Selected quad for the lemma: cause_n
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A49535
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The hunter a discourse of horsemanship directing the right way to breed, keep, and train a horse, for ordinary hunting and plates.
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Langbaine, Gerard, 1656-1692.
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1685
(1685)
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Wing L374; ESTC R1219
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62,186
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102
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a Body-cloath of six or eight Straps which is better than a Sircinglâ— and Pad stuft with wisps because this keeps his Belly in Shape and is not so subject to hurt him Now these Cloathes will be sufficient for him at his first Stabling because being inur'd to the cool Air he will not be so apt to take cold the weather likewise at that season being indifferently warmâ— but when sharp weather approaches and that you find his Hair rise about his outward parts that are uncloathed as Neck Gascoins c. then add another Cloath which ought to be of Woolen and for any Horse bred under this Climate and kept only for ordinary Hunting this is cloathing sufficient Now the design of cloathings is only by their help joyn'd to the warmth of the Stable and the Litter which must alwaies lye under the Horse to keep his Body in such a moderate Natural Heat as shall be sufficient to assist Nature that skilful Physitian in expelling her Enemies by dissolving those raw and gross Humours which are subject to annoy the Horse and which would very much prejudice him if they were not removed which warm cloathing does in a great measure by dispersing them into the outward parts and expelling them by sweating as he sleeps and lyes down which will be a meanes to purge his Body and keep it clean from glut and redundant Humours But yet as in all things the golden mean is best there is a meane to be observ'd too here for as too few Cloathes will not assist Nature sufficiently in the expulsion of her Enemies so too many will force her too much and cause weakness in your Horse by too violent sweatings Therefore you must have a care of following the Example of some ignorant Grooms who because they have acquired a false Reputation by liviâ—g in some Noblemans or Gentlemans Service that are noted Sportsmen think they are able to give Laws to all their Fraternity and therefore without any reason heap Multiplicity of Cloaths on the Horse as if they meant to bury him in Woolen You must know that both the temperature of the Weather and the State of his Body are to be observed and that all Horses are not to be cloathed alike Your fine-Skined Horses as the Barb Turk Spanish horse c. require moreâ— clothes then our English common Horses that are bred in a colder climate and have naturally thicker skin 's and a longer Coat But that you may not erre I have told you already how you are to cloath your Horse aâ—d therefore shall only add this one General Rule That a Rough Coat shews want of Cloaths and a Smooth Coat Cloathing sufficient ever observing that by his Countenance his Dung and other outward Characters which I shall by and by give you more at large you perceive your Horse to to be in health and yet notwithstanding your Horses Coat still stares you must add more cloathes till it lye as on the other hand if it will lye withe the assistâ—of a single Linnen Cloath it is suâ—â—icient But if when he has been in keeping some time you perceive him apt to sweat in the Night 't is a sign that he is over-fed and wants exercise but if he sweat at his first coming from Grass you must know that there is cause rather to encrease than diminish the Cloathes I have alloted at his first Housing for it proceeds from the foul humours which oppress Nature and when by exercise they are evacuated Nature will cease working and he will conâ—tinue in a temperate state of Body all the year after When he is cloath'd up pick his Feet cleane with an Iron Picker and wash his Hoofs clean with a Spung dipt in fair wateâ— and then dry them with Straw or a Linnen cloath and if there be occasion and that you find your Horses Legs durty you may bathe them likewise only you must be sure to rub them dry before you go out of your Stable then leave him on his Snaffle for an hour or more which will assist his Appetite When an Hour is expired you shall come to him again and having tuck'd an hardful of Hay and dusted it you shall let your Horse tease it out of your hand till he hath eaten it then pull off his Bridle and having rub'd his Head and Neck clean with the Hempen-cloth as before pull his Eares and stop his Nostrils to make him snore which will help to bring away the moist Humours which oppress his Brain and then put on his Coller and give him a Quarter of Oats clean drest in a Sive having first made his Locker or Manger clean with a Wispe of Straw and a Câ—oth Whilst he is eating his Corn â— you shall sweep out your Stable and see that all things are neat about him and turning up his Cloaths you shall rub his Fâ—llets Buttocks and Gascoins over with the hairpatch and after that with a Woolen-cloth then spread a clean Flannel Fillet-cloth over his Fillets and Buttocks which will make his Coat lye smooth and turn down his Housing-cloaths upon it Then anoint his Hoofs round from the Cronet to the Toe with this Ointment viz. Take Four Ounces of Venice Turpentine Three Ounces of Bees wax Two Ounces of the best Rosin One pound of Dogs-grease Half a Pint of Train Oyle Melt all these Ingredients except the Turpentine together being melted remove them from the Fire and then put in the Turpentine and keep it stirring till all be well incorporated then put it in a Gally pot and when it is cold cover it close from dust and reserâ—e it for use After this pick his Feet with an Iron Picker and stop them with Cow-dung and by this time your Horse if he be not a very slow Feeder will have eaten his Oates which if you find he does with a good Stomack sift him another Quart and throw them to feed him by little and little whilst he eats with an Appetite but if he fumbles with his Corn then give him no more at that time And this I think a better Direction than to prescribe a set quantity of Provender as all Authors I have yet met with have done For without doubt no certain Quantity of Meat can be allotted for all sorts of Horses any more than for all sorts of Men and therefore proportion the quantity to the Horses Appetite but be sure at all times give him his full feeding for that will keep his Body in better state and temper and increase his strength and vigor Whereas on the contrary to keep your Horse always sharp-set is the ready way to procure a Surfeit if at any time he can come at his fill of Provender according to the common Proverb Two hungry Meales make the third a Glutton But tho you perceive he gather Flesh too fast upon such home-feeding yet be sure not to stint him for it but only increase his Labour and that will assist both his Strength and Wind. When these
