurius Dulcis with an Ounce of the Cordial Powder in a quarter of a Pound of Butter or an Ounce of Treacle without Butter if the Cordial Powder cannot be procur'd or four Ounces of Cinnabar beaten to Powder and mixt with a Pound of fresh Butter These Medicines will kill and destroy all the Worms after which the Horse will recover his Flesh If you propose the inward use of Cinnabar to a Physician that is not acquainted with the Constitution of Horses he will condemn it and not without reason knowing what a penetrating Faculty it has acquir'd by its Sublimation with Sulphur so that 't is certainly a very dangerous Medicine for Men if it be not given with more than ordinary Caution But you may administer it to Horses without any fear and I dare warrant it both safe and effectual The Confidence with which I recommend it is grounded on a long Experience and I have even made some Horses eat several Pounds of it mixt with Bran giving 'em one or two Ounces every Day with an equal quantity of the Cordial-Powder by which Method I have cur'd the Farcin without occasioning the least disorder in the Gums or any other part of the Body I intend to describe all the Remedies against Worms in a Chapter that shall expresly treat of that Subject but if you are convinc'd that your Horse is not troubl'd with Worms you may give him one of the Remedies prescrib'd for Surfeiting or Foundering in the Body Or you may give him the Powder for a Cough or the Lieutenant's Powder describ'd in the Second Part. Grass or Green Barley if it be in season will Cure your Horse without any other Remedy In the Winter you may make him eat Beans moderately and in the Summer give him Barley bruis'd rather than Ground in a Mill mixt with a little Bran. CHAP. CXXXII Of the Anticor THe Anticor is a preternatural Tumour caus'd by a sanguine and choleric Humour and seated on the Breast just opposite to the Heart This Swelling is sometimes generated in the spongy Membrane that surrounds the Heart where the Humours easily lodge themselves when they abound too much in the Body The external Swelling discovers the
the Method prescrib'd in the Sixth and following Chapters Since the Oil of Rue is a good and cheap Remedy it will not be improper to insert the true description of it Oil of Rue Take a Pound of Oil-Olive and two handfuls of Rue chop'd small boil 'em slowly in a Skellet and strain out the Oil throwing away the Herbs Then add two handfuls of fresh Rue and boil and strain as before Repeat the same Operation a third time and preserve the Oil which is indu'd with a Virtue to cut and digest thick and tough Humours Being dissolv'd in a Clyster it helps the Colic and asswages Pains in the Belly Kidneys and Bladder and it may be successfully us'd in outward Applications for the Cure of several cold Diseases It resolves hard and cold Tumours that resist the efficacy of ordinary Remedies but by reason of its Heat you must never use it when you have reason to fear an Inflammation CHAP. CXXXIII Of Palpitation of the Heart THE beating or palpitation of the Heart is a quick and violent Motion of that noble Part by which it endeavours to expel something that oppresses it 'T is usually occasion'd by a malignant Steam or Vapour proceeding partly from a Melancholic Humour that stagnates in the Veins and insinuates it self into the great Artery hard Riding violent Exercise corrupt Water bad Nourishment and every thing that is apt to produce Heat or Obstructions are the remote Causes of this Distemper The Palpitation of the Heart is visible to the Eye for when the Disease is violent the Heart beats with so much force against the Horse's sides that you may plainly perceive the motion of the Skin at every stroke and if you lay your Ear to the Part you may hear as it were the Blows of a Hammer within the Horse's Body on both sides together Some Horses in this Condition retain their Appetite better than others and are not troubl'd with an extraordinary beating in the Flanks Remedies that strengthen the Heart cherish and revive the Spirits dispel thick Vapours and resist their Malignity are proper in this case Bleeding is the sovereign Remedy of this Distemper and it may be safely repeated oftner than once in one Day if the violence of the Palpitation be not abated This Distemper is sometimes very vehement and impetuous but not usually Mortal unless it be accompany'd with a Fever which does not happen very often The Cure is almost always successfully perform'd by the frequently repeated use of convenient Clysters Bleeding and Cordial Remedies As for Cordials you have the Electuary of Kermes the Cordial-Powder the Lieutenants-Powder and the Cordial-Balls which must be methodically exhibited and the Dose repeated two or three times according to the violence of the Distemper If the Palpitation be accompany'd with a vehement beating in the Flanks you must give your Horse a Quart of a Cordial Mixture of the Waters of Scorzonera Scabious Carduus Benedictus and Roses with an Ounce of Confection of Hyacinth without Musk or Ambergreese and one of the Cordial Balls reduc'd to Powder rinsing the Pot and Horn with half a Pint of the same Cordial-Waters The Cordials must be repeated every Day or at least once in two Days They who cannot procure any of the above-mention'd Remedies may prepare the following Potion A Remedy for the Palpitation of the Heart Take Bugloss Bawm and Borage of each a handful boil 'em in a sufficient quantity of Water for the space of half a quarter of an Hour till the Water be reduc'd to a Pint Then removing it from the Fire add two handfuls of Sorrel and let it stand till it be cold Dissolve in the strain'd Liquor an Ounce and a half of Conserve of Roses half an Ounce of Confection of Hyacinth without Musk or Amber-greese and ten Grains of Saffron make your Horse drink it luke-warm and two Hours after give him the following Clyster A Clyster for the Palpitation of the Heart This Clyster dispels and removes Obstructions and consequently is very proper for a Horse opprest with such a Distemper as this that proceeds from Vapours and Wind. Take the five softening Herbs Mugwort Cammomil Rue and Melilot of each two handfuls Powder of Sal-Polychrest an Ounce and a half boil 'em for the space of half a quarter of an Hour in a sufficient quantity of Water to three Quarts then press out the Water and throw away the Herbs After which add to the strain'd Liquor Linseed and Fenugreek-seed beaten to Powder of each two Ounces Boil about a quarter of an Hour longer and add to the straining Oil of Bay and fresh Butter of each three Ounces Cow's Urine one Pint if it can be procur'd Repeat the Clyster every six Hours and the Potion once a Day Keep your Horse to a spare Diet feed him with moisten'd Bran give him no Oats and walk him frequently at a foot pace As soon as you perceive the Palpitation to be perfectly allay'd and your Horse restor'd to his former Health 't will be highly convenient to exhibit the following Purgative Take an Ounce and a half of Aloes for an ordinary Horse or two if he be of a very large size an Ounce of Agaric in Powder and a like quantity of Flower de luce of Florence make a Powder and give it to your Horse in a Quart of Milk keeping him Bridl'd five Hours before and four Hours after The next Day the Medicine will begin to operate and you must walk your Horse from time to time till the evacuation be stop'd after which you may give him his usual allowance of Oates This Purgation attacks and subdues the cause of the Distemper and quickly perfects the Cure A Clyster to dispel Wind. Take of the usual softening Decoction three Quarts and three or four Ounces of the Carminative and Purgative Oil prescrib'd for the second kind of Colic or a quarter of a Pound of Oil of Bay and two Ounces of Butter Mix and make a Clyster The preceding Remedy I mean both the Potion and Clyster are universally useful in all the various kinds of Palpitation but if you can certainly discover the cause of the Disease you may observe the following Directions If it be Summer and you have reason to suspect that the Distemper proceeds from the excessive Heat of the Horse's Body let him Blood in the Neck-Vein and make him stand in Water up to the Neck for an Hour during which time you may prepare this Potion Take the Waters of Scorzonera Scabious Roses and bitter Succory as much of each as a common Drinking Glass will contain Cream or Crystal of Tartar in Powder one Ounce Syrup of the Juice of Sorrel or for want of that of Violets four Ounces Mix and make a Draught And you may give him an Ounce of Sal-Polychrest in a Quart of Wine and walk him an Hour or somewhat less according to his Strength and afterwards give him one of the following Clysters You may mix the Febrifuge describ'd in
the Hundred thirty sixth Chapter with his ordinary Drink A Clyster for the Palpitation of the Heart accompany'd with Heat Take an Ounce and a half of Sal-Polychrest in Powder with a sufficient quantity of the five softening Herbs the Roots of Sorrel and Bugloss the Seeds of Cucumbers Gourds Citruls and Melons grosly beaten and a small quantity of Anniseed Boil the Ingredients in Water to three Quarts add a quarter of a Pound of fresh Butter four Ounces of Powder-Sugar and half a Pound of Oil of Roses Mix and make a Clyster Another cooling Clyster Boil a sufficient quantity of the softening Herbs with two Ounces of Anniseeds in Powder for half a quarter of an Hour in the Whey of Cow's Milk to two Quarts and to the strain'd Liquor add the Yolks of six Eggs a quarter of a Pound of Butter half a Pound of Honey of Violets and an Ounce of Sal-Gemmae in Powder or for want of that of common Salt Make a Clyster If you perceive no sings of an excessive Heat in your Horse's Body or if he be seiz'd with the Distemper during the Winter you must not let him Blood unless there be a great Oppression For in that case you may open the Veins of the Thighs or that in the Brisket and prepare the following Potion Some of the Clysters and Potions prescrib'd for a Palpitation accompany'd with a violent Heat may serve to cool Horses that are over-heated tho' they be not troubl'd with a Palpitation but you must take care not to cool 'em immoderately I have often advertis'd the Reader that the Constitution of Horses is different from that of Men and you may conclude that their Condition does not require cooling Remedies when after the use of those Medicines the Hair begins to bristle and stare when they lose their Appetite or are seiz'd with a shivering Fit If any of these signs appear you must lay aside the use of cold Remedies and give 'em Cordial Powders or the following Cordial Potion A Cordial Potion for the Palpitation of the Heart Take Carduus Benedictus Sage and Rosemary of each half a handful boil 'em for half an Hour in a Pint and a half of Water to the consumption of half a Pint To the strain'd Liquor add of White-Wine one Pint Juniper-Berries round Birthwort Myrrh and shavings of Ivory of each one Dram Galingal Cinnamon and Cloves of each a Scruple Saffron six Grains all in fine Powder Make your Horse drink this Potion luke-warm then walk him half an Hour and two Hours after give him the above-mention'd Clyster for the dispelling of Wind. Continue in a diligent observance of this Method according to the varietie of Seasons and other Circumstances For his ordinary Food you may give him Bran Hay and Wheat-Bread The Distemper is sometimes very violent but rarely Mortal and Horses that are once seiz'd with it are usually subject to it afterwards CHAP. CXXXIV Of Fevers A Fever in Horses is a preternatural and unusual Heat in the Body proceeding from an Ebullition or violent Fermentation of the Humours which weakens the natural Heat and renders it unfit for the regular discharge of its Functions I cannot explain its nature better than by comparing it to the Ebullition of Wine in a Cask where that Liquor is agitated heated dilated and fermented and if it be straiten'd or have no vent it breaks impetuously thro' all obstacles spreads is Steams and Vapours all around and appears so troubl'd and muddy that we cannot discern the least drop of Wine in the Vessel But after these disorderly Motions all the Impurities that were contain'd in the Wine are separated the Lees fall to the bottom a sort of Scum floats on the top and the Concavity of the Vessel is cover'd with a crusty Substance This is the true Idea and representation of a Fever When an unusual Ebullition or Fermentation happens in the Mass of the Blood from what ever cause it proceeds the Blood is agitated and put into a disorderly Motion it swells and breaks out of the Vessels that are no longer able to contain it it acquires a Heat that is obvious to Sense and fills the whole Body with Steams and Vapours