draw blood from him and three days after If you find the vein to swell after you have opened it as it will do when wind gets in or when a steam miscarries then take white Pitch black Pitch and Rossin of each a like quantity and boyl them together and lay it on with a flat stick and then flock it let it lye all over the swelling and anoint it with the Oyl of Populeon once doing this commonly effects the cure but if once doth it not then use it oftner till you have discust the swelling If your Horse bleed violently at the nose and you cannot stanch it then take Betony and stamp it in a Morter with salt and put it into the Horses nose or if your Horse be wounded and bleedeth exceedingly the same applied thereunto will immediately stop the flux of blood Observe that April and October are the two principal months for Blood-letting now what may be said more on this subject I shall refer you to the Chirurgical part of this book treating of the cures of external maladies CHAP. XIX Of the Excrements of an Horse THe Excrements of an Horse are of two sorts Dung and Urine If the Dung of your Horse be of the colour or somewhat near of his food he is in a sound condition as for example if an Horse runs at grass his dung will be green if it be bright and neither too hard nor too soft it is an excellent sign of an healthy constitution but if it be fluid and waterish though it be green it betokens the Horse troubled with coldness in his stomach and bowels If the Dung be neither too thick nor too thin yet the greenness intermixt with blackness it signifies the Horse inclined to the Yellows or Staggers If the food of an Horse be straw the colour of his Dung will be a bright yellow and rather thick than thin the grain whereof being long it is a sign of health but if the Dung be reddish and either very dry or as thin as Cow-dung they are infallible signs that the Horse is inwardly diseased if this redness do turn to blackness having lost its scent it betokens the speedy death of the creature If Hay and Provender be the usual food of your Horse if healthy and sound the colour of his dung will be a brownish-yellow moist and of a grain somewhat long but if that brownness turn to redness it is a sign of sickness if to blackness then of death Lastly if your Horse feed altogether on Provender then will his dung be of a pale yellow colour if he be in health but if it look reddish then it signifieth that the Horse hath taken some inward heat and that there is an inflammation in his bowels and stomach Now if it be brown and shiny or greasy and shining it is a sign of molten grease putrefying in the body Thus much of an Horses Dung now of his Urine In the first place if it be of a pale yellow or straw colour smelling strong and not very clear then is your Horse healthy well and lusty but if its colour be very white it is a sign of weakness in the Reins Stone and Obstruction in the Kidneys If the Urine be high coloured like Beer brew'd with over dryed Malt then is that Horses blood inflamed signifying a Feaver or some great surfeit if blood red an heat by over riding whose inflammation is so great that if scowring or some other physical means be not speedily used the Horse will fall irrecoverably into some mortal distemper If the Urine be pale and greenish it is a sign of a Consumption of the seed and debilitation of the back If the Urine be high coloured yet clowdy and blackish it foretells speedy mortality CHAP. XX. Of the several sorts of Feavers in Horses FEavers are usually ingendred either by over much travel or disorderly diet and these Feavers by some are divided into three parts the first are bred in the spirits the second in the humours the third in the firm parts of the body being all set on fire beyond the ordinary course of nature Others divide them into two parts The ordinary which are either bred in the humours or spirits and these are Feavers Quotidian Tertian Quartan Hectick Feavers in Summer fall of the Leaf and Winter The extraordinary are all those which are bred in the firm parts of the body and are pestilential Feavers and the Plague The rise from whence ordinary Feavers proceed I have told you already viz. from excessive Travel or disorderly Diet but the causes of extraordinary Feavers are either corruption of blood or infection of the Air. Now here is to be noted that the Staggers Yellows and Anâ—ecor never seize an Horse but a Pestilential Feaver is their Harbinger or Forerunner and they are like pestilential marks rarely seen but when the disease is too far gone The signs and symptoms of these Feavers as well as most other distempers I have declared already and therefore I shall here let them pass and fall to the cure CHAP. XXI A general Cure for general Feavers AS soon as the Feaver is apparent by the signs aforesaid some will phlebotomize the Horse in the face temples and palate of the mouth restraining him from all food the first day and only giving him by little and little some warm drink giving him good store of Litter having a care he catch no cold and as he begins to mend feed him with boiled Barley well huskt and beaten Others do judge of this to be a better and speedier cure that is as soon as you discern his shaking give him instantly the yolks of five Egges beaten with nine spoon-fuls of Aqua-vitae and having drunk it chafe him well till his shaking be over then put him into a warm place and force him to sweat an hour by laying on him store of cloaths let his food in the mean while be Oats well dryed and sifted and once a day some washed in Ale and let him drink no water but what is warm and this course you must take at the beginning of every fit if you will have your Horse cured of his Feaver A cure for a Quotidian Feaver This distemper taketh an Horse once a day very violently but will not last above seven hours in a day and after his fit will seem to be as perfect in health as before till the time of the usual coming of his fit If his fit change its accustomed time as if it taketh him at nine of the clock one day and at six another the greater hope there is that his Feaver will leave him the sooner As for the cure give him only a sweet mash of Malt and Water Milk-warm walking him moderately in a temperate Air his fit being over rub him down very well especially his back and legs then four or five hours after give him this drink in a horn thrice at least if his fits continue to afflict him A most approved Drink for an