then to cleanse his Sheath with his wâ—t hand from all the Dust it had contracted during his Running and to wash his Yard either with White-wine or Water Then he may trim him according to the manner that othor Horses are trimm'd except the insâ—de of his Ears which though some still continue that fashion ought not to be meddled with for fear of making him catch cold When this is done let him have him to the Farrier and there get a Sett of Shoos answerable to the shape of his Foot and not to pare his Foot that it may fit his Shoo as too many Farriers do not only in Brabant and Flanders but here likewise Be sure let his Feet be well open'd betwixt the Quarters and the Thrush to prevent Hoof-binding and let them be open'd straight and not side-ways for by that means in two or three Shooings his Heels which are the strength of his Feet will be cut quite away Pare his Foot as hollow as you can and then the Shoo will not press upon it The Shoo must come near to the Heel yet not be set so close as to bruise it nor yet so open as to catch in his Shoos if at any time he happen to over-reach and so hazard the pulling them off the breaking of his Hoof or the bruising of his Heel The Webbs of the Shoos must be neither too broad nor too narrow but of a middle size about the breadth of an inch with slop'd Spunges and even with his Foot for though it would be for the advantage of the Travelling Horse's Heel to have the Shoo sit a little wider than the Hoof on both sides that the Shoo might bear his Weight and not his Foot touch the ground yet the Hunter being often forc'd to gallop on rotten spungy Earth to have them larger would hazard Laming and pulling off his Shoos as hath been shown before There is an Old Proverb Before behind and Behind before that is in the Fore-â—eet the Veins lie behind and in the Hinder-seet they lie before Therefore let the Farrier take care that he prick him not but leave a space at the Heel of the Fore-feet and a space between the Nails at the Toe When your Shoo is set on according to this Direction you will find a great deal of his Hoof left to be cut off at his Toe When that is cut offâ— and his Feet smooth'd with a File you will find him to stand so firm and his Feet will be so strong that he will tread as boldly on Stones as on Carpet-ground By that time he is shod I presume 't will be time to water him therefore rake him to the River and let him aâ—ter he has drank stand some time in the Water which will close up the holès according to the opinion of some Horsemen which the driving of the Nails made Then have him gently homeâ— and having ty'd him up to the Rack rub him all over Body and Legs with dry Straw then stop his Feet with Cow-dung sift him a Quarter of a Peck of clean old Oats and give them to him then litter him and leave him a sufficient Quantity of old Hay to serve him all Night and so leave him till the next Morning CHAP. IV. How to order the Hunter for the first Fortnight I presume by this your Horse will have evacuated all his Grass and his Shoes will be so well setled to his Feet that he may be fit to be rid abroad to Air without danger of surbating Therefore 't is now necessary that I begin in a more particular manner to direct our unexperienc'd Groom how he ought to proceed to order his Horse according to Art First then you are to visit your Horse early in the Morning to wit by Five a Clock if in Summer or Six if in Winter and having put up his Litter under his Stall and made clean your Stable you shall then feel his Ribs his Chaule and his Flank for those are the cheif signes by which you must learn to judge of the good or evil state of your Horses body as I shall now shew you Lay your Hands on the lower part of his short-ribs near the Flank and if you feel his Fat to be exceeding soft and tender and to yield as it were under your hand than you may be confident it is unsound and that the least violent Labour or Travail will dissolve it which being dissolv'd e're it be hardned by good Dyet if it be not then remov'd by scouring the Fat or grease bâ—longing to the outward parts of the Body will fall down into his Heels and so cause gowtiness and swelling I need not trouble you with the outward signs of this Distemper they are evident to the Eye but tho every Groom can inform you when a Horse is said to have the grease fallen into his Heels yet may be he cannot instruct you in the cause why Travail disperseth it for a time and when the Horse is cold it returns with more violence than before The reason therefore is this The Grease which by indiscreet Exercise and negligence in keeping is melted and fallen into his Legs standing still in the Stable cools and congeals and so unites it self with other ill Humours which flow to the affected part so that they stop the natural Circulation of the Blood and cause inflamations and swellings as aforesaidâ— but Travail producing warmth in his Limbs thaws as it were the congeal'd Humours and disperses them throughout the Body in general till Rest gives them opportunity to unite and settle again Now tho most Grooms are of opinion that this Distemper is not to be prevented by care or caution that when it has once seaz'd a horse it remains incureable yet they are mistaken in both for by Art it may be prevented and by Art cured altho the cure is so difficult to be wrought that a Groom cannot be too careful to prevent it As for the â—nward Grease which is in his Stomack Bag and Guts if when once melted it be not remov'd by Art Medicine and good Keeping it putrifies and breeds those mortal Diseases which inevitably destroy the Horse tho it be half a year or three quarters of a year after And this is generally the source of most Feavers Surfeits Consumptions c. and such other Distempers which carry off infinite numbers of horses for want of the Farriers knowledge in the first Causes of the Distemper which to prevent you shall follow the ensuing Directions After by â—eeling on his Ribs you have found his Fat soft and unsound you shall feele his Chaule and if you find any fleshy substance or great round Kirnells or Knots you may be assuredâ— that as his outward Fat is unsouud so inwardly he is full of glut and pursive by means of gross and tough Humours cleaving to the hollow places of the Lungs stopping so his Windpipe that his Wind cannot find free passage nor his Body be capable of much Labour Therefore