which stupifie the Head and the Mixture of it is so extreamly perverted that when you open a Vein that which runs out of it seems to be corrupt Matter rather than Blood When Nature gets the Victory over her Enemy she separates and expels the impure and superfluous Humours And 't is this struggle of Nature that occasions the burning Heat extream Thirst heaviness of the Body difficulty of Breathing excessive beating of the Arteries and Heart and all that numerous Train of Symptoms which usually accompany Fevers and discover the Nature of the Distemper ' Twou'd be an Undertaking of more Labour and Ostentation than Profit to engage in a long Dissertation concerning the Causes Differences and Effects of Fevers I am resolv'd neither to give my Reader nor my self so much Trouble since few Persons are willing to employ their Time in such nice Enquiries and perhaps their want of Curiosity in this Case ought not to be esteem'd a Fault But I shall omit nothing that may serve to promote the Cure of this dangerous and oftentimes fatal Disease Some pretend to discover by a diligent Observation of the Urine the Progress of Nature in her Conflict with the Distemper and the true State of the Body But this Method is hardly practicable in the Diseases of Horses by reason of the Difficulty of procuring their Urine to make Observations of that Nature The various Distinctions of Fevers into Quotidians Tertians Quartans c. are of no Use in this Case and therefore I shall only take Notice of three Kinds of ' em A simple Fever A Simple Fever is neither attended with a Putrefaction of the Humours nor with any considerable Disorder in the Parts of the Body It proceeds from a slight Ebullition of the over-heated Blood and is easily Cur'd by reason of the few Symptoms that accompany it 'T is frequently seated in the Substance of the Heart or in the Lungs Spleen Liver or Stomach It may be Cur'd without much Difficulty by a seasonable and methodical Application of convenient Remedies A putrid or humoral Fever The second kind is accompany'd with a Putrefaction of the Humours and with a remarkable Indisposition of some part of the Body either internal or external 'T is usually Mortal and since Horses are not very subject to Fevers we may reasonably conclude that so dangerous a kind of 'em proceeds from a violent Cause only it must be acknowledg'd that Beasts have this Advantage over Men that their Natural Appetites are less inordinate and their Food more simple and agreeable to Nature Besides their Brains are not disturb'd with Drinking and their Exercise contributes to the Preservation of their Health A pestilential Fever The pestilential Fever makes a prodigious Havock in a little time It overturns and destroys the Strength of
frequentlty This Medicine will purge the Brain and make him eat of his own Accord which is absolutely the best way of Feeding afterwards you may give him moisten'd Bran with Liver of Antimony in Powder which will infallibly restore his Appetite If his Aversion to his Meat continue you must have recourse to the Horn and give him cleans'd Barley without the Addition of Butter or Salt which will nourish and moisten his Body The Barley must be boil'd in Water for the space of five Hours over a gentle Fire then strain and mix it with a convenient quantity of Sugar Take a Pound and a quarter of Barley-flower well boulted and separated from the Bran boil it in two Quarts of Water to the Consistency of thick Broth then add two Ounces of Sugar and give it to your Horse luke-warm This Draught will serve to sustain him twenty four Hours at the end of which it may be repeated If the Violence of the Distemper be not abated you may bleed your Horse a second time The continu'd Use of Clysters and frequent rubbing of the Body are always very profitable in those Cases The Knowledge of the Cause is of very great Importance for the right Management of the Cure and therefore if the Fever be occasion'd by exposing your Horse to the Cold or Night-Air you must keep him cover'd rubb his Body frequently and continue the frequent Use of Clysters If the Distemper proceed from hard Labour and violent Exercise you must boil the Water that serves for his ordinary Drink and mix it with Barley Meal feeding him with Vine Leaves if they be in Season and if you can make him eat 'em without Reluctancy or with Panado or Bread bak'd with Sugar without Fat Butter or Salt If the Fever be caus'd by unwholsome Food 't will be convenient to repeat the Bleeding and to inject Clysters compos'd of a sufficient quantity of a Decoction of the softening Herbs with a Handful of Pigeon's Dung beaten small half a Pound of salt Butter and a Pint of Emetic Wine I have always observ'd the Efficacy of Emetic Wine in Clysters but you must take care not to abuse so useful a Remedy for since Fevers are very dangerous and oftentimes Fatal 't is the usual Custom to lay the Blame of the Horse's Death on the Medicines without taking notice of the Violence of the Distemper By this Method you may certainly cure any Fever that continues simple But these Distempers degenerate oftentimes to putrid Fevers CHAP. CXXXVI Of the Cure of Putrid Fevers THis Kind of Fever commonly attacks young Horses especially those who are vigorous and of a slender Make. It may be easily known by these Signs The sick Horse hangs his Head as if he were quite stupid is hardly able to keep his Eyes open and reels as he goes by reason of the Ascent of Vapours to the Brain his Tongue and Roof of his Mouth are blackish rough and dry there is a great Heat over all his Body his Eyes are red his Breath hot and sharp and his Flanks beat violently You must immediately let him blood sometimes in the Neck Temple or Eye-Veins and sometimes in the Brisket Flanks or Veins of the Thighs The Bleeding ventilates lessens the Redundancy and facilitates the Motion of the Humours It prevents the Breaking of the Vessels allays in some measure the Ebullition tempers the Heat and by taking away part of the Cause of the Distemper gives Nature an Opportunity to subdue the rest You must allow him no more Nourishment than is just sufficient to keep him from starving Green Barley Dandelion and the Tops of Vine Leaves are very proper in this Case or for want of these a little moisten'd Bran Bread and a very small quantity of Hay For his ordinary Drink boil two Ounces of white Tartar beaten to fine Powder in two Quarts of Water for a quarter of an Hour then pour the Decoction into a Pailful of Water with a Handful of Barley Flower and let him drink as much as he pleases You may also mix the following Febrifuge with his Drink which is an excellent and cheap Remedy A Febrifuge or Remedy to drive away Fevers Put a Quart of Water with two Ounces of Salt of Tartar in a Brazen Pot with a Cover and set it over the Fire till the Salt be dissolv'd then pour the Water into a Pail and after the same manner dissolve an Ounce of Sal Armoniac beaten to Powder in another Quart of Water Mix this last Solution with the former and fill up the Pail with common Water if your Horse refuse to drink it add a little Barley Flower to qualifie the unpleasant Taste This Drink will allay the Heat of the Fever quiet and stop the Fermentation and Ebullition of the Humours provoke Urine powerfully and wonderfully ease the sick Horse And therefore you must always pour a little of this Febrifuge into the Water you give him to drink neglecting the Use of Sal Prunellae since 't is not expedient to confound Remedies and the Febrifuge excels all the rest that can be prescrib'd Take Assa-faetida and Savin both in Powder of each half an Ounce tye 'em in a Bag to your Horse's Bit and never unbridle him unless when you think fit to suffer him to eat or drink There are no other internal Remedies useful in this Case but the Cordial Waters which by Virtue of their Essential Qualities strengthen the Heart and inable it to resist the Malignity of the unnatural Heat that opposes and endeavours to destroy that which is Natural and besides by reason of their Moisture they allay and temper that internal Heat which causes the Fever Take three Pints of the Waters of Scabious Carduus Benedictus Scorzonera and Queen of the Meadows with an Ounce of the Confection of Alkermes Make your Horse drink up the whole Mixture and repeat it the next Day if need require Above all you must continue and frequently repeat the use of Clysters injecting three or four every Day if there be occasion For there is no Remedy gives greater ease and relieves the Horse more effectually A Clyster for a Fever Boil two Ounces of the Scoriae of Liver of Antimony reduc'd to fine Powder in five Pints of Whey made of Cow's Milk and after two or three brisk waums remove the Decoction from the Fire and immediately add two Heads of Coloquintida slic'd small and after 't is half cold press out the Liquor add to the straining a quarter of a Pound of Butter and inject it luke-warm This Purgative Clyster will give ease to the Horse without heating his Body Yet it must not be us'd daily but that which follows may be repeated several times every Day Another Clyster for Fevers Take a sufficient quantity of the emollient or softening Herbs and Fennel-seed beaten with an Ounce and a half of Sal-Polychrest and two handfuls of whole Barley boil 'em and add to the strain'd Liquor Oil of Roses and Violets of each
four Ounces Benedicta Laxativa two Ounces or extracted Cassia three Ounces This Clyster evacuates the Impurities contain'd in the Intestines and comforts the superiour Parts You may also rub your Horse against the Hair to open the Pores and let out the Fuliginous Vapours contain'd under the Skin I have observ'd some Horses cur'd by the use of these Remedies and I have seen the same Medicines given to others without Success When the Fever continues three Days without intermission I lay aside the use of Remedies and immediately order the Horse to be thrown upon the Dunghil for I never observ'd in all my Practice that any Horse escap'd after that fatal Period tho' sometimes they linger out five or six Days longer because during the three Days of the uninterupted continuance of the Fever the Liver is quite burnt and consum'd by the violence of the Heat as it appears evidently by the Dissection of Horses that dye of a Fever CHAP. CXXXVII Of a Pestilential Fever THE Cure of this Fever is different from that of the last and is perform'd by strengthning Nature in correcting the malignity of the Poyson that causes the Disorder For the removal of the Cause is the most probable way to put an end to the Distemper For this purpose you must inject Clysters frequently and give repeated Doses of the Cordial Pills or the Electuary of Kermes observing almost the same Directions that are prescrib'd for the Cure of the Anticor I once observ'd a great Mortality of Horses in Germany few escaping that were once seiz'd with the Distemper Almost all of 'em voided a great quantity of Water at the Eyes they were troubl'd with a Fever and a strong Aversion to their Meat the tips of their Ears were cold and a certain yellow and greenish Matter dropt constantly from their Nose At first several Remedies were try'd in vain but at last I invented one that perform'd a great number of Cures As soon as the Disease appear'd the Horse was let Blood before he was suffer'd to Drink but if he had already Drunk the bleeding was delay'd till the next Day He was kept Bridl'd two or three Hours after then the following Remedy was exhibited after which he stood Bridl'd two Hours longer and a Man was order'd to walk him half an Hour Take new Treacle not above three Months old and Aloes Hepatica in Powder of each one Ounce Confection of Hyacinth and of Alkermes without Musk or Ambergreese of each half an Ounce dissolve 'em in a Decoction made with Scabious Carduus Benedictus and Speedwel of each a large handful 'T was observ'd that the Distill'd Waters of those Herbs when they cou'd be procur'd were more effectual than the Decoction The next and the following Days Clysters were Injected and if the violence of the Distemper did not abate the Remedy was repeated taking only one half of the prescrib'd Doses of the Treacle Aloes and Confections but the quantity of the Liquor was not lessen'd This Remedy cur'd all the Horses to whom it was exhibited but perhaps would not succeed so well on another occasion I order'd new Treacle to be us'd because that Medicine acquires a great deal of Heat by being long kept and all the cooling Virtue of the Opium that enters its Composition vanishes Mithridate Orvietan the Treacle Diatessaron the Electuary of Kermes the Confections of Hyacinth and Alkermes without Musk or Amber-greese are excellent Remedies against Pestilential Fevers as are also the Cordials describ'd above