THE ENGLISH HORSMAN The English HORSMAN And Complete Farrier Directing all Gentlemen and others How to Breed Feed Ride and Diet all Kind of HORSES whether for War Race or other Service WITH A Discovery of the Causes Signs and Cures of all Diseases both Internal and External Incident to Horses Alphabetically digested WITH THE Humours of a SMITHFIELD Jockey By Robert Almond a well known and skilful Farrier of the City of London Practising therein above forty five years LONDON Printed for Simon Miller and are to be Sold at the Sign of the Star at the West-end of St. Paul's 1673. TO THE READER Reader I Do here present you with a book which with modesty I may say is worthy of your perusal it contains almost whatever is useful and necessary as to an Horse and all his diseases I confess in my younger days I was not a little curious and have been at some expence for translations out of several Languages as to the several practises of divers Countreys in the profession wherein I was bred I have made it my study and practice out of all to select what I have here for the good of my Countrey delivered with great pains and long experience I must confess I owe much to my famous Countrey men Mr. Blondevil Mr. Markham and Mr. Le Grey for that great light and knowledg I have received from them I have very much lamented the several books I have read in Horsemanship which only discourse of Cures without giving any account either of the cause or sign of the disease which I am sure hath been the occasion of the loss of many a good Horse What I have done is as plain as I could read and judg Your affectionate Countrey-man Robert Almond The Table A. AGe of an Horse to know 48 49 50 Anticor its cure 70 Anbury or Wart 139 B. Breeding Horses best method 4 5 6 7 8 9 Bones of a Horse 47 Blood letting 59. 137 138 Bots Cause and Cure 72 Blood staling its cure 73 Blowing with difficulty its cure 74 Belly ach cause and cure 75 Broken Wind a certain Cure 76 Broken Lungs or Rotten how to know and cure 77 Bloody Flux cause and cure 106 Brittle Hoof cause and cure 144 Bone Spavin 145 Back Swankt or Swoln 147. 150 Burning by a Mare its cure 147 Button Farcy 148 Bunches of all sorts how to cure 149 Blood Spavin its cure 150 Barbs cause and cure 151. 265 Botches in the Groin cause and cure 153 Blood to stanch 277 C. Colts when to geld 9 Colts when to break 10 Complection of an Horse how to judg 20 21 Choice directions in bleeding or Physicking Horses 55 Cold the best cure 78 Consumption cause and cure 78 79 Colt Evil cause and cure 79 Clysters proper for Horses and how to apply them 81 82 83 84 Canker in the mouth cause and cure in the head 154 155 Curb cause and cure 157 Crest fallen cause and cure 158. 273 Casting the Hoof a remedy 158 159 Camery its cause and cure 160 Cronet a certain cure 161 Canker in the Withers cause and cure 161 Casting the hoof how to do it 162 D. Directions for chusing good Horses 15 16 17. 346 347 Diseases in Horses and their causes 50 51 85 Dropsie cause and cure 84 Drenches for all diseases 85 86 Diseases of the Gall cause and cure 87 88 Defence against Flyes 163 Dangerous sickness its cause and cure 164 165 Dislocation of joints 167 E Exerements of an Horse to judg 56 Ears imposthumated cause and cure 89 Enterfering cause and cure 168 169 Eyes hurt by blow cure certain 171 Eye Film Pin or Web 171. 174 Eye Canker 172 Eyes watred 175 Eye bitten 175 Eyes imposthumated 175 Eyes inflam'd 217 F. Feeding of Horses for Race choice observations 26 27 Feavers of all sorts their cures 59 60 61 62 63 64 65 66. 93 Frenzie cause and cure 91. 334 Falling Evil 91 Foundring in the belly 92 Flux in Horses cause and cure 95 Farcy cause and cure 148 Falling of the Fundament cause cure 177 Fetlock hurt cause and cure 178 179 Frettizing a certain cure 180 Frothy hoof a cure 180 False quarter in a hoof its cure 182 Fig a disease on the heel its cure 185 Fistula cause and cure 187 188 189 190 Frets Cause and cure 190 191 G. Glanders cause and cure 95 96 97 General Rules for Sores and outward Maladies to be observed by the Horse Chirurgeon 133 134 Gaunt belly how to remedy 152 Gravelling cause and cure 191 192 193 Gourged or gourded legs 193 Gelding of Horses and Colts what to be observed and time when 195 Garget cause and cure 196 Gauled back its cure 198 Gigs cause and cure 200 Glanders a Pill 262 Grease molten 305 H. Head Ach cause and cure 98. 205 Hungry evil cause and cure 98 Horse Hide bound cause and cure 99 Horse lean how to fatten 100 101. 213. 345. 357 Horse shot to cure 144 Hurle bone disjointed 203 Hide bound cause and cure 204 Heels troubled with the Mellet 206 Hips hurt or strained 211 Hough bonny cause and cure 212 Halting by stroke or strain its cure 213 Hair to make slick and smooth 339 Hair how to take off of any part 340 Horse how to make to follow his master or find him out amongst a multitude 342 Horse to make nimble at the spur 343 Hair to make grow soon thick and long 344 Horsemens observations for ordering Horses 351 I. Instructions to accomplish a rider 22 23 c. Jaundies eause and cure 101 Inflamations how to ripen cure 103. 217 Inflamations about the heels to cure 142 Ives cause and cure 216 Itch in the tail cause and cure 220 Interfering its cure 220 Joints grieved with ach weakness or swelling by cold 221 Jade tired or dull how to make to go forward 341. 356 Though resty and heavy to prance and caper 355 K. Kidney infirmities cause and cure 104 Kernels like Grapes cause and cure 140 Knots or knobs to remove â—22 Kernels in the throat to dissolve â—23 Knees broken to cure â—24 Kibed heels cause and cure 239 L. Loathing meat cause and cure 105 Lask cause and cure 106 Lips heat 210 Legs swelled to cure 224 Leprosie cause and cure 227. 272 Lice to clean from Horses 229 Lampas cause and cure 230 Lave-Ear'd Horses how to remedy 232 M. Method of breeding Horses 4 Molten grease and fatning balls 39 Murrain or Plague 68 Molten grease cause and cure 108. 238 Mourning of the chine cause and cure 108 109 Maunge 201. 235 Mouth heat 210 Moon eyed Horses its remedy 173. 223 Melander cause and cure 234 Mouth sore 237 Mellet cause and cure 237 Mortfounder'd its cure 238 Mallender cause and cure 240 Mourning of the chine its cause cure 241 Molt long or Molt worm its cause cure 242 Mollifiers against hardness 243 Main shedding its remedy 297 Mark in the mouth to counterfeit 355 N. Night Mare cause and cure 110 Navel
a Chafingdish and held under the Horses nose and this will cure his head ach For any obstructions or cold in his head there is nothing better than a rag anointed with Oyl de Bay and therewith rub his Nostrils as high as you may For the Glanders anoint two feathers with Oyl de Bay Euphorbium and white Ellebore and thrust these into the Horses Nostrils For any Cephalick distemper but especially the Staggers Cold Glanders or Strangle take the powder of White Pepper and blow it into his Nostrils or squirt into them Aristolochia mixt with Wine and you will find a suddain amendment But the best fume of all is made of Olibanum Storax and Benjamin being bruised together and burned under the nose of the Horse CHAP. XXIII Of the Gargil Plague or Murrain in an Horse THis Disease hath its original from several causes sometimes from Surfeits sometimes from evil Planetary influence not only corrupting Plants but several sorts of creatures Of such an infectious nature it is that it will not only spread through a Studd a Shire but through an whole Kingdome The signs of this disease are lowring and hanging down the head and in a small time after this first observation you will find a swelling under his Ear-roots or Tongue which swelling will be hard and spread over one side of his face his Mouth and whites of his Eyes will be yellow and will have a very stinking breath As an Antidote or Preservative take a pint of Muscadine and dissolve therein two Ounces of the best Treacle and give it them To cure the deseased take a good quantity of stale Urine and mix therein a good deal of Hens-Dung stirring it till it be all dissolved take a pint hereof at a time and in an horn give it your Horse luke-warm CHAP. XXIV A Diacatholicon or Vniversal Medicine for all Distempers If at