STABLE REMEDIES.

Mataura Ensign, 28 October 1908, Page 4

STABLE REMEDIES.

♦ FOR CRACKED HEELS, THRUSH, AND SURFEIT. A very notable horseman and great , horse expert in the English Midlands was once asked what is the best remedy for cracked heels, and his ready reply was, "Sack your groom." This may be the correct solution of the difficulty, as undoubtedly in nino cases out of ten the malady is duo to carelessness. The heels have not been properly wiped dry after washing, and so there has been a commencement of the mischief by ,1 spray appearing on them. "What is more prevalent still is the resting of die foot on a wet bed, and tho unhealthy moisture has produced first a redness, then a sore, emitting matter, and, a crust coming over this, a cracked heel is established. There are instances, however, of the malady appearing in the best-regulated establishments, as shown by tho training reports of racehorses, which sometimes state that this or that favorite for a great race has given his skilful trainer some trouble from a cracked heel. This may have come about by a horse in the highest state of condition breaking out in eruptions, and one has settled in his heel. At any rate, a dose of physic is always resorted to in such circumstances, and a healing compound, known to tho trainer, applied to the affected part; but it is not generally this sort of cracked heel that is known in ordinary stables, and henco the view taken by the Midlands expert. However, when it appears it has to be cured as speedily as possible, because if it is allowed to run on it may mean what is more commonly known as grease, which will extend over tiie fetlock points, with considerable swelling and cracked ulcers in the skin and a profuse discharge of a foul and offensive matter. It ought never to come tn this, and, in fact, a cracked heel will scarcely ever appo.;.' if a groom is careful in bis observations. Tho smallest semblance of a sore should be sponged carefully in tepid water, and wiped dry with a very soft rubber. Then a cooling lotion shouti be applied. There are several advertised of great excellence, and strongly recommended by many horse-keepers. If the skin is broken at all another healing compound must be used. Cnre must be taken to keep all dirt out :i the place, and by rights the horse should be thrown up for a week or ten days, and for that time knocked off his corn, and be. the recipient of n dose <.f physic. It is often inconvenient to put a horse out of work for even a week, but unless it is done a small matter may often increase, into a greater one. THRUSH. The charge of carelessness is even more apparent in regard to thrush than in the case of cracked heels. No horse in a good stable should ever have thrush, as it is due to dirt and neglect. A good groom will find it out in a new occupant of a box or stall by the smell, and then by the look of the frogs, and a liquid emitted from them on pressure with the finger will toll the whole story. The animal has had thrush, which has only been retarded by tho three weeks' ir monthly visitation to the shoeing smith, who has done his best to clnjin out the frogs, and often enough cut? away too much of them, and adds what be calls his dressing of Stockholm ta-. ■V-continuation of this process will leavn the foot with no frog at all, and hence the falls and disasters which owners have to deplore. It is quite a mi.st.ik>' io-tbink that the ordinary dressing of Stockholm tar, mutton fat, and cod oil to keep the foot healthy and free from thrush will cure the latter complaint, as, on the contrary, it will aggravate it, as much as tar would a cut on one's hand. It is really a sore, in the clefts of the foot between the horn and the soft portions of the hoof's centre denominated the frog. This gives out a foetid substance that accounts for the smell, and if neglected will in time rot tho frog away. No thine must be done, therefore, to increase the running matter, such as any oily substance would do, and, therefore, tho tar and mutton fat would have a totally undesirable effect. The great point is to dry up the sore, and for this there is nothing better than common salt put into the cleft once a day or calomel. Veterinary surgeons often recommend the latter drug, and experience has shown that they are right. Thrush cannot bo got rid of very speedily, and a bad ease cannot be thoroughly rectified for three or four months; the new frog has to grow, and here the attentions of a capable groom • are essential in telling the blacksmith what to do. He must not touclt the ■ sore, and he must leave every part of the frog that is growing or healthy, and only cut away the ragged borders. It must never bo forgotten that the frog of a horse's foot is a cushion with which ho feels in the most sensitive manner. • The concussion of the hoof 1 is regulated by his frogs. If dependent ■ on the hern or bars of his hoof there might be no feeling, but the texture, 1 corresponding much" to indiarubber, is full of fibres and nerves, and the acuto- : ness of pains in them may be as severe 1 as in the quick of one's' nails. Thus, when tho frogs aro cut down or peri forated, as they often are in bad eases ' of thrush, a sudden blow or movement ■ may well account for a horse's falling as if shot.

There is a great difference in falls; the "dicky," or failing legs generally give way in a sort of deliberate manner. The legs go under, and the animal tries to save himself in most eases, gets up again—"saves himself," as the saying goes, without broken knees. But the sudden drop, which is ten times more dangerous, is due to feet trouble, and in many cases to the effects of thrush. It is, therefore, very iimportant to make it next to impossible that any such complaint should be m the stable. "It is 01% a hit of thrush," though, is a common saying with stablemen, and unchecked it goes on more or less until it becomes very bad indeed. Tlio frog becomes thoroughly rotten and perforated, and falls away, to merge into canker, which is worse still, and spells ruin to any horso. SURFEITS.

The causes of horses breaking out into eruptions are very numerous. It may be from some hereditary tendency, or from a damp tempertaure, or had food in their earliest days. Later on, also, it can be traced £0 chills, or to the somewhat too prevalent fashion of forcgig young animals to get them up for show or public sales. " Injudicious feeding will at any time cause these annoyances. A horse is apparently fit and well, and all at once ho begins to throw out spots and blotches where the saddle goes, or on the part of the neck covered by the collar. A dose of physio and a cooling diet are about the only courses to pursue, and that takes time, and puts a horse temporarily out of hard condition. The better plan is to be prepared for it. Horses in work should always have two bran mashes a week, and a little nitre and sulphur put into the Saturday night's mash will help towards keeping' the blood eool. There are some horses that show a tendency to throw out these eruptions every spring, and a capital remedy for them is to boil a double handful of marsh-mallows (the (lowers) in half a gallon of water, and to pour this infusion on the bucketful of mash given twice a week. Then, roots are a great assistance, carrots or kohl rahi to ho given in moderation in work, and plentifully to horses obliged to bo thrown up. To the careful owner or groom the elcin is the indicator of health. The hidebound animal, which means that the skin when touched appears to adhere to the frame, is usually suffering from hot stables and a plentitude of oats and hay without any change of diet, and to the practised hand there is also a good deal of heat that is not by any means as it should be. The skin should feel cool and soft like velvet, and then the horse is not overstrained if wanted for the racecourse, or he will ho fit for an extra long journey without any notice. He will also be the better patient in the case of an accident. A bump or a blow will give way at once on the application of an embrocation, and if there is a slight irritation anywhere the means will be ready enough to relievo it.