If the Disease be occasion'd by the Contagion of the Air as soon as you perceive your Stable to be infected remove instantly all your sound Horses without permiting 'em to enter into it again till you have perfum'd it with equal Parts of Sulphur and Salt-Petre and double quantities of Antimony and Pitch Or you may make an excellent Perfume by burning a Faggot of green Juniper-Wood the Doors and Windows being shut And you must also whiten the Walls wash the Rack and make the whole Stable clean For the biting of Venemous Beasts you may consult the Hundred and thirteenth Chapter If your Horse has swallow'd Poyson make him drink a great quantity of Oil and give him Orvietan Treacle or the Electuary of Kermes and the Cordial Pills are also proper in this case When a Horse happens to swallow Arsenic if his Stomach be void 't is impossible to prevent his Death if he be not assisted in less than an Hour for during that time the Arsenic is able to burn and utterly consume the Part to which it sticks The only Remedy in this case is to make him Drink two Pounds of good Oil-Olive to blunt and deaden the Acrimony of the Arsenic and two or three Hours after give him another Pound of the same Oil. Of the Method to be observ'd after a Horse's Recovery from a Fever When a Fever actually prevails you must not exhibit a Purgative Remedy for that wou'd be a no less preposterous attempt than if you shou'd endeavour to separate the Lees from the Wine during its Fermentation There are only two cases in which a Purging Remedy can be administer'd with safety or success in a Fever In the first place it may be given for the evacuation of corrupt Humours floating in the Stomach and Guts and it must be acknowledg'd that the removal of those Humours wou'd be advantagious to the Horse But since they are not the cause of the Disease that advantage wou'd be very inconsiderable with respect to the damage which Nature cou'd not avoid receiving by the heat and acrimony of the Remedy and by the violent and unusual Motion excited by it The other case in which Purgation is not only useful but necessary is when Nature after the agitation of the Humours during the Fever separates the corrupt from the pure Humours for she is often so weaken'd and render'd so lazy by the violence of her late Conflict that she contents her self with the Victory she has gain'd and is either unable or unwilling to attempt the utter overthrow and expulsion of her Enemy who seems to be perfectly quieted but may afterwards return to the assault with a more dangerous Fury than before As soon therefore as you perceive a remission or cessation of Arms you must take hold of that occasion to assist Nature to compleat the ruine of her Adversary 'T is true Purgatives are repugnant rather than agreeable to Nature but 't is certain she receives an accidental benefit by 'em for when they are in the Body they irritate and offend he Parts thro' which they pass and Nature perceiving those new Commotions endeavours to expel the cause of 'em and in the struggle drives forth the remainders of the Humours that not long before had almost overwhelm'd her as if the Operation of the Medicine had rouz'd her and put her in mind of her Duty You must not wait for the Marks of the Concoction and separation of the Humours from the Urine or Excrements of
Horses For 't is impossible to perceive the least sign of Nature's Victory in 'em But you may confidently and safely proceed to the use of Purgatives as soon as you see the Tempest succeeded by a Calm In the mean time 't will be convenient to administer cooling Remedies for some Days such as Sal-Polychrest in Wine to extinguish the latent Fire that lies bury'd in the Embers after the Flame is seemingly quench'd and to recruit the Horse's strength by a good and wholsome but spare Diet for 't is a dangerous Error to imagine that the abundance or large quantity of Nourishment repairs the decay'd Vigour of the Horse's Body For if the Stomach be over-loaded with Food it cannot duly perform the work of Digestion without which the Aliments are not only useless but very hurtful After you have spent some time in endeavouring to strengthen and cherish Nature you may give such a Purging Remedy as you have reason to believe is least apt to disturb her There is a great variety of those Medicines but we shou'd be taught by Experience to reject those that are usually observ'd to occasion Disorders in the Body and to make use of such as are most likely to answer your Design and Expectation 'T is in my Opinion a very hard Task to discover the peculiar Nature and Properties of the offending Humour and to choose Specific Remedies for the evacuation of Choler Flegm or any other particular Humour Sal-Polychrest purges gently and almost insensibly And I have successfully us'd the following Remedy which I recommend as one of the best and most effectual Medicines that can be propos'd in this case A Purging Remedy for a Horse after his Recovery from a Fever and generally in all other Cases Take Powder of white Tartar and fine Nitre of each two Ounces put 'em in an Earthen Dish and kindle 'em with a live Coal After the Matter is sufficiently burnt and cold beat it to a fine Powder put it into a Quart of Water with a like quantity of White-Wine and four Ounces of Sena and let 'em stand all Night in a cold Infusion Take of fine Powder of Scammony half an Ounce for an ordinary Horse or five Drams for one of a very large size incorporate it in a Mortar with half a Pound of Honey prepar'd with the Herb Mercury Then pour on your strain'd Infusion stiring it gently with the Honey and Scammony with the Pestle and give the whole quantity to your Horse keeping him Bridl'd four Hours before and three Hours after Give him moisten'd Bran instead of Oats and twenty four Hours after walk him gently for the space of an Hour to facilitate the Operation of the Medicine 'T is a peculiar Excellency of this Remedy that it Purges effectually without heating the Body For tho' Infusions are generally free from the excessive heat of Medicines even in Substance they rarely procure a plentiful Evacuation But this Remedy operates powerfully tho' the Sena be not given in Powder for the Scammony and Honey of Mercury produce the desir'd effect because the Salt of Tartar opens the Body of the Sena and enables the Decoction to extract its essential Salt in which its Purgative quality is lodg'd This Medicine may be safely administer'd to Horses of a hot and fiery Constitution when they are extreamly fatigu'd with violent Exercise and on all other occasions when they stand in need of Purgation without any danger of heating and inflaming their Bodies CHAP. CXXXVIII An excellent Catholicum for Clysters TAke of the Roots of Flower de Luce of Florence half a Pound Sena fine Aloes and Hermodactyls of each four Ounces black and white Hellebor of each two Ounces Indian Pine-Nuts an Ounce Beat all the Ingredients to a gross Powder and put 'em into a large Pot with three Quarts of Water an Ounce of Spirit of Vitriol and four Ounces of Sal-Prunellae in Powder let 'em stand in a cold Infusion three Days and as many Nights stirring 'em from time to time then strain out the Liquor thro' a very thick Canvas-Bag and evaporate it with a gentle Heat over a clear Fire till there be about a Quart remaining to which add a Pound and half of good common Honey and boil it to the thickness of a Syrup then put in Jalap and Turbith of each four Ounces Coloquintida and Gum-Gotte of each two Ounces Scammony one Ounce green Anniseed and Fennel-seed of each two Ounces all beaten to a fine Powder and well sears'd Boil to the thickness of an Electuary stirring perpetually The Dose is from three Ounces to three Ounces and a half dissolv'd in any of the usual Decoctions for a Clyster without Honey Oil or any other addition It operates very effectually and is an universal Purger of all bad and corrupt Humours I must acknowledge that I cou'd never yet administer a Purging Remedy without dreading the event even after a hundred successful Tryals For certainly the Motion occasion'd by those Remedies is contrary and even oftentimes destructive to Nature and there are so many Aspects and Oppositions of the Stars that may occasion great Disorders after the use of those Remedies that I never give 'em without an absolute necessity And it has been frequently observ'd that for want of a regular Preparation of the Horse's Body or perhaps of a due observation of the Heavens several Horses have been Founder'd and even kill'd by Remedies that have been given with success a hundred times before But since according to the usual Proverb Necessity knows no Law we are sometimes oblig'd to break thro' all those Considerations choosing the least dangerous Medicines and observing all possible Precautions Nevertheless Clysters are safe and gentle Remedies for the most powerful Purgatives perform their Operation without the least disturbance when they are injected at the Fundament And this is a true Catholicum that is an universal Remedy fit or rather necessary for all those that go to the Army where many Horses perish for want of a duly prepar'd Clyster CHAP. CXXXIX Of the Farcin THE Farcin is a Swelling that frequently appears with an Ulcer caus'd by the corruption of the Blood and that by a certain Poyson which is more or less Malignant and consequently makes the Horse's condition either hopeful or altogether desperate When any Part that is necessary or of considerable use and importance for the regular performance of the Vital Functions fails in the discharge of its Office by reason of some defect in its Temperament Figure or Contexture the economy or disposition of the Body must unavoidably suffer a great and dangerous alteration If the Part be necessary for Sanguification the mixture of the Blood is disturb'd and perverted and according to the vitiated constitution of the Part affected it receives a noxious Impression and oftentimes acquires an acid hot and corrosive quality that eats and consumes the Parts where it stagnates as it appears evidently in the Farcin which spreads almost over the whole
is the true Method of curing the Farcin by purifying the Blood destroying the Poyson and strengthning Nature Another easie Method Bleed your Horse abundantly and give him every Morning three Pints of Emetic Wine or Beer which some Horses will drink like Water for it tastes only of the Wine Continue the use of this Wine or Beer till your Horse be sound This is a very convenient Remedy in those Countries where Wine is cheap and for those that have Horses that drink Wine since the making it Emetic costs little or nothing and the same may be said of the Beer The Horse must eat nothing but Bran and may be moderately ridden When the Knots break strew 'em with Powder of Sublimate Hellebor Roots or apply a Caustic If your Horses Legs be swoll'n you may chafe 'em with the following Ointment If he refuse to drink the Emetic Wine or Beer pour it down his Throat with a Horn and make him fast about two Hours before and after These Methods of Cure are in my Opinion to be preferr'd before giving the Fire But for the satisfaction of several Persons who are fond of that Operation I shall briefly show the manner of performing it CHAP. CXLII To cure the Farcin by giving the Fire IF this Operation be accompany'd with good inward Remedies it may be administer'd with good Success for the cure of the Farcin To proceed methodically in the beginning of the Disease you must surround the Knots with a Line drawn with a hot Iron without piercing the Skin which frequently puts a stop to the Farcin As soon as you perceive that the Knots are full of Matter I mean such as are capable of Suppuration open 'em boldly with a red-hot Iron wheresoever they are seated not excepting even the Hough nor the Master-Sinew of the Fore-Leg For if you thrust in your Instrument no farther than till it reach the Matter you can never do the least Injury to the Part but only assist Nature to expel what offends her And the opening of the Tumour prevents those Disorders that might have been occasion'd if the Matter had been longer retain'd As soon as you have surrounded and stop'd the Cords and Knots with the Rases of Fire open a Vein taking away a great quantity of Blood and give your Horse a Purging Medicine mixt with Mercurius Dulcis or Cinnabar If afterwards new Knots appear you must let 'em ripen and if they will not come to Suppuration burn 'em with a red-hot Iron When the Scab falls off if new pieces of Flesh spring up like Mushrooms 't is a certain sign of the danger of the Distemper and difficulty of the Cure and the Flesh must be consum'd either by a repeated Application of the red-hot Iron or of one of the following Caustics When you have