any time according to the former signs and symptoms you find your Horse not well open his Neck-Vein taking from him a good quantity of blood then fasting give him three mornings together half an Ounce of Diapente well brewed in a pint of Muscadine which Diapente you shall make after this manner Take Gentian Aristolochia Bay-berries Myrrh and the shavings of Ivory of each a like quantity beat them into very fine powder and searce it I say having given him of this powder then ride him abroad an hour and then give him what he will eat at Noon give him a sweet Mash and at night with a course Rubber rub him well all over â—specially his Head and Nape of his Neck this you must do three or four days together and you will find a suddain reparation of health Here followeth â—n Alphabetical â—ccount both as to the names character causes signs and cures of the most common and dangerous diseases which belong to Horses Avives Avives is a French appellation for this disease and is corruptly called by English Farriers the Fives or Vives It s growth is under the ears descending downwards towards the Throat with inflammation and swelling this disease is dangerous and often mortal for this swelling will stop his wind and choak him if not timely prevented The causes of this distemper are great heats and rankness of blood The cure you may effect this one way which is worth all the rest I have read of Take a penny worth of fine Pepper beaten to fine powder a spoonful of Swines grease the juice of an handful of Rue two spoonfuls of Vinegar mix them well together and put it equally into both the Horses Ears and tye them up with two strings shaking the Ear so that the Medicine may sink downward this done let him blood in the Neck-Vein and Temple-Veins and you need not question the cure of your Horse Anticor The nature of this disease agreeth with its name for by reason of immoderate riding or too hard feeding without exercise the Horses blood becometh corrupted and inflamed taking up its residence in and about the heart and having not speedy vent is the cause of suddain death You may know this disease by this sign just against the heart there will be a swelling in the middle of the breast before the swelling doth appear the signs will be these he will groan very much when laid down hanging down his head he will refuse to eat Immediately upon the appearance of the swelling open both the Plate-Veins or take away a good quantity of blood from both sides of his Neck having done this give him a Drink of Diapente with Ale putting thereto an Ounce of brown Sugar-Candy and half an Ounce of London Treacle which will expel the grief from his heart after this anoint the swelling with Hogs grease Bores Grease and Basilicon of each three Ounces incorporate these well together and rub the swelling every day therewith till it come to suppuration or softness then by opening it let out the matter then wash your sore with Coperas water which you shall make thus take two quarts of fair Water and adde thereto half a pound of green Copperas with an handful of Salt and put these into a Posnet with a spoonful of Honey and a branch of Rosemary boyl these together till one half of the liquor be consumed a little before you take it off the fire put to it the quantity of a Wall-nut of Allum then let it cool and preserve it for your use Having washt the sore clean with this water then apply thereunto this Oyntment put into a clean Skillet of Rossin the quantity of a Wallnut being molten add thereto the like quantity of Wax and when that is melted put thereunto half a Pound of Hogs grease tryed and that being melted put in a spoonful of English Honey and when these are melted and well stirred together put thereunto half a pound of ordinary Turpentine this being dissolved take it from the fire then adde of Verdegrease finely pulverized one Ounce and so stir them all together then set it on the fire and let it simper but if it boyl it is utterly spoiled then strain it and when cold preserve it for your use This Ointment is of excellent Vertue to cure old Ulcers Fistulas but more especially any green wound Bots or Worms in Horses It is the opinion of the most judicious that there are three sorts of Worms which breed in the Bowels of an Horse First Bots being short Worms with great red heads and long small white tails next Truncheons which are short and thick being all of a bigness and the last are as big as a mans finger and six inches long and are only called Worms Mr. Markham by experience hath found out a fourth sort which are of a middle size and are red and fiery with thick short sharp heads and are of all others most dangerous for sometimes they will get up to his very throat and choak him sometimes eat through his very Stomach and kill him These Worms do proceed from a raw gross
gall cause and Cure 244 245 Nose running 247 Neighing how to hinder 340 O. Over gorged cause and cure 111 112 113 Over reach and over strain its cause and cure 247 Oyl of Oats its soveraign virtue and how to make it a great secret 250 Old sores a speedy cure 251 Old Horse how to make him seem young 339 P. Praise of a Horse 1 Properties of a good Horse 11 12 13 14 Pursiveness its cure 74. 116 Pissing blood cause and cure 115 Pricking by shooing a remedy 140. 157 158 159 Pole evil in the Neck cause and cure 251 252 253 Pole evil in the Head 254 255 Pastern joints strained 256 Prick on the Crownet its cure 256 Purgation its benefit 264 Purgation for Surfeits 264 Pains near the Fetlock its cure 266 267 Plaisters 274 Q. Quitter bone cause and cure 269 270 271 Quick scab cause and cure 272 R. Rules for ordering breeding Mares 348 Rules for ordering Colts 8 9. 349 Race Horses how to order 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 Rot in Horses cause and cure 118 Red water and matter to take away 273 Ring bone cause and cure 274 275 Rats tail to cure 276 Rowels how to order in any part 276 Ring worm 317 S. Scouring for a Horse 36 37 Shape of a Horse good to know 42 43 Sinews of a Horse 46 Sneezing to cause 67 Shedding Seed cause and cure 120 Staggers cause and cure 121 Sleeping evil cause and cure 122 Surfeits of all sorts cause cure 123 124 125 Staling how to cause 126 Squinzy cause and cure 126 Star in the forehead how to make 127 Strain in the Kidneys its cure 147 String halt cause and cure 156. 307 Scab on the Hoof to cure 160 Stub or Thorn how to draw 166 Scab or Leprosie 201 Shoulder hurt or Wrench cure 208. 279. 281 Strain or swelling 214 Shingles 234 Sore mouth 237 Sores to skin presently 268 Saddle hurt or swelling its cure 276. 