one great broad sinew of three inches in breadth being of one single substance no other sinew having any derivation from it which not only holdeth the Shoulder-Blades together but covereth all the Chine over and this is commonly called Pax-wax Of all the principal Sinews appertaining to an Horse from whence an infinite number of small ones are derived there is in number thirty eight according to the opinion of such who have made frequent inspection into the Carkase of an Horse CHAP. XIV Of the Bones in an Horses body AS in an Horse so in an Oxe there are just one hundred and seventy bones which are number'd thus in the upper part of the head two bones from the forehead to the nose two his neather Jaws two twelve fore Teeth four Tushes twenty four Grinders seven bones from the Nape of the Neck to the points of the Spade-bones eight from thence to the Huckle-bones and thence to the Tail seven The great broad binder bone hath twelve joints in it then are there two Spade-bones and from the Forcels two Marrow-bones two Thigh-bones two Shank-bones and from thence downward into the Hoofs there are sixteen small bones In the Breast of the Horse there is a great bone whereunto are fastned thirty six Ribbs there are many more bones in all two hundred fifty seven of which you may come to the knowledge if you are so desirous by your own strict indagation and curious inspection or inquiry Before I enter on the cures of the several Distempers that attend an Horse which are more than belong to any other Beast especially the running Horse by reason of his violent exercise give me leave to inform you how you may know the age of any Horse CHAP. XV. The most experienced and most approved way to judge an Horses Age by his Teeth Hoofs Tayl Eyes Skin Hair and the Bars or Stairs in his mouth AS I told you before in the Chapter of an Horses bones an Horse hath twelve fore Teeth six above and six beneath twenty four Grinders and four Tushes which make in all forty Teeth His Foal Teeth for the first year are only Grinders without Tushes which are white small and bright the second year the four foremost Teeth change colour and appear more big and brown The third year the next Teeth unto these do change also and no Foal Teeth are visible before but two on each side above and as many below being both bright and small The fourth year he hath left but two Foal-Teeth one on each side above and below The fifth year his foremost Teeth will all change and then his Tushes will appear compleat and those which appear in the place of the last Foal-teeth cast will be hollow and have a little black speck in the middest and this is the mark so much talked on which continueth till after eight years old The sixth year beareth little difference to the fifth but in the seventh year his Teeth are at their perfect growth and the mark in the Horses mouth will then be plainest seen In the eight year the mark will in a manner disappear and vanish At the ninth year his foremost teeth will seem longer yellower and fowler than before and his Tushes very bluntish After this year you shall never certainly discern what age an Horse is by his Teeth wherefore you must apply your self to other helps as first observe whether the Horses Hoofs be rugged and seamed full dry and rusty he is then for certain stricken in age whereas if his hoofs are smooth moist and hollow he is undoubtedly young Secondly with your finger and your thumb take your Horse by the stern of the Tayl close at the setting on by his Buttock and if you find a joint sticking out more than any other joint about the bigness of an Hasel-nut then you may adjudge him about ten but if it be smooth in that place and no such thing be felt he may be eighteen years old for ought you know Thirdly mark if his eyes be round full and staring from his head and the pits filled even with the Temple it is a sign he is young if wrinkled under his eyes or about his brow he is then old Fourthly pull with your fore-finger and thumb his skin up if it return to its place smooth he is young if otherwise old Fifthly if the eye brows or main of a dark coloured Horse shall grow grissel he is very old Lastly if the bars in his mouth feel rough and hard and are great and deep then conclude him very old but if otherwise soft and tender there is no fear but that he is young and lusty And now we shall descend to the cure of diseases which are twofold internal and external we shall begin with the last and end with the first CHAP. XVI Of Diseases in Horses and their causes IT is not to be expected that any man should become a Farrier who shall not know First to what disease an Horse is most inclinable Secondly what are the causes of every disease in particular Thirdly how and by what means those diseases do accrew Fourthly the signs and symptoms how to know and distinguish them and Lastly the means and manner how to cure them I shall insist on every one of these in its due order Now first touching the diseases an Horse is most inclinable to they are suitable to the complexion or constitution of the Horse for example if the Horse be colured Mouse-Dun Chestnut Brown Soot colour or Iron-Gray his complexion then is melancholy participating more of earth than