burnt the Knots or Swellings that come to Suppuration you must wash 'em every Day after the Scab is fall'n off with Urine and dress 'em with the Ointment of Portugal The Ointment of Portugal for Farcin-Knots Take Verdigrease and Realgar of each one Ounce Arsenic two Ounces Camphire two Drams beat the Arsenic Camphire and Verdigrease severally to a very fine Powder then mix 'em together pouring on six Ounces of Oil by degrees and incorporate 'em with the Pestle after which add the Ounce of Realgar in fine Powder Mix and make a Liquid Ointment having cleans'd the Sores and even wash'd 'em with the Second Water or hot Urine if you think fit Anoint 'em every Day with a Pensil made of Hog's Bristles dipt in the Ointment till they be dry'd up Several Horses have been cur'd by this Ointment without giving the Fire or using any other Remedy but Bleeding It serves also to cleanse and dry the Sores after the Escar occasion'd by giving the Fire is fall'n off Bleeding is useful in the beginning and end but not in the middle of the Cure After you have burnt several Knots if you find that there are some of 'em situated where you cannot safely give the Fire you may apply Caustics which will produce the same effect A Cautery or Caustic Take Powder of Sublimate mixt with Spirit of Wine and apply it to the Part where you wou'd raise an Escar Four or five Days after anoint it with Basilicum to hasten the falling away of the Escar Another Take Corrosive Sublimate and Red Precipitate of each half an Ounce Verdigrease and Vitriol of each an Ounce Powder of Cantharides half an Ounce Arsenic an Ounce incorporate 'em with four or if you wou'd have a gentler Caustic with eight Ounces of Basilicum This Caustic burns the Part to which 't is apply'd in twenty four Hours and the Scab or Escar falls off three or four Days after There are a hundred several sorts of Caustics The Caustic-Stones that are sold by Apothecaries produce the same effect but they are not strong enough for Horses In the Composition of a Caustic we must not only regard the raising of a large Scab but endeavour to prevent the Swelling Heat and other Disorders that are the usual and inconvenient effects of the ill-proportion'd Doses of the Ingredients The following Ointment raises a sufficient Escar without any considerable Swelling or Inflammation The Ointment of Naples which alone Cures the Farcin Take Realgar and Sublimate of each two Ounces Arsenic and Euphorbium of each one Ounce beat 'em to fine Powder and incorporate 'em without Heat with half a Pound of pure Oil of Bay not mixt with half the quantity of Grease as 't is Sold in many Shops at Paris Keep the Ointment in a glaz'd Pot and when you have occasion to use it open the Knots or Swellings with a Lancet and put into the Hole a little Cotton dipt in this Ointment without heating it in the least The next Day if you perceive that 't is fall'n away you must put in a little Cotton with some fresh Ointment but if it stick one Application will suffice This Ointment is also good for Warts Quitter-bones and in all cases that require the raising of an Escar An Italian Groom who communicated to me the description of this Ointment as a great Secret cur'd many Horses of the Farcin without applying any other Remedy I have seen with Amazement the unexpected Cures he perform'd before he imparted his Medicine to me and I Religiously observ'd the Promise I made him never to publish it during his Life CHAP. CXLIII The Remedy of a German Farrier for the Farcin 'T IS a very considerable conveniency to be furnish'd with variety of Remedies for dangerous Distempers for some Medicines are not duly Prepar'd and others that cannot be accus'd of that defect are nevertheless found to be ineffectual and besides every one may gratifie his Inclination in the choice of a Remedy among so great a number Whatever Method you follow in the Cure of the Farcin you must always observe the above-mention'd Directions concerning your Horse's Diet You must also Bleed him and Purge him too if
you think fit but whether you purge or not you must begin with Bleeding Then Take Sarsaparilla and China-Roots cut small of each three Ounces Roots of Avens two Ounces Leaves of Agrimony two large handfuls Scordium a handful and a half boil 'em gently in four Quarts of Water to a Quart and a half in a cover'd Vessel then strain and adding a Pint of White-Wine make a Decoction for five Doses to be given five Mornings together adding to every Dose an ordinary Glass-full of Urine Substance in the Top and in the Neck of the Vial. Thus you have a sweet Sublimate which if it be rightly prepar'd will not discover the least Acrimony when you touch it with your Tongue for all the sharp and biting Salts that made the first Sublimate corrosive are evaporated thro' the Neck of the Vial which must be always kept open during the Sublimation and even part of the first Corrosive Sublimate is carry'd off with the Salts so that there remains only the sweet Sublimate or Mercury which may be kept for several Uses 'T is to be observ'd that all the Preparations of Mercury may be reviv'd and restor'd to their natural Form and Fluidity with Filings of Steel or unslak'd Lime which by the Assistance of the Fire attract and retain all the Spirits that kept the Mercury in a manner imprison'd in so many various Forms according to the Diversity of the Preparations for several Uses Thus Cinnabar which is only Mercury sublim'd with Sulphur may be reduc'd to fluid Quick-silver with Filings of Steel and the same may be said of all the other Preparations of Mercury such as the Precipitates Turbith Mineral c. CHAP. CXLIV Remedies for the Farcin that resembles a Hen's Fundament THE Humour that foments this Kind of Farcin partakes so much of Melancholy that the Knots are seldom or never brought to Suppuration sending forth a sort of foul and proud Flesh that can hardly be curb'd or extirpated by Remedies The Difficulty of the Cure ought to heighten our Diligence and convince us of the Necessity of using the most potent Remedies to expel the Cause of the Distemper such as these that follow Since black Hellebore is one of the principal and most effectual Remedies for the Cure of this Disease great Care shou'd be taken to correct its ill Qualities by an exact Preparation Take a sufficient quantity of the Roots of true black Hellebore wash'd and dry'd infuse 'em twenty four Hours in Vinegar of Roses and throwing away the Vinegar dry the Roots at a very gentle Fire Pills for the Farcin Take Sena Leaves and Salt of Tartar of each an Ounce Turbith Aloes and Mercurius dulcis of each half an Ounce black Hellebore prepar'd three Drams Rhubarb two Drams Ginger and Nutmegs of each a Dram and a half Anniseed and Fennelseed of each half a Dram Beat all the Ingredients to a gross Powder and with a Pound of fresh Butter make 'em up into Pills keep your Horse bridl'd six Hours before and as long after and assoon as he has taken the Pills walk him gently for the space of half an Hour well cover'd Note That you must bleed your Horse the day before you give him the Pills You may purge a Horse for the Farcin with two Ounces of the Catholic or Imperial Pills of Fernelius mix'd with half an Ounce of Mercurius dulcis made up into one or two Pills and exhibited in a Pint of White-Wine As soon as you perceive that your Horse has recover'd a good Appetite and that the Operation of the Purgative is over give him the following Ptisan CHAP. CXLV The German Ptisan for the Cure of the Farcin TAke the dry Roots of Angelica Gentian Valerian Avens round Birthwort and Marsh-Mallows of each an Ounce and a half or a double quantity of the green Roots Leaves of Agrimony two Handfuls Beat the Roots grossly boil all the Ingredients in a close-cover'd Pot in three Quarts of Water to the Consumption of one half Then press out the Liquor thro' a Linnen-Cloth and add to the Straining before it grow cold half an Ounce of Juice of Liquorice and White Wine an equal quantity to the whole Decoction and afterwards add two Pugils of Oriental Saffron in Powder Three Days after the Purgation when the Evacuation is over and the Horse's Appetite restor'd let him stand bridl'd from Five a Clock in the Morning to Eight then give him the fifth Part of the Decoction keeping him bridl'd three Hours after Repeat the Decoction after the same Manner for five Days together If his Appetite be not fully restor'd in the limited time after the Purgation you must wait four five or six Days till you are convinc'd that he feeds as heartily as he did before you gave him the purging Medicine During the time of his taking the Decoction if the Weather be not too hot walk him gently half an Hour every Day after Dinner These five Doses of the Decoction are usually sufficient for perfecting the Cure without any other Remedy and the Cords Knots and Tumours are heal'd and dry'd up Moderate Exercise is convenient in the beginning but afterwards you may travel him as if he were perfectly sound If you perceive new Knots to arise at the first New Moon you may conclude that the Disease is not perfectly extirpated and therefore you must prepare and exhibit the Ptisan as before but without Bleeding or Purging If the Tumours break forth again the Case is altogether desperate for it has been frequently observ'd that when the Farcin is inveterate and has long resisted the Efficacy of the best Remedies especially when corrupt Flesh breaks out of the Tumours instead of Matter that the Malignity of the burnt and corrupted Blood has so heated the Substance of the Lungs that there are Ulcers generated in several parts of 'em And therefore since 't is impossible to restore a consum'd Part those Ulcers that waste the Lungs are the infallible Messengers of Death The Truth of this Observation is confirm'd beyond Contradiction by the Diffections of those Horses that die of the Farcin for their Lungs are almost always found to be corrupted and putrefy'd and sometimes the Liver is over-spread with Ulcers and part of it wasted and turn'd to Putrefaction Now I wou'd willingly know of those confident Pretenders to infallible Secrets for the Farcin whether their Remedies are able to restore a rotten and wasted Liver If not 't is in vain to expect the Horse's Recovery for the putrefy'd Liver will still continue to vitiate the Blood and hinder the Cure of the Farcin which is occasion'd by the Corruption of the Blood How ridiculously do those Boasters betray their Ignorance for want of Experience Since all that the most skilful and expert Farrier can promise in this Case is That he will cure the Farcin if it be curable for sometimes the Liver is ulcerated at the first Appearance of the Distemper and is the very Cause of the Disease in
which Case 't is certainly incurable And I have already intimated that an inveterate Farcin may infect and waste the Substance of the Lungs And how a Remedy apply'd to the Fore-head put into the Ear hung at the Tail or Mane or Ointments spread on the Knots can heal an Ulcer in the Lungs I confess is very much above my Capacity to comprehend Only thus much I know and dare confidently maintain That so long as those Ulcers remain the Farcin that is caus'd and fomented by 'em must necessarily subsist From what has been said I may reasonably conclude That those Infallible Gentlemen are very little acquainted with the Nature of the Disease they pretend to cure and perhaps never made an Experiment of the Virtue of their Remedies The Farcin seems to have a very near Resemblance to the French Pox Leprosie and King's Evil. CHAP. CXLVI Of an inveterate Farcin YOU will sometimes meet with Farcins of so long a standing and so deeply rooted that the Cure is extremely difficult and even sometimes impracticable if the Substance of the Liver or Lungs be wasted and corrupted But since 't is impossible to divine whether those Parts be infected 't wou'd be a very unreasonable Inference from what I have said on this Subject to pretend that when a Horse is troubl'd with an inveterate Farcin he must be suffer'd to perish without Assistance And besides these Parts are oftentimes only heated dryed or so slightly ulcerated that they may be easily heal'd and restor'd to their wonted Temperament by the Use of convenient Remedies But I shall never advise any Man whatever Tryal he may have made of his Remedy to promise the Cure of an inveterate Farcin when the Knots send forth great Pieces of Flesh like large Mushrooms especially after an unsuccessful Application of other Remedies For such Attempts are oftentimes attended with Shame instead of Honour and Success especially when the Farcin is accompany'd with a Running at the Nose or seizes on the Kernels as it happens frequently in inveterate Farcins which degenerate into the Glanders