302 Swift cut 277 Stanching blood 277 Salves for all sores 278 Shoulder dislocated its cure 280 Shoulder splat cause and cure 282 283 Shoulder pincht 284 Sinew sprain'd strain'd or griev'd 285 286 Scratches 287 288 Surbating of an Horse 289 290 291 Sinew crampt cause and cure 291 Strangle 292 Strain in the Pastern 293 Strain in the Coffin joint 295 Stifling cause and cure 295 Stumbling 298 Stars artificial to make 300 Smath'd back cause and cure 303 Spur galling 303 Selender cause and cure 305 Surfeit or Grease molten 305 Stripe on the Eye 307 Swelling after bleeding 308 Screw or splint 309 Shackle gall 310 311 T. Tiring on the road a remedy 128 129 Teeth pained cause and cure 265 Tongue hurt how cur'd 313 Tetter or Ring worm a cure 314 Tail how to cut V. Veins of an Horse to know 44 45 Vniversal medicine for all diseases 69 Vives in the Ears cause and cure 70 Vomiting cause and cure 130 Vlcers of all sorts a speedy remedy 215 Vniversal Plaister for most sores 262 Venom drank its cure 318 W. Worms how to cure 73 Wind Cholick its cure 131 Wind broken its cure 131 Wind to preserve 131 Warts to cure 149 Wens to cure 149 Weeping Hoof a cure 180 Withers grief its cure 201 202 Wild Fire its cure 321 Warts in the Eye 322 Wens to remove 322 323 336 Worms of all sorts a cure 324 325 326 327 328 329 Wind gall a cure 330 331 332 Weakness in the back 333 Water Farcy 334 Wolf teeth a cure 319 Y. Yellows vide Glanders Yard mattering to cure 337 A Brief Encomium OF AN HORSE By way of Introduction OF all four-footed Beasts I cannot find any so useful to man and so serviceable as is that generous Creature we call an Horse Neither doth the pleasure man receives by him come any ways short of the profit he reaps thereby In peace he serves to till the ground and as he takes great pains in causing the earth to bring forth its fruits in its proper season so when produced he labours no less to lodge them where his master shall appoint If the gallantry of his Masters spirits commands him to the War how chearfully he obeys and foams with impatience till he shares in his riders self-propounded honour How troublesome would Land-travail be were it not for this hardy and laborious creature who in the darkest night through thick and thin performs his journey not valuing the extremity of weather And this he seemeth to do out of pure gratitude to his feeder endeavouring this way to recompence his cost and why not since it is acknowledged by all intelligent persons that an Horse is endued with great understanding and from my own experience often knows when he hath a fool on his back It is reported in History that Bucephalus that famed War-Horse would not suffer any to mount him but Alexander the Great who then exprest all imaginable pride and satisfaction in bearing so victorious a Conqueror And that we may see farther how far this Creature is naturally inclined to love man I have read of one Nicomedes a King whose Horse so intirely loved him as that upon his Masters death the beast refused his best beloved food and so continued till he dyed And that we may not altogether borrow examples of this kind from forreign parts I shall produce you this one and no more observed in the Battel fought on Marston-Moor A Gentleman of eminent note being at that time there mounted on an excellent Gelding whom he had bred up from a Colt charged the enemy with much Gallantry yet notwithstanding it so happened that he was slain he that slew him observing his horse to be much better than his own alighted and so exchanged the horse immediately finding a rider on his back which he was unaccustomed to bear and now retaining as it were a resentment for the death of his Master began to fling and bound and never gave off yarking till he threw his rider and then fell to him with his heels which he exercised so nimbly that he gave his masters overcomer not the least opportunity to escape and having kill'd him left him and ran into the body of his own party I know not whether this Horse might not deserve as great esteem as such horses who for their love and tractableness have had Statues nay Cities erected to their memory However I must not applaud the Egyptians who have raised mangnificent Pyramids to those who have been eminently serviceable in their Wars But as I must condemn so I cannot but laugh at the preposterous folly of that Roman Emperour who doted so much on a horse that he made him a Senator But in truth there is so much to be said in the praise of this noble useful creature that should I write the one tenth thereof there would be no room for my ensuing matter But by the way this Encomium doth not belong to all Horses but such as are good To the intent therefore you may
every days Feaver Take a quart of strong Ale and seethe therein half an handful of Wormwood two ounces of long Pepper and Grains two ounces of the best Treacle one ounce of the powder of dryed Rue the third part of the liquor being consumed take it from the fire and strain it then put therein three ounces of the powder of Sugar-Candy when it is luke-warm make your Horse swallow it and there will be no fear that he will miscarry by reason of his present distemper A cure for the Tertian Feaver This disease taketh the Horse one day and forbeareth him the other the one day he shall seem to be very well and the next he shall be really very sick when blood begins to abound that is in the Spring time then this distemper is most rise among Colts and the younger sort of Horses the symptoms are all one with those of the Quotidian As soon as you perceive your Horse to shake take a weed called Stone-crop and so bruise it that you may get from thence four or five spoonfuls of the juice and mingling it with a quart of Ale put it into an Horn and give it your Horse then walk him moderately for an hour afterwards set him up and force him to sweat an hour more then cool him by degrees and let him not by any means drink cold water but let his food be the best dry old Oats you can procure The cure of the Quartan Feaver This Feaver is less violent than the two former yet of longer continuance its time of seizing the Horse is every fourth day as thus if his fit taketh him on Tuesday he will seem well Wednesday and Thursday and be taken again with his fit on Friday the causes and signs are the same with the other and the cure differs very little only you must not in any wise administer that prescribed Physick above thrice and if he recovers not then you must leave his cure to time for its working out The Cure of the Hectick Feaver An Hectick Feaver when it seizeth Horses it commonly bringeth death with it and is the first breeder of a Consumption the humour is hot and dry which runneth between the skin and the flesh occasioned by an idle custom of giving over hot drenches or by using them to drink Beer or Wine The signs or symptoms are want of appetite with a raw tongue almost scalded loose and flaggy flesh with a continual trembling over all his body His cure must be effected thus let his drink be only warm mashes made of Malt and water and let him eat nothing but sweet Hay or green Corn blades but first wash his tongue with Allom Running water Sage and Wood-bine leaves boiled together after this let him have this drink fasting in a morning Take of Aloes one Ounce of Garlick half an Ounce of Licoras and Anniseeds of each a Drachm beaten to powder then put these into a quart of White wine sweetned with Sugar-Candy or Honey and made luke-warm for him to drink Probatum est Of Feavers seizing an Horse either in Summer Autumn or Winter and their Cures It is the opinion of most that Summer Feavers are the worst of all ordinary Feavers especially in the Dog-days The Symptoms of this Feaver are the violent beating of his Arteries and his evacuating seed with his Urine The old way to cure him is to open the great Vein in his hinder Haunch about four Inches below his Fundament but by reason it is not easily found and so by mistake an Artery may be cut instead thereof I hold it much safer to open the Neck-Vein having