any other Element by which means he becomes dull heavy dogged restise faint-hearted c. and therefore most inclined to Inflammation in the Spleen siccity in the Liver to the Dropsie Frenzy and the like and so may you judge of other diseases by the other three Complexions already treated of in a foregoing Chapter Secondly we must consider what are the causes of every disease in particular where note that the causes of sickness are all unnatural effects and evil dispositions Of these causes there are two sorts external and internal External are such which afflict the outward parts of the body and the Internal the inward parts proceeding from ill diet evil humours obstructions c. Sickness it self is no more than an evil temperature and that is two fold either simple or compound simple when one quality is redundant as too cold too hot too moist too dry compound when more than one quality abound as too cold and too moist Some diseases are lingring and consume the body by degrees as Consumptions Glanders others short and presently mortal as soon as discovered as Yellows Anticor and Staggers Now some diseases again do occupy the whole body as Feavers Pestilence Convulsions and so forth others only some parts as Colds offend the head Surfeits the stomach Thirdly how and by what means do these accrew the means are inbred or accidental either coming from ill humours and
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
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
thin sharp and always in motion but when they hang flagging and motionless it is the infallible symptom of heaviness and bad nature A swelling forehead a white star a white rach neither too big nor too little with a white snip on the nose are tokens of comliness goodness but if the rach stand awry the forehead flat and the nose be raw instead of a white snip no greater marks of deformity In like nature little eyes Pig ey'd as they call it are uncomely signs and discover weakness whereas on the contrary black bright round large eyes starting as it were out of his head are the signs of a good natured mettlesome Horse red and fiery eyes are little better than Moon-eyes and not far from blindness Wall-eyes are ever bad weak sighted and do declare a base nature if with white speeks they are next door to the pearl pin or web if watry and bloody the Horse hath susteined bruises and if they matter they are signs of old over-riding and lastly if the eyes be black yet fill not the pit so but that in every motion the white glearingly appears you may conclude that Horse weak and of an untractable disposition If the Thropple or Wind-pipe be large and the Jaws very open they are signs of soundness of head and that he hath great wind with courage if the Thropple be small and kernels thereabout you may then judge the contrary and that the Horse is inclined to the Glanders or is seised with a very soul cold Now as to the teeth be careful of buying an Horse that wanteth any for it is the opinion of the expert he were as good want all as lose one See that his breast be broad and out swelling which shews he hath great strength and will hold out a long time the little breast shews weakness and is the sign of uncomeliness the narrow breasted Horse is most commonly a stumbler and the inwardly hidden breast will not indure hard labour Let his fore thighs be Rush-brown well sinewed and horny but have a care they be not swel'd otherwise they are certain signs of strength the contrary are signs of weakness His legs must be clean and the bought of the knee without a seam or hair broken if you find scabs under his knee on the inside it is the swift-cut and very unfit to Gallop and if his legs be round fat and fleshy the Horse is altogether unserviceable and unfit to take pains So that one pastern be clean and well knit and the other short strong and upright standing for if the first be swel'd you have cause to suspect sinew strains and gurding if the other be long and bending that Horse is most subject to tire Good Hooves ought to be black not quite round but smooth yet tough a white hoof is naught being tender not carrying a shoe well an hoof that is rough and gross seemed denotes old age or that the Horse hath been over-heated a brittle hoof will not carry a shoe a very round hoof is bad for deep dirty ways a flat hoof shews foundering The Crownet of the hoof is sound if the hair be smooth and close and the flesh even but if the flesh rise the skin mangy and the hair staring you may then expect a Ring bone a Crown scab or something every whit as bad Look now to the Chine of his back and see that it be broad even and straight his ribs large and bending outward his buttock round and plump his stones close truss'd up to his body his Gascoyns well let down to the middle joynt very full thick his hinder legs lean and sinewy if they be swel'd the grease is molten into them if scabbed above the pasterns he hath the scratches if chaps under his pasterns he hath the pains and these are both noisome and dangerous To conclude his tail must stand broad high flat and somewhat tauched inward but a good buttock will produce a good tail and a bad one can never have a tail to sit well thereon CHAP. IV. Of