according to the Vulgar Saying That the Farcin is Cousin-German to the Glanders Before you proceed to the Application of Remedies you may try this easie Experiment Spread about two Ounces of Assa-foetida on a Stick and wrapping a Cloth about it put it into the Horse's Mouth and make him champ upon it twenty four Hours together without suffering him to eat or drink all the while This will draw forth a prodigious Quantity of filthy Humours and if the Lungs be not consum'd or the Liver ulcerated perhaps the Horse will recover You must not be afraid of the seeming Violence of the Remedy for a Horse may fast twenty four Hours without any Danger Neither do I blame the Custom of those who put a second Stick with fresh Assa-foetida into the Horse's Mouth after twelve Hours The Decoctions of Guaiacum Sassafras Sarsaparilla and China Roots are very proper on this Occasion and may be given every Morning for seven or eight Days before Purgation For Example If the Horse's Body be full of raw tough and viscous Humours to which Inconveniency fleshy Horses are very subject the Decoction of Guaiacum will cut attenuate and prepare the Humours to be expell'd by Nature or evacuated by a Purging Remedy If the Horse be Lean and Dry full of Hot and Choleric or Melancholic Humours the Decoction of China will prepare 'em without augmenting their Heat for it may be conveniently given in a Consumption and ill Habit of Body The Decoction of Sarsaparilla is of a middle Nature between the other two The Decoction of Guaiacum is proper for those thick and bulky Dutch Horses that are over-loaded with Flesh and full of Moisture and running or watery Sores The Decoction of Guaiacum Infuse ten Ounces of the Shavings of Guaiacum Wood or for want of that of Box Wood in nine Pints of Water and after they have stood twelve Hours in Infusion on hot Ashes Boil 'em with a gentle Heat in a cover'd Vessel to the Consumption of the third Part of the Water Then strain out the Liquor and give your Horse a Quart every Day for eight Days together keeping him bridl'd three Hours before and three Hours after every Dose You may Purge him afterwards with one of the above-mention'd Remedies The Decoction of China Take four Ounces of the Roots of China cut very small put 'em into a large Glass-Bottle well stopp'd with nine Pints of Water and after they have stood fifteen Hours in Infusion boil 'em over a gentle Fire to the Consumption of one half taking care to prevent the Evaporation of the thinner Parts of the Medicine Then strain out the Liquor and give your Horse a third part of it every Morning keeping him Bridl'd two Hours before and as long after This Decoction must be drunk luke-warm and prepar'd every three Days because 't is apt to turn sowre After eight Doses 't will be convenient to exhibit a Purging Remedy The Decoction of Sarsaparilla This Decoction is prepar'd like that of China only the quantity must be larger because 't is adapted for the Preparation of thicker Humours For Example instead of four Ounces of China you must take six of Sarsaparilla Continue the use of this Decoction six or eight Days to prepare the Humours that cause and foment the Farcin and to purifie the Blood After such a Preparation the Purging Remedy operates more effectually and procures a more plentiful Evacuation whereas the Purgatives that are given without any Preparation or consist of ill chosen Ingredients increase the Distemper instead of abating it and even augment its Malignity After Purgation repeat the Decoctions to dry the habit of the Body and to drain the source of those Malignant Humours that foment the Disease This Method is also very proper for Coach-Horses that are troubl'd with the Pains or filthy Sores in their Legs for otherwise 't is hardly possible to stop the course of the Humours and dry up the source of those noisome Ulcers since they usually break forth again three Months after they are dry'd up and at last are succeeded by hard Swellings like Warts which render the Disease incurable To prevent those dangerous Relapses while your Horse is Young after you have observ'd twice or thrice his Legs to be over-run with Sores you must take two Pound of Blood from him then give him the Decoctions of Guaiacum or for want of that of Box-Wood and afterwards purge him and dry up those watry Humours If the Sores break forth again make him drink the Decoction ten Days then purge him and after the Evacuation is ceas'd and his Appetite perfectly restor'd give him the Decoction for ten Days longer which in all probability will put a final stop to the course of the Humours Instead of the Decoctions of Guaiacum China and Sarsaparilla you may exhibit two Ounces of the Powder of either of the three in a Quart of White-Wine and observe the
Hoofs were not loosen'd shou'd never turn away a Customer since 't is folly to endeavour to make him fit for any thing but the Plow unless you resolve to bestow more upon the Cure than the worth of the Horse ever did or will amount to A Horse that is quite Founder'd can neither walk forwards nor backwards he cannot without extream difficulty move his Legs he is scarce able to put his Feet to the Ground either absolutely forsakes his Meat or at best eats very little he is Hide-bound and dull and oftentimes all these accidents are accompany'd with a great Palpitation or beating of the Heart and Flanks Some Horses are only Founder'd in the Fore-Legs But they are certainly in a very dangerous Condition that are Founder'd both before and behind A Remedy for Foundering You must endeavour to hinder the Humours that are spread thro' the Sinews of the Legs from falling upon the Feet for that Defluxion either loosens the Hoof spoils the Bone of the Foot or makes the Feet irrecoverably Feeble and Lame Farriers pretend to prevent the falling of the Humours on the Feet by binding a sort of Garters very streight about the Legs above the Knees and the Houghs But this is so pernicious an Invention and so contrary to reason and good Sence that the most skilful Farriers have entirely laid aside the use of it This Ligature draws the Humour to the Legs instead of diverting it from ' em For 't is the usual Custom to bind a Man's Arm above the Elbow to make the Vein swell when there is occasion to let him Blood and even the whole Arm swells when the Ligature is too streight and the same effect is produc'd by the Garters that are ty'd about a Horse's Legs besides the Pain that is already so violent is encreas'd by the Ligature Nor are the Consequences less dangerous of another absurd practice of Farriers in this case who force the poor tormented Horse to walk tho' he can hardly stir a Leg without suffering such intolerable Pain as wou'd doubtless make him Founder'd if he were not so before To proceed Methodically in the Cure of so dangerous a Distemper you must in the first place bleed your Horse in the Neck receive his Blood in an Earthen Pot and mixing a Pint of Brandy with it Charge his whole Legs to the Hough Then pour boiling Oil of Bay into his Feet with Flax and Splents to keep it in applying the same round the Cronet with Flax and a convenient Bandage Half an Hour after give him two Ounces of good Treacle and four Ounces of Salt of Tartar in a Quart of White or for want of that Red Wine keeping him Bridl'd two Hours without stirring from the place Then give him a Clyster with two Ounces of Sal-Bolychrest and two Hours after another Unbridle him an Hour after the last Clyster giving him Bran and Straw to eat and the White-Water to Drink and suffer him not to lye down for the space of forty eight Hours Renew the Application of Oil of Bay to his Feet every eight or ten Hours and if he be not sound the next Day repeat the Potion and Clysters but not the Bleeding The Moors and Turks that inhabit Barbary bleed their Founder'd Horses and give 'em a Pint of the Juice of white Onions mixt with a little Juice of Garlic repeating the same two Days after This is a good Remedy but not so effectual in this Country Other Remedies for Founder'd Horses Assoon as you perceive your Horse to be founder'd bring him to the Bank of a River and open his Neck-Vein slack'ning the Cord that he may not bleed then lead him into the Water up to the middle of the Belly and tye the Cord till the Blood come forth slackening it again after you have taken away about four Pounds of Blood and keeping him in the Water half an Hour after the Blood is stopp'd Assoon as he comes into the Stable stuff his Fore-Feet with boil'd Barley apply'd hot with Splints to keep it in and make him drink the following Potion Take six large white Onions cut into slices and boil 'em a quarter of an Hour in two Pints and a half of Wine then strain out the Liquor squeezing the Onions very hard add two Ounces of Assa-foetida in Powder and make your Horse drink the whole An Hour after give him this Clyster Boil two Ounces of the Scoriae of Liver of Antimony reduc'd to fine Powder in five Pints of Beer and after one Waum remove the Vessel from the Fire and dissolving the quantity of an Egg of fresh Butter in the Liquor make a Clyster to be injected luke-warm Let your Horse stand bridl'd an Hour after he has voided the Clyster and then give him another of the same stopping his Feet with fresh Barley as before Then unbridle him giving him moisten'd Bran and Straw to eat and the white Water to drink Litter him well and suffer him not to lie down for the space of two Days Afterwards repeat the Clysters and renew the Application of hot Barley to his Feet from time to time Or proceed as follows Bleed your Horse in the Neck-Vein charge his Shoulders and Legs with his own Blood and half an Hour after make him drink a Quart of Water with two Pounds of Salt An Hour after give him a Clyster and stop his Fore-feet with Pidgeon's-Dung fry'd with Oil of Walnuts and apply it hot not only to his Feet but also about the Cronet with Tow and a convenient Bandage If the Horse be not cur'd the next Day repeat the Potion and above all inject Clysters frequently and renew the astringent Application both within his Feet and about the Cronet The following Method has been frequently try'd with Success Bleed your Horse plentifully in the Neck and rub his Fore-Legs very hard with strong Vinegar mixt with a large quantity of Salt for the space of half an Hour Then wash the menstruous parts of one or two Smocks which may be easily procur'd among the Landresses at Paris with three Pints of Wine and dissolving in the same Wine the Excrements voided at one time by a Child of six or seven Years of Age make your Horse drink the whole and two Hours after give him a Clyster of Sal Polychrest stuffing his Feet with boiling Oil of Walnuts bound up with Flax and Splints and applying a restringent Charge about the Cronet After he has stood bridl'd two Hours give him another Clyster and assoon as that is voided unbridle him that he may eat and drink but you must not suffer him to lie down for the space of forty eight Hours Continue to inject Clysters as long as he is troubl'd with a Beating in his Flanks and renew the Application both of the hot Oil and of the restringent Charge Before all other Remedies I think my self oblig'd to prefer the Stinking Pills which I use after this manner I order the Horse to be let blood all his four Legs