so done give him a drink three mornings together made of the juice of an handful of Purslane mixt with Gumdragacanth Anniseeds and Damask Rose leaves beaten to powder all put into a quart of strong Ale sweetned either with Honey or Sugar-Candy and after this fail not to keep him warm as you must during the whole continuance of his distemper If your Horse get a Feaver in Autumn blood-let him in the Neck-Vein and in the Palate of his Mouth and then give him this drink following and never doubt of his recovery Take of Germander two Ounces of Gum Dragaâ—anth and dryed Roses of each half an Ounce beat them into fine powder of Oyl-Olive two Ounces and as much Honey put these into a quart of Ale and make them luke-warm after he hath drank it let him be walkt and then set up close and warm A Winter Feaver is of long continuance though not very dangerous the causes and signs are the same with the rest but you must be very circumspect in the cure and in the first place it is required that you purge his head well by sneezing then phlebotomize him in the Neck and Palate of the mouth and about three hours after give him this drink Take three Ounces of Rue half an Ounce of round Pepper of Bay-berries and Smallage seed of each half an Ounce boyl these in White-Wine and let him not drink till it be luke-warm As for his diet keep him fasting a good while before his fit comes and give him to drink nothing but warm Mashes if you find your Horse extreamly weakned by his fits then use this friction following whose virtues will loosen the skin chear up the inward spirits and spread a lively heat through the whole body Take this as the most Soveraign friction I have met withal you must get Oyl de Bay or Dialthea and anoint the Horses body all over therewith holding a pan of Coals near the Ointment to make it sink in rubbing hard against the Hair but as for Winter Feavers there is nothing better than this Take of Damask Roses one Pound of old Oyl a Pint of strong Vinegar a Pint and half of Mint and Rue beaten into powder of each an Ounce and half together with one old dry Nut beat them and mingle them well together and being strained and made luke-warm rub the Horse against the hair all over his body till he begin to sweat then cloath him and let him stand Now because I nominated before in the cure of this distemper that first sneezing should be used for the purging his head let me lay you down here the several way of making an Horse sneeze and the excellent use thereof CHAP. XXII Of several excellent receipts to force sneezing and their admirable Vertues NEezing is wrought sundry ways either by fumes smoaks powders or Oyls which tickling the tender and quick parts of the head enforce sneezing which is an excellent purgation not only separating gross matter but comforting and strengthning the brain You may cause this sneezing either by the stale Urine of a man or that of an Oxe this is excellent against every days Feaver The powder of Gum-Dragacanth Eusens and Damask Roses commixt and blown into the Nostrils of an Horse is an incomparable remedy against Winter or Summer Feavers Garlick stalks broke into little pieces and with Frankincense burnt in
and Phlegmatick matter ingendred by foul feeding The signs are the Horse will refuse his meat will be much addicted to lying down rowling on his belly beating it sometimes with his feet if troubled with the Red Worms his pain will be intollerable so that he will beat his head against the ground Some approve of this as an excellent remedy take the warm guts of a new killed Hen and mixing them with Salt thrust them down the Horses throat this must be done three mornings fasting withholding him from water four hours after or else give him to drink a spoonful of Soap in a Pint of Milk or lastly take of Gentian Aloes and Savin of each half an Ounce and brew them together with Honey and strong Ale But if it be a Mare with foal give nothing internally for fear of killing her Colt only let her blood in the roof of her mouth and make her swallow her own blood which will not only kill the Worms but help most internal Maladies Blood-staling An Horse many times instead of Urine will void pure blood which is occasioned often times by labouring over much and by that means breaking a Vein then will there issue from his Yard pure blood without any other commixture but if the Blood be mingled with Urine then it proceeds from the Kidneys wounded with a ragged Stone therein but Mr. Markham is clearly of the opinion that there is no greater cause of Blood-staling than the taking up of an Horse in the dead of Winter from Grass and without a days respite riding him a long journey The signs are so apparent that we will pass them and fall upon the Cure and in the first place it will be proper to phlebotomize him in the Palate of the mouth or in the Neck and let the blood be sodden with Wheat and with the powder of dryed Pomegranat pills having strained it give him hereof four or five mornings together and in the space of time let him not labour by any means Or take a quart of strong Ale and a red Herring cut it into small peices and let it lye steeping in the Ale then give it the Horse with an Horn and it will stop the inward bleeding of the Horse Otherwise you may take a spoonful of Taragon and steep it in White-Wine and as much Poppy seed beaten as will lye on a Shilling give this fasting in the White-Wine and it is an infallible cure Blowing and Pursiveness in an Horse Many Horses are naturally thick winded by reason of their being Cock-throppled and narrow chawled but most frequently it is so by accident as when he is fat and over-laden with flesh by rankness of blood or by too much foulness in the body and by these means will upon any exercise sweat pant blow and heave at the Flanks To the intent wherefore you may prevent his being broken winded in time apply your self to the cure and let it be in this manner Let him feed moderately on Hay for Horses so diseased are greedy Feeders and let the Hay be always sprinkled with water which will asswage his thirst and very much cool his inflamed blood then give him two Egges steeped twenty four hours in the strongest White-Wine-Vinegar five or six mornings following and let him swallow the Vinegar afterwards then ride him gently an hour after then set him up warm and three hours after give him Hay sprinkled with Water and at night give him Oats wetted in good strong Ale do this ten days keeping him the while to spare diet and let his drink be white Water This Medicine will both purge and scowre from him much flegm and filth at Nose and mouth and if moderately exercised will be both sounder and better in health a long time after Belly-ach This Belly-Ach or Fretting in the Belly proceedeth from eating green Pulse or raw undryed Pease Beans or Oats or when gross humours Inflammations or any sharp matter is gotten between the Pamile and the great Gut The signs are great groaning wallowing striking at his Belly and gnawing on the Rack or Manger The Cure is first to anoint your hand with Sallet Oyl or Butter and then thrusting it into the Horses Fundament pull out as much Dung as you can reach which is called Raking an Horse then give him a Clyster of Water and Salt or a Suppository of Honey and Salt and then let him drink the Powder of Centaury