the several Complexions of Horses Take this as a certain rule an Horse Complexion is ever judged by the Colour Now as in men so in Horses what element is predominant and prevalent in him from thence is drawn the complexion so that if he participate more of the water than of fire then he is to be looked on as a phlegmatick Horse If on the other side he partake of Fire more than any other Element he is to be adjudged â—holerick the colour that denotes a Cholerick Horse is either a Bright-Sorrel a Coal-Black or an Iron-Gray unchangeable These are light hot and fiery but at the best but weak and feeble the diseases they are most incident to are Inflammations of the Liver Pestilential Feavers and the Yellows to prevent which distempers Choler in them ought to be purg'd but gently because at their best strength they are weak of constitution so that without having this consideration by the imprudent administration of too strong a potion instead of curing an Horse may be confounded An Horse of a â—anguine complexion is known by having Air abounding in him and the Colour that attends this complexion is either a Bright-Bay or a Dark-Bay having no white flank White-Flea-bitten Black with a white star or white foot The nature of these Horses is to be pleasant of great strength nimble and free the diseases concomitant are Consumption of the Liver Glanders Leprosie with other infectious Distempers As their natures are strong so they will indure the application of strong medicaments especially such as cool the blood which are most suitable to his nature and disposition As I said before if â—ater be more redundant in any Horse than any other Element then is he said to be â—hlegmatick and the colour thereunto belonging is either Pide-Ball Milk-White Kite-glew'd or Yellow-Dun these beasts are much inclin'd to sloth and are very washy the diseases which accompany this Complexion are Rheumes Staggers Colds and Head-Ache c. By reason of the great quantity of Flegm which doth infest their bodies strong medicines will not hurt them having so much matter to work upon The fourth complexion is called Melancholy and that hath more of Earth in it than Fire Air or Water his proper colour is a Mouse-Dun Ash-Gray Dark-Bay with Mayly mouth Red or White Flank a Reddish-Bay Russet and Chestnut They are naturally dull and cowardly they are afflicted with the Dropsie Frenzy and Spleen and such like all dry or cicatrizing Medicaments are injurious to their natures but cold and moist are beneficial There is a fifth Complexion held by Farriers being as they say an equal composition or commixture of the four Elements and this constitution they highly applaud in that one Element is not more predominant than another being so equally temper'd that there is no overflowing in either and this Temperament participates of all colours as Brown Bay Dabled or not Dabled the Black full of
surfeits or molten grease and foulness by over exercise and the like Fourthly of the signs and symptoms of Diseases which are many nay almost innumerable however take them thus in brief First observe the place of the member grieved and see whether it have its true proportion and is not less or more in quantity if either happen the Horse is diseased next mark the alteration of the quality as whether too moist too dry too cold or too hot Your third sign may be taken from the members non-performance of his duty and lastly by the thicker and thinner Excrements But these directions may seem to some difficult and abstruse wherefore take these plainer instructions which are the thirty years observation of a most ingenious Gentleman and one admired by all the Horse-Doctors in or about this City and thus he layeth down the undeceivable signs of all sorts of internal diseases If an Horse be more than usual slower to labour or duller to the spur If he be shorter winded drawing his breath quick If his ears hang down more than they were wont If his hair do bristle or be more staring If his Flanks be more than usually lank and hollow If he burn betwixt his ears or about his pasterns If travelling his stomach fail him and his mouth dry which used to foam These are infallible signs of inward distemper as to the general now as to signs of particular diseases take these If an Horse hold down his head whereas he was wont to have a chearful look it prognosticates a Feaver Head-ach or Foundring That Horse whose eye were naturally clear and quick and of a suddain look dull and dim and heavy is troubled either with the head-ach or the staggers is seizing him An Horse will frequently discover obstructions in the Liver by often turning his head to the right side and the like by turning it down to his belly make appear that he is troubled with the Bots Worms or Cholick Water running from an Horses mouth is the sign of a wet cough or staggers If foul matter issue from an Horses Nostrils it signifies an Ulcer in the nose or head if it be white it is a sign of the Glanders if black of the mourning of the Chine if yellow the consumption of the Liver if little lumps proceed from his mouth it shows the rottenness of his Lungs The beating of the Flank with shortness of breath is the sign of a Feaver or â—trangle If ought may