MANAGEMENT OF HORSES

Marlborough Press, Volume XII, Issue 752, 14 June 1871, Page 4

MANAGEMENT OF HORSES

A horse requires about the same treatment, as regards health, that a human being does. Over-drinking of cold water when perspiring freely will injure a horse, and also a man. Exposure to cold currents of air in the stable at any time may produce a cold in a horse, and more especially when heated with labor; and the same result occurs when a human being is similarly situated. The remedies for diseases in horses, too, are what relieve a man when attacked with the same, as colic, cold, &c. The owner of a valuable horse should see that he is managed with great care when travelling as well as in the stable. When travelling, a horse should be watered frequently, and then there is no danger of foundering him, as that is the result of allowing the animal to go without drink too long, and then drinking too much. Chronic cough frequently arises from the horse’s eating dusty hay. A loft in which hay is kept soon gets covered with a layer of dust and seed, and every time hay is pushed into the horses rack a quantity of dust and seed goes with it. These small particles pass through the nostrils, and. from thence into the windpipe, occasioning frequent coughing. The cough is an. effort to get rid of the offending particles; but the horse is subject to the same process so often that some of these particles lodge at the extremities of the smaller bronchial tubes, and produce structural disease of the lungs, occasioning what is properly known as “a chronic cough.” Chronic cough may arise from other causes. Many of the disorders of horses arise from a derangement of the digestive organs, caused by giving them cei-tain kinds of food. Sometimes a mixture of chopped hay with corn-meal or bran will produce diarrhoea. In such case substitute hay for cut feed, and oats for the corn and bran, till the disease abates, when the cut feed, &c., may be resumed, and often without causing the same result again. A change of food should always be made when a horse is attacked by diarrhoea. The judicious use of green meat, tares, &c., when in season, is useful; in winter a feed of carrots, celery-tops, &c., may be substituted. Corn sometimes produces colic in horses, when a change to other less heating food is advisable. Oats, when given in excessive quautities, may produce founder; consequently, no horse should he allowed to eat more than a peck of oats at any one meal ; and if not worked very hard certainly not more than four quarts. Musty hay produces heaves; and in no case should dustj 7 hay be given to a horse till slightly damped. It is too often the case that men neglect the teachings of nature, and endeavor to improve that which should be let alone. In most horses the fetlocks and the back of the pasterns are well supplied with hair, which forms a protection to parts which are most exposed to wet and cold. An endeavor is sometimes made to improve the horse’s appearance by removing this long hair, and the result is that the skin, being deprived of its natural covering, becomes inflamed ; fissures are formed in it, and much care is necessary to restore the skin to a healthy state. A horse should be often shod; at least, his shoes should be removed as often as once in from four to six weeks, and the hoofs pared down to their natural size. The earth is the best floor for a stable that can be made; but such require more work in cleaning out. Horses’ hoofs require moisture, and the earth seems to be the most natural for them to stand upon. Light and ventilation in stables are also very essential, as horses often become blind when kept in dark stables, and they are sure to become diseased sooner or later when the stables are not properly ventilated.