and Worm-wood brewed with a quart of Malmesey But the best remedy in most mens opinion is a Suppository of New Castle-Soap Broken-Windedness This disease may happen by over hasty running a fat Horse presently after his Water or without exercise standing too long in the Stable or foul feeding whereby so many gross humours may be drawn down into the body of an Horse that cleaving to the hollow parts of his Lungs and stopping the Wind-pipes his Wind may have its recourse backwards and not upwards filling the Guts and diminishing his strength The signs of this disease are violent beating of his Flanks drawing his Belly upward great opening of his Nostrils with a swift going to and fro of his Tuel all which are accompanied with a dry Cough This is the worst of all the Distempers of the Lungs and therefore the Cure is the more difficult however take this method having been found an excellent remedy by frequent experience and hath done its work when all others failed Take of Pances Long-Wort Maiden-Hair the Crops of Nettles Carduus Benedictus the Herb Flueâ—in Dragon roots bruised Elicampane roots bruised of Water Hemp Peniroyal Light-Wort and Angelica of each of these a good handful bruise them and lay them all night in two Gallons of Water let it boyl in the morning and when it is luke-warm give the Horse hereof as much as he will drink after this drink give him a good quantity of sodden Wheat use him to this Diet for ten days and then if the season be convenient turn him out to grass Others apply this Medicine they will take his Water for nine days and boyl Liquorish therein mixt with Wine and so give it him to drink I do not deny but this may be a safe and good Medicine but the first for my money Broken Lungs frettized and rotten The Lungs are inclosed by a very thin film and therefore are the more subject to break and being broken if the cure be neglected they will soon impostumate and inflame The signs are when the Horse cougheth his Flanks will beat but the flower they beat the disease is the more dangerous by how much it is of the longer standing or continuance besides he will draw his Wind short groan much and when he coughs he will bring up something which he will champ in his mouth To cure him you must give him two or three Ounces of Hogs grease and three spoonfuls of Diapente brewed in a quart of Barley-Water wherein Currans have been boyled Or you may take of Fenugreek and Linseed of
common and yet most dangerous if not timely cured wherefore I shall lay down the best receipts I could meet withal And first phlebotomize your Horse in the Neck-vein and let him bleed so long till you see the blood come very pure then give him of this Drink Take a quart of Ale and put therein Saffron and Turmerick of each half an ounce and the juyce that is wrung out of a great handful of Celandine and being luke-warm give it the Horse to drink keeping him warm three or four days giving him warm water with a little Bran in it Another way to cure him is when you perceive he is troubled with the Jaundice by the sweating at the roots of his Ears and by the yellowness of the Whites of his Eyes then blood let him in in the Neck-veins on both sides of the Neck then take Elder leaves Celandine and Camomile of each an handful cut them small and give them to the Horse in a pint and an half of the best Beer being made luke-warm fasting keep him warm and give him warm water to drink for two or three days So much of the yellow Jaundice a word or two of the black Jaundice It is the opinion of several understanding men that the black Jaundice is a disease incurable but because others are of a contrary opinion I will give you an account of what they prescribe for the Cure thereof First rake his Fundament then give him a Clyster made of Oyl Water Milk and Nitrum then pour into his Nostrils the Decoction of Mallows mingled with sweet Wine and let his meat be Grass or Hay sprinkled with water and a little Nitre and his Provender dried Oats he must rest from labour and be often rubbed I shall say little to it only leave it to your own Experience Inflammations how to ripen as Pustuls and Kernels which grow under the Chawl of an Horse These Pustuls and Kernels proceeding from Inflammations occasioned by colds c. must be dissolved otherwise all remedies will prove insignificant wherefore to bring these Pustuls to suppuration you must take Wheat-bran two handfuls and a quart of Wine or Ale to thicken it with put to it half a pound of Hogs-grease boil these together till the Liquour be quite consumed and so apply it to the place as hot as the Horse can endure it renewing it every day till it be so soft as that it be fit to be opened to let out the corruption then tent it with Flax dipped in this Salve But if the Inflammation be impostumated you may then take of the grounds of a Beer-barrel a Gallon of Smallage Peniroyal Winter Savory Cumfrey Rew and of the Berries and Leaves of the Misseltoe of each two handfuls chop these very small and put them to the Beer grounds and add thereunto Deer or Sheeps Suet tried one pound and three or four handfuls of Rye or Wheat-bran so much as will serve to boil these to a Pouâ—tess then apply it to the place and let it be never so much impostumated it will either break or soften it but if it be very hard it will discuss and divert the humour some other way Kidney Infirmities The Kidneys are frequently afflicted with Inflammations Obstructions Aposthumes and Ulcers and these are occasioned by some great strain by over-riding or over-bearing The usual Symptoms of the distempers in the Kidneys are discerned by his staggering and roling as he goeth his Urine will be thick and blackish if he hath stones they will be shrunk up if none his sheath will be drawn backward The Cure Bathe his Back and Loins with Oyl Wine and Nitrum warmed together and after he is bathed cover him with warm cloths and let him stand in Litter up to the Belly then give him to drink water wherein hath been sodden Dill Fennel Anniseeds Smallage Parsley Spikenard Myrrh and Cassia or as many of these Simples as you can well procure The next morning fasting give him a quart of Ews milk if you cannot get that then half a pint of Sallet oil with the root of Daffadil boiled in wine and let Oats be his Provender If the Horse be troubled with the Stone which you will discover by his often straining to piss but cannot then take an handful of Maiden-hair and steep it all night in a quart of strong Ale and give the Horse to drink every morning till he be perfectly cured this is an infallible Medicine to break in an Horse any stone whatever Loathing of meat in an Horse This is a disease proceeding from the intemperature of his Stomach occasioned by rankness of blood or overmuch travel Dayly experience makes this latter apparent for if an Horse be ridden hard and put up into a Stable hot he will refuse his meat and hence it is that I cannot but condemn baiting at Noons a vulgar ignorant custom because a journey commonly craves haste so that an Horse is not admitted to take so convenient a cooling as is requisite before his meat which breeds many distempers Now to cool him moderately either wash his tongue with Vinegar or give him to drink Oyl and Vinegar mingled with cold water But if the loathing of his meat proceed from the coldness