be felt on both sides the Forehead beating it is a sign of the Staggers Swellings about the ears betoken the Pole-evil under the ear the vives and swelling in the mouth is the sign of the Canker Flaps or Lampass Swelling under the throat and swelling about the root of the Tongâ—â— is in the first a sign of the Glanders in the last a sign of the Strangle but if about the tongue roots there be only knots or kernels it is only a sign of a Cold. If an Horse tremble after drinking cold water during that time he hath a certain fit of an Ague for if any will observe it after the trembling is over he shall find him burn and glow extremely If an Horse piss with much difficulty you may suspect him either foundred or troubled with the Wind-Cholick or Stone if the colour of his urine be yellow it is a sign of the Glanders but if thick and black he is afflicted with pain in the Kidneys If Horses Dung stink much it is the sign of a hot Liver if little then of a cold Liver and if undigested then of a Consumption or some dry Malady If an Horse desire extremely to lie down on his right side he is troubled with a hot Liver if on the left it is the sign of a distemper'd Spleen if he tumble to and fro taking no rest then he is troubled with Worms Bots or Wind-cholick if not able to rise when down it betokens mortal weakness or foundring in the body If an Horse covet much meat and little drink it betokens a cold Liver but if he thirst much and eat little then it denotes a Feaver rotten Lungs an extraordinary heat in the stomach or the dry Yellows If an Horse strike with his foot at his belly it signifies the Cholick or Griping of the Guts but if he fisks with his Tayl when he strikes then it is Bots or Wormâ— If a knotty Ulcer creep along the Veins it is the Farcy if expanding it self only in one place it is a Canker if the Ulcer be hollow and crooked it is a Fistula but if it be a spungy wart and full of blood it is an Anbury If an Horses tongue be swoln and hang out of his mouth it is the Strangle To conclude there are many more signs and symptoms oâ— diseases the discovery whereof I shall leave to your own industry And now I am come to the fifth and last thing which I promised to discourse upon and which must conclude this Treatise viz. The means and several ways used to compleat the cure of every individual disease incident to the afflicting an Horses body observe this first as a Prooemium thereunto CHAP. XVII General yet choice observations in the administration of Physick to Horses THe signs and symptoms of diseases will avail you little if only knowing how to judge of health and sickness you know not also how to apply things proper to every malady and to the intent you may avoid all absurdities herein take these rules First let what ever potion or drench you give your Horse be but luke-warm for it is of a most dangerous and deadly consequence if you scald an Horses stomach Secondly give him his potion easily that you may avoid suffocation Thirdly draw out your Horses tongue a little before you clap the horn into his mouth and then let it slip in again and that will force him to swallow what he hath received Lastly if you will have your physick work well keep your Horse fasting a good while both before and after the reception thereof and use him to moderate exercise for the better operation as walking or trotting him as you shall find him furnished with strength As to the mixing your medicaments take these three observations First if your Horses distemper be hot as a Feaver c. then let your simples be mixed with Oyl Honey or warm water Secondly if the disease hath its rise from cold causes as Coughs Rheums c. then mingle your simples with Wine or good Ale Lastly if your Horse be weak and much debilitated by his distemper then mix your simples with Milk and Egges CHAP. XVIII Of Blood-letting PHlebotomy or Blood-letting is either to prevent diseases and so preserve health or to refrigerate the spirits or else to take away blood where there is too much or else to void and purge gross and foul humours In phlebotomy you are to observe this first to chase or exercise him moderately then let him rest a day before you
to his meat For the Cure take of Diapente the bigness of an Hasel-nut as much Dialfara as much London Treacle as much Mithridate as much Saffron an handful of Worm-wood an handful of Red-Sage Rhubarb as much as an Hasel-nut and two Cloves of Garlick boyl all these together in a quart of Beer till it come to a pint and half then give it him luke-warm fasting and keep him very warm and the next thing you give him must be a warm Mash of ground Malt it must be his sweating that principally effects the Cure Head-ach Is a pain that cometh from some inward cause as some cholerick humour gathered together in the Panicles of the Brain or from some extream heat or cold or from outward causes either by a blow or some noysome savour The signs are hanging down of his head dropping of his Urine dimness of sight swoln with waterish eyes The best way to cure him is to make him sneeze by fumigation then let him blood in the Palate of the mouth and keep him fasting fourteen hours afterwards then spurt into his Nostrils Wine wherein hath been sodden