too great a Heat in the Body without causing a plentiful Evacuation And therefore you may content your self with observing his Method of Bleeding and administer one of the Purging Medicines prescrib'd in the Cure of the Farcin which I only use in this case After Bleeding and Purgation repeated if need require give your Horse two or three Doses of the Cinnabar Pills two Pills for a Dose This Medicine purifies the Blood and expels the malignant serous Humours so that afterwards you may easily Cure the Mange with any common Ointment If your Horse be seiz'd with this Distemper in the Spring or about the end of the Winter after you have bled him plentifully in the Neck turn him out to Grass letting him run Night and Day in the open Fields If he continue still Mangy you must have recourse to the Ointments which you will find afterwards describ'd but Grass is certainly one of the best Remedies for the Mange If your Horse grow Mangy in the Summer you must take away a large quantity of Blood and then give him moisten'd Bran for without necessity he ought not to eat Oats mixt with convenient Herbs chop'd small Thus you may give him Scabious sharp pointed Dock Fumitory and Wild-Succory of each one handful and half an Ounce of Brimstone well mixt with his Bran every Morning and Evening for eight Days together If the Mange appear in the Winter take the Roots of the same Herbs If he will not eat 'em make a Decoction of the Herbs or Roots in three Pints of White-Wine and pouring off a Quart of it add an Ounce of Brimstone in Powder and make him drink it in the Morning keeping him bridl'd two Hours before and as long after This Decoction prepares the corrupt Humours that are in the Body for Evacuation If you have not the conveniency to put your Horse to Grass in the Spring or if he have too strong an aversion to the Cinnabar Pills you must first bleed and purge him and afterwards give him every Day two Ounces of Liver of Antimony in Powder mixt with moisten'd Bran. This Remedy will drive all Impurities out of the Body and afterwards the least Ointment Balls or Compound Water will suffice to dry up the Mange The Golden Sulphur of Antimony describ'd in Chap. CXXIX will produce the same effect if it be given for fifteen Days together These Remedies cure the Mange radically in any season of the Year but not so easily in Winter as in Summer Purging Pills for the Mange Take common Turpentine one Pound Aloes and Sena beaten to a gross Powder of each an Ounce Agaric and black Hellebor wash'd in Vinegar of each two Drams Hermodactyls five Drams Cinnabar an Ounce Reduce all the dry Ingredients to a gross Powder and make 'em up into Pills with the Turpentine If the Mass be not of a sufficient consistency you may thicken it with Barley-Flower and roll the Pills on the same Flower that they may not stick to your Fingers when you thrust 'em into the Horse's Mouth as other Pills are usually given in a Pint of White-Wine These Pills provoke Urine powerfully and therefore ought not to be given to very lean Horses in which case you may prepare the following Drench A Drench or Potion for the Mange Take of Sal-Prunellae one Ounce Tamarinds four Ounces Polypody beaten two Ounces Anniseeds half an Ounce and six Cloves Infuse 'em all Night in three Pints of Whey boil 'em in the Morning and after six or seven waums strain out the Liquor then add while the straining is yet hot Juice of Liquorice half an Ounce Sena one Ounce Agaric and Coloquintida of each two Drams Mechoacan and Turbith of each half an Ounce Pulp of Cassia two Ounces Mix all these Ingredients in Substance with the Straining and give the Potion to your Horse in the Morning keeping him Bridl'd five Hours before and four after If the Preparation of the Ingredients seem too troublesome you may give the Purgative prescrib'd for Horses after their recovery from a Fever in Chap. CXXXVII for 't is always an excellent Remedy in this case Suffer your Horse to rest one Day after the operation of the Purgative is over and then procceed to the use of the following Bath A Bath for the Mange Take a large Pot full of good Lye made of the Ashes of the Green-Wood and strain'd thro' a Linnen-Cloth a sufficient quantity of green Broom-Tops Roots of sharp-pointed Dock greater Celandine of each one handful Roots of white Hellebor half a Pound boil 'em all together and having chaf'd the Mangy Places till they grow hot wash 'em with this Decoction and rub 'em with the hot Herbs and Roots continually after the same manner for five or six Days You may also make a Bath thus Boil a large quantity of wild Hellebor cut into pieces about the length of your Finger in a strong Lye for the space of an Hour and wash the infected places with the Decoction once every Day for five or six Days together For you will seldom meet with a Mange so inveterate and deeply rooted that will not yield to this Remedy But 't is always to be observ'd that such Applications are to be preceeded by Bleeding and Purgation Another Bath and Water for the Mange in Horses and Dogs Take half a Pound of true Brasil-Tobacco untwist it as if it had never been made up into Rowls infuse it twenty four Hours in a Gallon of very strong Vinegar with a handful of Salt and afterwards boil about half a quarter of an Hour Rub the Mangy places with a Wisp bathe 'em with this Decoction warm once a Day and the Horse will certainly recover When the Liquor begins to fail put in fresh Vinegar and boil it again that it may be impregnated with the Virtue of the Tobacco Note That this Bath is also proper for Mangy Dogs and that in the use of this as well as of all other Remedies you must still begin with Bleeding and Purgation If you infuse the Tobacco in Spirit of Wine the Bath will be more effectual especially for the Mane and Tail but the Infusion must not be heated You may also very effectually cure the Mange by washing the Parts once a Day with the Yellow-Water after Bleeding and Purgation but if you perceive that it dries not up the Mange sufficiently you may double the Dose of the Sublimate that enters the Composition If you make use of this Remedy you will certainly prefer it before most others but you must patiently expect the Success renewing the Application daily till the Cure be perfected which oftentimes requires fifteen or twenty Days The following Remedy is also very effectual in this case Scrape a large quantity of the Roots of white Briony and boil it in Vinegar for the space of half an Hour Then rub the Mangy places two or three Days together with the Vinegar and Roots luke-warm after you have bled and purg'd the Horse An
is an excellent Remedy to ripen Matter in any part of the Body where the Skin is broken and when the circumstances of the Disease require the Sore to be kept open You may apply either of these Remedies according to the greatness of the Swelling Vegetius in the Eighth Chapter of his Third Book where he treats of the Swelling of the Stones orders 'em to be anointed Morning and Evening with the Powder of Burnt-Barley mixt with Hog's-Grease adding that a Dog's-Gall is of admirable efficacy in this case These Remedies are cheap and safe but I cannot recommend 'em from my own Experience CHAP. CLXIV Of the Lask Looseness or Flux of the Belly THis Disease is so frequently Mortal I mean when it attacks Horses that it ought never to be neglected when it comes without a manifest Cause But a Horse may be seiz'd with a Looseness without any considerable Danger after the drinking of cold Water in Summer or of melted Snow and after the eating of tender Grass or other Aliments and Medicines that may be rather said to produce a good Effect by loosening the Horse's Belly and expelling part of the Impurities that are lodg'd in his Body But this is not the Disease treated of in this Chapter The Lask or Flux is caus'd by the Weakness of the Stomach that cannot digest the Nourishment which consequently passes thro' the Guts and is voided at the Fundament almost without any Alteration It proceeds also from the Corruption of the Humours that are either gather'd in the Stomach or flow thither from the neighbouring Parts and by disturbing Nature in the Performance of her important Work of Concoction provoke her to a vigorous Endeavour in order to their Expulsion These Humours are not always raw and cold for oftentimes the Guts are scowr'd by an Inundation of Choler which may be call'd a Natural Clyster This kind of Flux is rarely dangerous and even not unfrequently profitable It is an ill Sign when the Aliments are voided entire without the least Mark of Digestion For 't is absolutely impossible for Nature to repair her Losses and regain her wonted Vigour without fresh Supplies of Nourishment and 't is plain that she receives not any considerable Advantage from the Nourishment when it only passes thro' the Body without undergoing any Change Besides these Internal Causes this Distemper may be occasion'd by eating too much Provender in which Case it may be easily cur'd by diminishing the usual Allowance of Food Sometimes 't is caus'd by eating mouldy or rotten Hay frozen Grass and other unwholsome Nourishment as also by drinking very cold Water and by immoderate and fatiguing Exercise This Distemper may also proceed from want of Exercise drinking immediately after the eating of a great quantity of Oats excessive Fatness feeding on Rye Straw and an ill Disposition of the whole Body To discover the Nature of the Humour that causes and foments the Disease you must consider the Excrements that are voided for if they boil and ferment upon the Ground you may conclude that the Distemper proceeds from over-heated Choler if they be white 't is a Sign of Crudity if they be watery they denote a great Weakness of the Stomach A Remedy for the Flux If the Excrements be mixt with small Pieces or Scrapings of the Guts you have reason to fear an Ulcer in those Parts which usually proves fatal if the Danger be not speedily prevented by a seasonable Cooling of the Entrails which may be effected by the following Remedy Take Barley and the Roots of Marsh-Mallows beaten of each two Ounces Powder of Sal Prunellae an Ounce Boil 'em in three Quarts of Water to one Quart The Dose is a Pint two or three times a day This Decoction allays the Inflammation of the Entrails sweetens the Acrimony of the Humors reduces the Choler to its natural State and destroys the preternatural Heat that occasions the Fever If this Distemper be caus'd by Flegm you must strengthen the Stomach evacuate the redundant Humours and bind and strengthen the relax'd Parts These Indications require the Use of the Cordial-Powder or Pills the Electuary of Kermes Treacle and other hot Remedies that are endu'd with a Virtue to strengthen and corroborate the Parts The Cure of this kind of Flux is easier than in the other Cases The Looseness of the Belly or Flux is frequently an Effect of a vigorous struggle of Nature to throw off and expel a troublesome Load of Humours But if it continue longer than three Days and be attended with the Loss of Appetite it may produce dangerous Consequences for sometimes Horses are founder'd by the long Continuance of this Distemper Therefore you must endeavour to prevent the Danger by the seasonable Application of convenient Remedies and by keeping the Horse to a regular Diet. You must not suffer your Horse to eat Oats but feed him with Bran moisten'd with Claret if he have not too strong an Aversion against it Barley parch'd on a Peel at the Fire and then ground is very good in this Case and you must also chuse the best Hay To proceed to the Use of Remedies you may begin with this scowring Clyster A Scowring Clyster Take Wheat Bran well sifted and whole Barley of each two Handfuls red Roses a Handful true Opium slic'd small half a Dram Boil 'em in Whey or steel'd Water for the space of a quarter of an Hour then add the Leaves of wild Succory Agrimony Beets white Mullein and Mercury of each one Handful In two Quarts of the Decoction dissolve the Yolks of six Eggs Honey of Roses and brown Sugar of each four Ounces Mix and make a Clyster After this Clyster has scowr'd the Guts and expell'd part of the corrupt Matter that was lodg'd in 'em you may give your Horse two Ounces of Liver of Antimony in moisten'd Bran or half an Ounce of the Golden Sulphur of Antimony persisting in this Method for a considerable Time For these Medicines strengthen the Entrails allay the Ebullition or Fermentation of the Humours and contribute very effectually to the Cure of this Distemper This done you may inject the following Clyster A Cooling and Binding Clyster Take Knot-Grass or instead of that Shepherd's Purse and white Mullein of each one Handful Leaves of Plantane two Handfuls Flowers of wild Pomegranates half a Handful the Seeds of Myrtles Lettuce and Plantane of each two Ounces Beat the Seeds and boil 'em in three Quarts of Beer or Barley-Water with half a Dram of good Opium cut into thin slices then put in the Herbs and afterwards a Handful of dry'd Roses Add to the Straining half a Pound of Honey of Roses and four Ounces of Sugar of Roses Mix and make a Clyster to be administer'd after the usual Manner A Potion for the Flux If the Flux be not stopp'd or at least abated by the above-mention'd Preparations of Antimony after these two Clysters you must give the following Potion continuing to repeat the Clysters from time to