of his Stomach which is only known by the standing up and stovering of the hair then give him Wine and Oil to drink mixed divers mornings together or Wine Oil Sage and Rice boiled together giving him thereof a quart at a time Some again will give him Onions pilled and chopt and Rocket-seed boiled and bruised in Wine others mingle Wine with the blood of a Sow-Pig But to conclude Take this as the best remedy for any general forsaking or an Horse's loathing his meat whether it proceed from hot or cold causes in the Stomach and that is when there are green Blades of Corn especially of Wheat give your Horse a good quantity thereof if it be at such a time as that they cannot be procured then give the Horse sweet Wine and the seeds of Gith mixt with it or else sweet Wine and Garlick well pilled and stampt brewing it a good while together this is a sovereign remedy in maladies of this nature Lask or Bloody Flux The Lask or â—ax is an unnatural loosness in an Horses Body which if not in its due time stayed will bring the Horse to great debilitation and weakness this disease proceedeth from very many causes wherefore I shall pass them over and only inform you that as you must have a care not to stop it too soon so let it not run too long both being of an equal dangerous consequence As long as you find the strength and good estate of your Horse continue you may let him scowre but when once that begins to impair you must put a stop to its farther course which you may do several ways As first take of Bean-flower and Bole Armoniack of each a quartern mix them together with a quart of red Wine give it him luke-warm
twelve times together then add unto it half the quantity of the juice of Housleek and with this wash and bathe the Eye twice or thrice a day this is good for any infirmity whatsoever belonging to the Eyes Here followeth another Water not inferiour to the other Take a pint of Snow-water and dissolve therein four drachms of white Vitriol wash the Horses eyes herewith at least four times a day and the effects will be admirable Eye-bitten This frequently happens as Horses stand in the Stable one Horse biting the other where he can best or next fasten his teeth if so then it fall out that your Horse be Eye-bitten take a little Honey with a little grated Ginger mingle them together and put them into the Horses Eye with a feather three mornings together Ears Impostumated This disease proceeds from several causes either from some violent stroke about the Ears or Poll or else by being wrung too hard with a new hempen hard Halter sometimes by a cold in the head or by other ill humours which strive to get a vent or passage through the Ears The signs are apparent for the Ears will burn glow and swell besides the Horse will be very unwilling to be handled thereabout The Cure is thus Take Linseed and make it into fine powder then take Wheat-flower of each half a pint ordinary Honey one pint tried Hogs-grease one pound mix all these well and warm them on the fire continually stirring them then spread this Unguent upon a Linnen cloth or Leather the breadth of the swelling and lay it thereon very warm once in a day and a night renew it till it break or be so ripe as that it may be convenient to lance it which must be downwards that the corruption may have a more easie passage then heal it thus Take Mel Rosarum Sallet-oyl and ordinary Turpentine of each two ounces make these into a body then make a Night-cap to keep on the Plaister tent the sore to the bottom with this Ointment and make a Plaister thereof and lay it on the place grieved once a day you must lay on a fresh Plaister and tent anew till it be whole But if the Ears be only inflamed then take Oil of Roses Venice Turpentine and common Honey of each a like quantity mix them well together and making them blood-warm dip some black wool therein and stop the Ears therewith renewing it once a day and it will remove the Inflammation Foul and old Sores how to cleanse and mundifie This following Water hath been often tried and upon trial found to be be a most excellent cleansing and healing Water for all old and rotten Sores Take of green Coperas and of Salt-petre of each half a pound Bay Salt and Salt-gem of each three ounces Arsnick one Ounce powder all these finely and put them into a stillitory Glass the pot or bottom thereof well nealed adde thereunto one pint of the strongest White-Wine-Vinegar set the pot on the fire and put on the head closing it with Cute of Hermes and being thus placed in the Furnace make under it a strong fire for the space of five or six hours and with your Receptory take the first water that cometh after an hour the fire will be out of the water then stop up the Glass very close and preserve it for your use When you are to wash any sore with this water have a care that you do not let any fall upon either Vein or Sinew for it will burn them in twain but where Ulcers and foul old sores are in the flesh this water will work wonders Falling of the Fundament The falling of the Fundament is a Distemper proceeding most commonly from over much laxativeness and flux of blood who growing exceeding weak by the voiding thereof straineth to bring forth something and instead thereof the fundament cometh out sometimes it comes by Colds or mere Poverty Cure it thus take white Salt made into very fine powder strew a little upon the Gut then take a piece of Lard and first having boiled Mallow leaves till they be soft take of these leaves and beat them well with the Lard and when sufficiently beaten make it up in the fashion of a Suppository and apply it fresh to the place once a day Fetlock hurt The Fetlock may be hurt by casting the Horse with the double rope or sometimes by a bite of a Dog if by either of these this Sorrance happens take unslaked Lime and the Yolk of an Egge of each a like quantity beat them together to an Oyntment then mix therewith the juice of one head of Garlick and a little soot and anoint herewith the sore till it be almost well but skin it over thus take Sallet Oyl and Oyl of Roses of each one Ounce of Turpentine three Ounces and of new Wax one Ounce melt them well together and adde to them the fourth part of the powder of Verdigrease and herewith anoint the sore in few days it will skin over the sore and heal it Foundring in the feet if new a suddain Cure If your Horse be foundred in his feet but of no longer standing than seven or eight days with this following remedy you may restore his feet to their former soundness First let him blood in the Neck Breast and Spur-Veins taking from thence two quarts and receive it in a clean vessel and therewith make this ensuing charge Take the blood and put into it eight or nine new laid Egges shells and all and beat them well with the blood put to them of Bole-Armoniack pulverized very fine half a pound strong White-Wine-Vinegar one pint Sanguis Draconis three Ounces finely pulverized make this up thick with Wheat Meal with this charge his Back Reins Breasts Thighs Fetlocks and Soles and apply two cloths Plaisterwise to the Coffin of his hoofs and bind the forelegs above strait with broad filletting then ride him two hours upon an hard way if paved best of all then set him up This Foot-foundring in an Horse is a certain numbness pricking or tingling within his hoofs and I can compare it to no more proper thing than when any of us by cross sitting do cause our feet to be asleep as we say vulgarly during which time we are so disinabled from going that we cannot stand but with some difficulty so it fareth with an Horse the course of whose blood being stopped those obstructions cause that torment Several are the causes of this Malady briefly it comes sometimes by taking off his Saddle too suddainly after a great heat or by standing still in the cold unwalked or by standing in some shallow Water after he hath been ridden no higher than his Fetlock or by too strait and uneasie shooes Now though I have already prescribed a remedy for this foundring I cannot let this one more pass which for its excellency can hardly be valued and is good for all sorts of Foundrings new or old In the first place you must with a