Euphorbium and Frankincense after this seed him and keep his head warm Others advise to let him blood three mornings together after walk him a while then cloath him then cover his Temples over with a Plaister of Pitch let his meat be little and his Stable dark Hungry Evil or greedy Worm The hungry Evil is an unnatural and over hasty greediness in an Horse to devour his meat faster than he can chew it and is only known by his greedy snatching at his meat as if he would devour a piece of the Manger The Cure is to give him to drink Milk and Wheat meal mingled together a quart at a time and to feed him with Provender a little and a little at a time till he forsake it Horse Hide-bâ—und Hide-bound is so called because the skin cleaveth so fast to his ribs that with your fingers you cannot pull one from the other It proceedeth sometimes from Poverty sometimes from Surfeit and lastly from a corrupt dryness of the blood which wanting its natural course forceth the skin to shrink up The signs are besides what is already spoken gauntness of Belly and the Ridg-bone of his back standing up if this be not speedily remedied Manginess will suddainly insue The Cure of this disease is diversly laid down some will have the Horse let blood in the Spur-Veins and then give him this drink Take of Strong Ale a quart and put thereto three Ounces of Sallet Oyl of Cummin one Ounce of Anniseeds two Ounces of Liquorish two Ounces beaten all to fine powder and given him luke-warm in an Horn to drink having drunk it off let one chafe his back from his Huckle-bone upward for an hour or more then let him stand warm with good store of Litter about him then fold about his body a thick Blanket soaked in Water and this will make him sweat thus do for a week and you will loosen his skin Others prescribe blood-letting in the first place then let him drink 4 mornings together a quart of new Milk with two spoonfuls of Honey one Spoonful of course Treacle let his food be sodden Barley or warm Grains and his Drink hot Mashes But the best remedy I can find and that experimentally is first to let him blood in the Neck-Vein then give him this drink Take two handfuls of Celandine if in Summer the Leaves if in Winter Stalks and Roots and chop them small then take an handful of Wormwood and an handful of Rue and chop them also put all these into three quarts of strong Ale and boyl them till it come to a quart then take it from the fire and dissolve therein three Ounces of the best Treacle and being luke-warm give it the Horse to drink then for a weeks space once a day rub all the Horses body over with Oyl and Beer against the hair and feed him with warm Mashes of Malt and Water and let his Provender be Barley sodden till it be ready to break Horses lean and unsound how to fatten them in a Fortnight If your Horse be so poor and diseased that you are out of all hopes of his life then take Anniseeds Cumminseeds Fenugreek Carthamus Enula-Campana Flower of Brimstone brown Sugar-Candy of each of these two Ounces beaten and searced to a very fine powder then take an Ounce of the Juice of Liquorish and dissolve it in an half pint of White-Wine then take three Ounces of the syrrop of Colts-foot of Sallet-Oyl and Life-Honey of each half a pint then mix these with the former powders and with as much Wheat Flower as will bind them all together then work them into a stiff Paste and make thereof Balls as big as Pullets Eggs and so keep them close in a Gally pot when you would use them take one and anoint it with Oyl or Butter and give it the Horse in the nature of a Pill then ride him a little after it then feed and water him as at other times giving him this Pill for a whole fortnight together but if his fatning answer not your expectation then make a second Ball after this manner Take of Wheat-meal what may suffice of Anniseeds two ounces of Cummin-seeds six drachms of Carthamus one drachm and an half of Fenugreek-seeds one ounce two drachms of Brimstone one ounce and an half of Sallet-oil one pint two ounces of Honey one pound and an half of white Wine four pints the hard Simples being pu'verized and finely sierced you must make all these into a Paste and having kneaded it well make it into Balls bigger than a Turkeys Egg and then every morning and evening when you water your Horse dissolve into his cold water one of these Balls by lathering it and so let him drink thereof The Horse at first will it may be be very unwilling to drink thereof if so let him thirst till he drink it for at last he will be forced to take but having throughly tasted thereof he will refuse all waters for this only this is a most excellent Medicine which not only scowreth fatneth but likewise cleanseth the body from all manner of ill humours Jaundice The Jaundice or the Yellows proceeds from the overflowing of the Gall and Spleen of this Malady there are two sorts if Choler overflow by reason of the Gall then it is the yellow Jaundice because of the outward appearance of the Distemper as Eyes Skin Mouth inside of the Lips c. are dried and coloured Yellow if Melancholy abound by reason of the sickness of the Spleen the outward parts appear black and therefore it is called the Black Jaundice Where note that whilst the matter is yellow so long the Horse's body is in a very probable way of recovery but when the yellow is mastered and converted into blackness it is an evident sâ—gn of mortality Of all the diseases in an Horse's body this is most