time Take eight large or ten small Nutmegs put 'em upon the Point of a Knife and hold 'em over a Candle till they be burnt to a red Coal then cast 'em into a Quart of Claret breaking 'em with your Fingers and after they have stood in Infusion all Night strain out the Wine in the Morning and make your Horse drink it blood-warm keeping him bridl'd two Hours before and as long after I have given this Remedy with very good Success to Men that were troubl'd with a Dysentery for the Salt of burnt Nutmegs being dissolv'd in the Wine stops and allays the Ebullition that causes the Flux A Binding Clyster Take Plantane Leaves in Summer or the Seeds in Winter and dry Provence Roses of each a sufficient quantity boil 'em in three Quarts of Beer and add to the Straining Catholicum two Ounces Rhubarb and Seal'd Earth of each four Ounces This Clyster binds moderately and being twice or thrice repeated stops a Super-Purgation in a Horse Another Potion Take two Quarts of Milk in which you have quench'd a Piece of Steel five or six times two Ounces of the Stones of Roasted Grapes an Ounce and a half of Shavings of Hart's-Horn calcin'd and beaten to a very fine Powder Mix for a Potion CHAP. CLXV Another Remedy for a Flux proceeding from a cold Cause DIssolve four Drams of Roman Vitriol reduc'd to Powder in five Pints of River-Water and let the Solution stand all Night to settle In the Morning pour out the clear Liquor throwing away the yellowish Sediment that remains at the Bottom Give your a Horse a Pint of it with a Horn heating it luke-warm in Winter and repeat the Dose every six Hours keeping him bridl'd an Hour before and as long after You may make the Remedy a great deal more effectual by adding to each Quart of the Liquor a Dram of Anniseeds and the like Quantity of Coriander-seeds both beaten to Powder If the Horse's Appetite be not spoil'd this Remedy will cure a Flux proceeding from the Ebullition of hot Humours if you continue the Use of it for some Days but the Cure may be hasten'd by injecting the following Clyster Take half an Ounce of dry Provence Roses and a Dram of Anniseeds boil 'em in two Quarts of this Water or Solution of Vitriol and after one Waum strain out the Liquor thro' a Linnen-Cloth and adding three Ounces of liquid Conserve of red Roses with a quarter of a Pound of fresh Butter Make a Clyster to be injected at the same time that the Potion is given inwardly and repeat the same twelve Hours after if you perceive that the Violence of the Disease is abated But if the Flux continue to torment the Horse you must repeat the Clyster every six Hours with the Potion If the Flux proceed from a cold Cause that is from flegmatic or pituitous Humours after the Clysters mention'd in the preceding Chapter you must give the following Potion A Potion for a Flux proceeding from a cold Cause Take the Yolks of six Eggs and an Ounce and a half of old Treacle dissolve 'em in three Pints of thick Claret in which you have quench'd a Piece of Steel heated red-hot three or four times You may afterwards repeat the Clysters if need require A Binding Clyster Take the Roots of Bistort and Tormentil grossly beaten of each two Ounces the Leaves of Mouse-Ear and Cypress of each one Handful Boil 'em in two Quarts of Claret and a Quart of rain-Rain-Water and dissolve in the Straining two Ounces of fine Catholicum and twenty Grains of Opium A Potion for a Flux proceeding from a hot Cause Take of Conserve of Roses two Ounces Opium thirty Grains new Treacle half an Ounce Succory-Water and Plantane-Water of each a Pint. Mix and make a Potion In the mean time you must rub your Horse's Belly with astringent Baths or Fomentations which are proper for all sorts of Fluxes whether they proceed from hot or cold Caufes Astringent Baths for a Flux Take Leaves of Plantane and Knot-Grass of each four Handfuls Comfrey and Horse-Tail of each one Handful Gall-Nuts Cypress-Nuts and Acorns of each two Ounces red Roses and Leaves of white Mullein of each three Handfuls Boil 'em in a large Pot in an equal Mixture of Claret and Water first putting in the Nuts and Acorns beaten then the Leaves and last of all the Flowers and after they are sufficiently boil'd add a Pint of Vinegar and half a Pound of Oil of Quinces With this Decoction you must bathe your Horse's Belly fomenting it with warm Linnen-Clouts as I order'd in the Cure of a Shoulder-Sprain and you may also anoint your Horse's Belly with a Mixture of equal quantities of the Oils of Quinces and Myrtles The Use of this Bath may be repeated as often as you shall think fit 'T is also very profitable for great Swellings in the Belly occasion'd by Spur-Galling Swellings of the Cods Thighs or Houghs provided the Tumour proceed not from the Biting or Stinging of a venomous Beast You may also anoint the Belly with the Countess's Ointment and foment it with this Bath chusing such of the above-mention'd Remedies as you shall think most convenient or profitable CHAP. CLXVI Of the Falling of the Fundament SOmetimes a violent Flux the Piles or such like Distempers make the Horse strain so violently and with such an intolerable Pain that the Fundament falls out and appears visibly out of its Place And the same Accident is sometimes occasion'd by a Strain and very frequently by cutting off the Tail This Malady ought never to be neglected for it may be attended with dangerous Consequences and therefore you must anoint the Place with Oil of Roses blood-warm and afterwards endeavour to put it up But if you perceive no Amendment after two or three successless Attempts you must have recourse to the following Remedy Beat six Drams of Salt of Lead with half a Pint of Goat's-Milk or for want of that of Cow's-Milk till they be well incorporated You must first beat the Salt of Lead in a Mortar and pour on the Milk by Degrees beating and mixing 'em together all the while till they be reduc'd to the Thickness of a liquid Ointment Sometimes the Salt of Lead imbibes a larger quantity of Milk than at other times and therefore you must pour into the Mortar only what is sufficient to bring it into the above-mention'd Form Put a Tent into the Fundament dipt in this Ointment and anoint all the Part with it repeating the Application from time to time 'T is to be observ'd that when the Falling of the Fundament is occasion'd by the Cutting off of the Tail and accompany'd with a great Swelling the Horse is in a very dangerous Condition for 't is almost always a Sign of a Gangrene in the Tail that spreads towards the Back And therefore after a successless Tryal of this Remedy you may give him over for lost Another Remedy Take Powder of burnt Oyster-Shells two
a Glass-Bottle over hot Embers adding the weight of a Golden Crown of Alkanet hung unto the Bottle by a Thred after it has stood a quarter of an Hour on the Ashes take out the Alkanet and preserve the Oil for use You may thicken the Oil to the consistency of a Balsam by a melting a little Wax in it but then its penetrating Faculty will be weaken'd When you have occasion to apply it inject it warm opening the Sore that the Oil may penetrate into it then stop the Hole with Cotton to keep it open cover it with Flax and Splents and renew the Application every Day till the Horse go upright 'T is a sure Remedy for all Pricks with Nails or Stubs it helps very effectually Cold Pains Blows Bruises Strains Cold Gout Sciatica Decay'd and Founder'd Legs if it be mixt with an equal quantity of Oil of Worms and a double quantity of Aqua-vitae and 't is also good for a Sprain in the Shoulders or Hips The Vertue of Remedies consists neither in quantity nor price of the Ingredients There are a thousand Remedies that cure a Prick with a Nail in the beginning as Turpentine alone Tallow or Sewet melted with Gum-Elemi Galbanum melted with Butter or Tallow all Balsams for Wounds and several other Medicines A Green Balsam highly esteem'd for its excellent Virtues This is that Balsam usually known at Paris by the Name of Madam Feüillet's Balsam It performs such wonderful Cures on Men that I thought my self oblig'd to insert it in this Book for the conveniency of those who have occasion to use it but it wou'd be needless to describe the Plaister that is usually apply'd with the Balsam since common Diapalma may be substituted instead of that dearer Medicine and besides 't is the Balsam alone that performs the Cure while the Plaister seems only to keep on the Dressing and hinder the Air from hurting the Sore This Balsam is an excellent Remedy for Wounds in any part of a Horse's Body and for Pricks with a Nail Stub c. Take of the Oils of Linseed Olives and Juniper-Berries of each two Ounces Turpentine of Chio and for want of that fine common Turpentine two Ounces Oil of Bay one Ounce Oil of Cloves two Drams Verdigrease beaten and strain'd thro' a Taffeta Searce three Drams White Vitriol two Drams put all the Ingredients into a Glass-Vial mix them cold by shaking the Vial from time to time during the space of a Month and keep the Balsam for use When you dress a Wound the first time wash it with warm Wine then chafe it with this Balsam which must be apply'd with Lint and cover'd with a Plaister if the Wound be deep dip your Tents in your Balsam and lay a Plaister over it When your Horse is hurt dry the Wound with Flax anoint it with the Balsam hot then strew it with the Powder of an old Rope continuing daily after the same manner without moistening the Wound which by this method will be quickly heal'd in any part of the Body For Pricks with a Nail or Stub it must be apply'd as the Oil de Merveille but since these Oils and Balsams are not so convenient for Carriage as Ointments I shall subjoin some of the most approv'd Medicines in that form beginning with one that is much celebrated and was long kept secret Mr. Sicar's Ointment for Pricks with a Nail or Stub Take of the Gum of a Pine-Tree and Gum-Elemi in Powder of each an Ounce melt 'em in a Bason or Pot stirring them over a very gentle Fire then add nine Ounces of Red-Wax beaten stirring the Substances till they be throughly Incorporated after which put in three Ounces of Venice-Turpentine and the whole being well mixt remove the Vessel from the Fire and immediately add one Ounce of Dragon's-Blood and two Ounces of Long Birthwort in very fine Powder stirring the mixture till it be half cold Then pour it on a piece of Marble or a Table rubb'd with Oil-Olive or Oil of sweet Almonds and having anointed your Hands with the same Oil make it up into Rolls of a convenient bigness wrapping them in Paper to be kept for use The Ointment ought to be reddish if it be carefully prepar'd If you have no Red-Wax the Ointment may be made thus Take of good Yellow-Wax one Pound Turpentine four Ounces Oil-Olive and Cinnabar reduc'd to very fine Powder on a dry Marble melt the Wax Turpentine and Oil stirring them carefully and after they are a little cool'd add the Cinnabar Mix and make it up in what form you please This Plaister which I call an Ointment in compliance with the common way of speaking is better old than new it may be kept thirty Years without losing its Virtue and is thus apply'd Having laid open the Sore melt a sufficient quantity of the Ointment in a Spoon with a Spoon with a little Sewet Grease Butter or Oil-Olive and apply it warm continuing after the same manner till your Horse be sound Note That the Dragon's-Blood prescrib'd in the Composition of this Ointment is the Gum of a certain Tree found in one of the Canary-Islands the Tears or Drops that distil from the Tree are of a bright red Colour and are the purest Dragon's-Blood for the Gum that is drawn out of the Tree by Incision is also call'd by the same Name but is inferiour in Vertue to the former The greatest part is brought from the East-Indies and the goodness of both is judg'd by the deepness of their Colour But the Dragon's-Blood usually sold to Farriers ought wholly to be rejected as useless since 't is only Gum-Arabic or some other common Gum dissolv'd in Water and ting'd with Brasil-Wood The Gum is boil'd slowly till it acquire a fine Colour after which 't is strain'd thro' a fine Cloth and the moisture carefully evaporated This Mixture is Sold to Farriers for true Dragon's-Blood because they are not willing to pay a reasonable price for it but it ought not to be imagin'd that the red Colour increases the Virtue of the common Gums of which 't is compos'd CHAP. XCIV Monsieur Curtis 's Ointment for Wounds Bruises or Pricks with a Nail or Stubs TAke Oil-Olive seven Pounds and mix it in a Bason or Skillet with a Pound of Ceruss and a Pound and a quarter of Litharge of Gold or Silver for they are both equally effectual with a Quart of Water mix them in a large Bason wide above and narrow at the bottom or in the form of a Sugar-Loaf and incorporate 'em Cold stirring 'em with a large and strong Wooden-Slice for a quarter of an Hour after which set the Vessel over a Char-coal Fire in a convenient Furnace and boil the Substances stirring 'em perpetually till after they have boil'd upwards towards the top of the Vessel they begin to sink not by abating the heat of the Fire which ought always to be equal and strong but by reason of the consumption of the Water that