Corrupt blood rank feeding or over-heating do cause this Maunge in the Tail yet not always for sometimes it is occasioned by Truncheon-worms in the Fundament which are bred there in the Spring which will cause them frequently to rub their Tails in this case you need do no more than anoint your hand with Butter or Soap and pull out the Worms and the cure is effected But if you find the Tail grow bare by reason of shedding the Hair which is occasioned by some small worms which grow at the root thereof or otherwise by some small fretting Scab then anoint his Tail throughout with Soap and after wash it with strong Lye this will both cleanse him from the Scab and kill the Worms Sometimes there will grow a Canker in the Tail which by degrees will eat not only the flesh but seize on the bone so that it shall drop joint by joint against this Malady you must take this course Take of green Copperas and Alom of each two pound of white Copperas half a pound boil these in five quarts of running water in a strong earthen pot till one half be consumed then with a little of this water luke-warm wash his Tail every day once with a little Flax bound to a stick and it will quickly be well Interfering Interfering or Enterfering signify both one and the same thing this infirmity comes sometimes naturally the pace being very strait or sometimes by broad shooing so that in his going he heweth one leg against the other whence come hard scabs and very mattery sore causing the Horse to halt down-right The Cure is thus Take of May-butter or fresh Grease and mingle it with Nerve-oil and Turpentine fry these in a pan and then add Cow-dung and apply it Plaister-wise You need not trouble your self about the cure hereof if your prudence and discretion would look after his shooing so that he might go so wide as not to touch However if you will play the Horse-courser you may take a sharp and knotted Cord and draw it from his Dock between his legs to the Girths and so ride him Joints grieved with any Ach Numness Weakness or Swelling whatsoever which proceedeth from a cold Cause The causes of this Ach Numness and Swelling are either a strain or a cold taken by violent exercise labour or immoderate riding The Signs or Symptoms are so visible to the Eye they need no description The Cure is Take Aqua vitae and warm it on the fire then take it and bathe the part grieved and rub it very well holding before it a broad flat hot Iron which will cause the spirit to sink in the better then take a ragg or piece of Flax and dip it in the Aqua vitae then take Pepper and having beaten it well fierce it in a fine fierce and lay it on the rag or flax and bind it to the grieved member then swathe it well with a Linnen Rowler do thus once a day and this will soon recover him There are others who take Acopum and mingle it with sweet Sack and therewith rub and chafe the grieved joint this is an excellent Medicine though not altogether so good as the former Increase of an Hoof lost or torn by some accident If your Horse hath lost his Hoof or if it be any ways impaired then take the Oil of Hemp-seed of Wax of Venice Turpentine Rozin Pitch Bay-seeds dried and powdred of each half a pound Roch-alom two ounces incorporate these well together and let them seeth over a soft fire having thus boiled some little space take it off and strain it through an hair cloth thus you may preserve it till you have occasion to make use thereof Once or twice a day take of this Unguent and anoint the Hoofs of your Horse and this will make them grow exceedingly and so sound as that hereafter they will not prove brittle Knots or Knobs how to remove If you perceive that your Horse hath growing on any part of his body any unnatural Knot or Knob which by Artists are called Excretions caused by putrified blood or by wounds not well healed which Excretions are not only perspicuous to the Eye but plainly felt by the hand I say in such a case you must endeavour to remove them with all expedition which may be done thus Take an Incision-Knife and scarifie those Excretions then lay thereon Coloquintida burned and sifted having eaten away this Knob or Knot then heal it up with some drying Medicines as Honey Lime or Bole armoniack Or take the strongest sort of Aegyptiacum and with Cotton lay it thereon and in four or five times doing it will utterly destroy or eat away the Excretion Kernels under an Horses throat how to discuss suddenly safely and with little Expence In the first place you must take a lighted Candle and therewith sear the Kernels then take Butter it matters not whether fresh or salt and lay a piece thereof on a red cloth and rub it well in therewith and in less than fourteen dayes the Knots will vanish and if the Nose run by reason of them it will stop as soon as they are gone During the Cure if it be in Winter he must be kept warm in the Stable otherwise he may run at grass but neglect not to anoint his Knobs or Kernels once a day at least Or you may take Soap and mingle it with Brandy-wine and having a red hot Iron in readiness hold it somewhat near the part as you apply the Soap and Brandy-wine to make it sink in the better this Medicine will suddenly bring them down or break them Now if your aforesaid Knobs be of a long standing and be extremely hard then in this manner you must work the Cure Take an ounce and an half of the Oil of Turpentine and joyn thereto the like quantity of strong Beer put these into a glass and so shake them that they be well mingled together with this bathe the Knob clapping it in well with your hand and using an hot Iron to make it sink in the more four days after apply the charge of Soap and Brandy-wine Five or six days after you may ride him whither you please Knees broken of a long standing perfectly cured If your Horse have old broken Knees much swelled and hard and have been a good while healed up only take the Oil of Worms and anoint the places grieved for this is a great mollifier of any hard and bony part if this answer not your expectation then may you use the aforesaid Remedy which I prescribed for hard Knobs of a long continuance Legs that are swelled how to cure As to the swelling of an Horse's Legs you must consider whether it be before or behind if in his forelegs then the cause hereof was some over violent labour by reason he was fat and the Grease which was melted fell down in his forelegs which had it staid within and not fallen outwardly would have ingendered an Anticor or some other