kept 'em up After they are sunk very low that is after they have boil'd about an Hour and half remove the Vessel from the Fire and add half a Pound of new Wax cut into little Bits incorporating it with the rest and afterwards two Pounds of the scrapings of an old white and clean Linen-Cloth beaten in a large Mortar and strain'd thro' a fine Searce mix this with the above-mention'd Composition stirring it till it be half Cold after which add half a Pound of fine Myrrh in Powder and two Ounces of good Aloes reduc'd to a very fine Powder stirring all together till you can endure to put your Hand into the Vessel Then having Oil'd the Table take the Composition out of the Bason with an Iron-Spoon and make it up into Rolls which must be wrapt in Paper and kept for use If the Preparation be duly made it will be black and solid This is an admirable Plaister for all Wounds and Bruises in Men for it takes away the Inflammation and Cicatrizes the Sore very speedily These Compositions ought to be call'd Plaisters by reason of their thickness but since the Name of Ointment is better known in the World I thought fit to retain it notwithstanding the Impropriety of the Expression Having found the Sore in a Horse's Foot melt some of the Ointment in a Spoon with an equal quantity of Oil-Olive or Butter to keep it from burning and put it hot into the Wound with Cotton over it continuing after the same manner till the Cure be perfected This Ointment allays and takes away the Inflammation in two or three Applications and asswages the Pain sooner than any other Ointment or Oil whatsoever It covers the Bones with Flesh in any part of the Body in two or three times Dressing if it be mixt with an equal quantity of Oil of Roses and after the same manner 't is also apply'd to Wounds If there be occasion for Suppuration it draws all Impurities out of the Sore after which you may apply a more powerful drying Ointment or convenient Powders For Wounds in Horses mix it with a somewhat greater quantity of Oil or Butter that it may be Liquid and having wip'd the Wound with Flax and put a little of the Ointment upon it with a Pencil cover it gently with Flax to preserve it from the Air without pressing the Wound This Ointment heals the deepest and largest Wounds in a little time I cannot forbear admonishing the Reader that he ought to set a high esteem on this Ointment for tho' I have try'd many I never found one so effectual the charge of the whole Dose or a Pound of the Ointment amounts only to Half a Crown and it never loses its Virtue it allays the Heat and Inflammation in the Wound and even in all the Neighbouring Parts I have oftentimes seen Horses halt above three Months after they were perfectly cur'd of Pricks with large Nails by reason of their weakness which was so great that those who had the care of 'em were forc'd to walk 'em gently every Day in soft Grounds to strengthen their Feet for if they had been suffer'd to remain in the Stable their Weakness would have continu'd much longer This happens only when the Wound in the Foot occasions the falling away of Scales from the Bone of the Foot or when the Sinew is Prick'd in which case the Cure is so tedious that the Horse must be kept in the Stable for the space of five or six Months If such an accident happen to a Coach-Horse you may make him Harrow but as for other Horses you must walk 'em in your Hand thro' till'd Grounds and by degrees their strength will return and they will be as fit for Service as ever But if you grow weary and are loth to continue so troublesome a Method you will certainly lose your Horse It happens not unfrequently when by reason of a dangerous Prick with a Nail or Stub a Horse remains two or three Months without putting his Foot to the Ground when the Wound is cur'd the Shoulder is found to be shrunk or dry'd or one of the Hips sunk lower than the other so that the latter Infirmity is more dangerous than the former since 't is often absolutely incurable especially the sinking or falling down of one of the Hips and therefore the surest way is to charge the Shoulder to prevent these Disorders Tho' I cannot follow the Multitude in imagining that the Cure of these Accidents depends wholly on the application of a good Ointment yet since 't is impossible to perform a Cure without the use of some Remedies I shall subjoin the description of another which is reputed and I have found to be very good that the Reader may have the conveniency of chusing which he believes to be most effectual Bartholomew's Ointment for Pricks with a Nail or Stub and for Bleymes Take of Oil-Olive a Pound Sugar half a Pound thick Red-Wine a Quart Leaves of Rosemary and Roman Nettles of each four Ounces put 'em all together in a glaz'd Earthen Pot so that one half may remain empty fitting on its Cover and luting the Junctures with Dough or Paste then boil the Ingredients over a small Char-coal-Fire for the space of six Hours and after they are half cold strain 'em thro' a Linen-Cloth and add six Ounces of new Wax cut into small pieces after which suffer the Ointment to cool and if you use green Herbs it will be of the same Colour 'T is apply'd after the same manner as other Ointments being melted in a Spoon with a little Oil-Olive or Butter to keep it from burning CHAP. XCV A Hot or Burning Balsam for Wounds Bruises and Cold Pains as also for Pricks with a Nail or Stubs MIx half an Ounce of Camphire in Powder with a Pint of excellent Spirit of Wine put them into a large Matrass capable of containing three Pints cover'd with a Vessel of Rencounter exactly luted on Let the Spirit circulate in Balneo Mariae till the Camphire be dissolv'd after which take out the Matrass and after it is cold unlute the Vessel of Rencounter and put two Ounces of Yellow-Amber beaten into the Matrass then fit the Rencounter on again and place the Matrass in Balneo Mariae as before where it must stand two Days and two Nights and after it is cold take out the Balsam which must be kept in a well-stopt Glass-Vial Observe that the Water in Balneo Mariae must not actually boil but ought to be as hot as it possibly can be without boiling The Yellow-Amber that approaches nearest to a white Colour is commonly the most perfect and fittest for this Composition Having laid open the Hole or Wound pour in a little of this Balsam cold stop the Hole with Cotton and renew the Application every Day till your Horse be perfectly Sound as he will be in a little time This is an excellent Remedy for decay'd and batter'd Legs if you chase 'em once
fiery and full of Mettle this Medicine wou'd make him extremely sick tho' a Couple of Clysters administer'd in the Height of the Sickness might perhaps prevent the ill Effects of it if you take care in the mean time to walk him frequently And besides 't is to be observ'd that this Remedy must not be given to a Horse either in the Beginning of the Disease or when 't is accompany'd with a Fever for it wou'd purge his Life out of his Body Take two or three Pounds of Fat of Bacon cut into thin Slices steep it in Water till it be fresh changing the Water five or six times once every two Hours in the mean time take red Colewort not a headed Cabbage and white Mullein of each two large Handfuls Carduus Benedictus one Handful Chop 'em small and beat 'em to a Mash in a Mortar with the fresh Fat of Bacon Form this Mass into Pills like Tennis-Balls and roll 'em up with Powder of Liquorice that they may not stick to your Fingers when you put 'em into the Horse's Mouth After the Horse has taken six or seven of these Pills give him a little Wine with a Horn or even after every Pill if you perceive that your Horse swallows 'em with Difficulty and after he has taken all the Pills wash his Mouth with a Pint of Wine and afterwards pour it down his Throat besides which you must allow another Pint to be taken with the Pills The Horse must stand bridl'd four Hours before and as long after If this Remedy be attended with Success to compleat the Cure you must begin the former Course with the Decoctions and Clysters but if it proves ineffectual administer the following Remedy Take the Leaves of Red Colewort not headed Cabbage which is not only useless but hurtful and Carduus Benedictus of each three Handfuls White Mullein and Colt's-foot of each three Handfuls Juniper-Berries one Handful Boil 'em half an Hour in two Quarts of Water then remove the Vessel from the Fire and add to the boiling Decoction two Handfuls of fresh Corn-Poppy Flowers or one Handful of 'em dry'd Cover the Pot immediately and when 't is almost cold strain out the Liquor adding as much Saffron as is sufficient to tinge it with a yellow Colour with two Ounces of Liquid Conserve of Roses and having given your Horse a Clyster the Day before make him drink up this Decoction repeating the same Clyster in the Evening and continuing after the same manner for twelve Days if your Horse's Stomach be not disorder'd in which Case you must forbear the Use of the Remedies till his Appetite be restor'd After the twelve Days are expir'd if his Flanks be sound without any Palpitation you must not overwhelm Nature with a Heap of Remedies but allow her Time to compleat the Victory and utterly to destroy her Enemy that is already weaken'd by the Medicines Since usually the preternatural Heat which causes the Distemper is augmented by the Remedies and the internal Parts heated and wasted 't will be necessary to restore the Natural and destroy the Preternatural Heat and to remove the remaining Obstructions by giving the Horse every Day an Ounce of Sal Prunellae in Powder and two Nutmegs grated and mixt with moisten'd Bran. The Use of this Remedy must be continu'd for a long time unless the Horse forsake his Meat in which Case instead of Sal Prunellae 't will be convenient to give him two Ounces of Liver of Antimony in Powder which procures an Appetite without cooling the Body so much as the other CHAP. CXXIII Remedies for Obstructions of the Lungs caus'd by Foundering A Young Horse who had so great an Oppression in the Flanks that he was thought to be Pursive and given over for lost was perfectly cur'd by the following Remedy Take Carduus Benedictus Mossie Lung-wort chopt small of each one Handful Missleto of the Oak beaten an Ounce Roots of Marsh-Mallows and Elecampane stampt in a Mortar half an Ounce Hyssop two Handfuls boil the Ingredients about half an Hour then press out the Liquor and add half an Ounce of Juice of Liquorice an Ounce of Liquorice beaten to Powder Anniseed and Fennelseed reduc'd to fine Powder of each half an Ounce a Scruple of Saffron half a Pound of Clarify'd Honey and a Quart of White Wine Mix and make a Decoction to be given blood-warm to the Horse at two Doses who must stand bridl'd six Hours before and after you have walk'd him an Hour must be kept bridl'd four Hours longer This Decoction must be exhibited four Days together then intermit three Days and afterwards give him four Doses more This Remedy will ease him very considerably and even absolutely cure him if he be Young But if you perceive no Benefit by the Use of it you may exhibit the Purging Medicine describ'd in the preceding Chapter observing diligently all the Circumstances and Directions mention'd there And afterwards give him the following Powder which may be also given safely and with good Success without any preceding Evacuation Take three Pound of Linseed dry'd in a Furnace according to the Method describ'd in one of the preceding Chapters Gentian three Ounces Fenugreek two Ounces Elecampane an Ounce and a half Sage and Hyssop of each three Ounces Brimstone half a Pound Mix and make a Powder The Dose is two Spoonfuls mixt with Bran every Morning till the whole Powder be taken and the Horse must stand bridl'd an Hour and a half after every Dose If the Disease continue still give him a Clyster for tho' it will not perfect the Cure it may perhaps give him Ease if it be frequently repeated And afterwards suffer Nature to act for she will quickly subdue her Enemy if you assist her with a well-regulated Diet. The most dangerous Kind of these Distempers is that which is accompany'd with a Fever which not only torments the Horse extremely but makes so quick a progress that it will not admit of so long a Delay as is requir'd for the administring of the above-mention'd Remedies You must begin the Cure with one of these two Clysters Make a Decoction of the softening Herbs chopt small and dissolving half a Pound of Honey in the strain'd Liquor inject it luke-warm Or you may give one of these Clysters in the Morning and the other in the Evening if you think fit Boil an Ounce of Crocus Metallorum reduc'd to fine Powder in five Pints of Beer for half a Quarter of an Hour then suffering it to settle pour off the Liquor strain it thro' a Linnen Cloth doubl'd add a quarter of a Pound of Butter inject the whole luke-warm and the next Day exhibit the following Remedy CHAP. CXXIV A Remedy for a Founder'd Horse that is troubl'd with a Fever and very sick TAke the distill'd Waters of Carduus Benedictus and Sccbious of each six Ounces Water of the Herb call'd Queen of the Meadows Cinnamon Water and Succory Water of each four Ounces Liquid Conserve of