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
and Sope of each a like quantity and mix them together like a Paste then having cut out the over-reach and laid it plain first wash it with Urine and Salt and with a cloth dry it then bind on the mixt Sope and Salt not renewing it in twenty four hours thus do three days together the venom being drawn forth take a spoonful of Train-Oyl and as much white Lead and mix it to a thick Salve lay on a plaister hereof morning and evening till it be whole which will speedily be effected Canker in the Withers A Canker in the Withers often happens thus the Withers of an Horse having been violently wrung and afterwards for some time neglected though which means the violence of the Distemper breaketh upward yet most of the matter or corruption discending and rotting still downwards it will suddainly prove a cankerous and foul Ulcer and as full of danger as any Fistula what-ever The signs are very evident for the humour which issueth from the sore will be sharp hot and waterish corroding or fretting away the hair wherever it comes and the hole of the sore will be somewhat choaked with a kind of spongious dead flesh so that the gross matter will be somewhat obstructed in its passage The ancient Cure hereof was to take a keen Razor and cut open the hole of the Ulcer so that you may look into the cavity or profundity thereof and having cut out all the dead flesh from the quick then take a quart of stale Urine and add thereunto some Salt then boyl it well and having first cleansed the sore very well with a wisp of Hay then wash it with the Urine and Salt boiled together then take the yolks of four Egges and a penny worth of Verdigrease with a spoonful of flower and make a Plaister thereof applying it to the sore renewing it once a day till it be whole Casting of an Horse how to do it In the first place you must elect a convenient place such as is some soft green Swarth Dunghil not over moist or in a Barn upon good store of straw and having brought him to any of these places then take a double long rope and cast a knot a yard from the bought then put the bought about his Neck and the double rope betwixt his fore Legs and about his hinder Pasterns underneath his Fetlock then put the ends of the rope under the bought of his Neck and draw them quick and they will overthrow him then fasten the ends and hold down his head under which lay good store of straw Now if at any time you would brand your Horse in the buttock or do any thing about his hinder legs take up his contrary fore-leg and that will secure you from his striking Defence for Horses against Flies in the heat of Summer Your Horse-fly especially but there are other offensive Flies in heat of Summer which are a great trouble and perplexity to Horses stinging them in such manner that they will run themselves off their legs thinking to free themselves that way to prevent the biting of these Flies when he is at grass anoint his body all over with Oyl and Bayberries mingled together if in the stable take a Spunge dipped in strong Vinegar and bind it unto the head-stall of his Collar These are very good preservatives but there is nothing better both when he is abroad and at home than to take Rue and make it into a pretty big wisp and therewith rub the Horses body all over then take another wisp of the same and do the like till you think you have imbittered his coat sufficiently and then your own experience will find no fly will fasten upon him this hath been always tryed effectually Drying up of Humours If you would dry up stop or stay any flux of humours take Rozen Affalto and Myrrh of each an Ounce and dissolve them in Vinegar of red Wax half an Ounce and of Armoniack half an Ounce mingle them well together in the boyling and make thereof a Salve which you will find to be a great dryer a binder of loose members and a comforter of weak parts Or you may take Oyl or soft Grease beaten to a Salve with Vitriol Galls and Allom the powder of Pomegranats Salt and Vinegar this dries and binds sufficiently There are many forms of drying and binding which are published in all books of this nature wherefore referring you thither I shall only instance this one more and that is the Bark of a Willow Tree burnt to Ashes which I can assure you is as great a binder and dryer as any simple whatsoever Dangerous Sickness and how it cometh This dangerous sickness in general proceedeth from many and particular causes having each of them peculiar signs and therefore must have distinct remedies The causes may be ranked under these four heads first dangerous Maladies may proceed from heats occasioned by over much labour or exercise hence comes molten Grease the heart over-charged and its pores so obstructed that it cannot perform his function by which means the spirits are detrimented and the whole body put out of order and the signs hereof will be dulness of countenance swelling in his limbs scouring and loathing of his meat The second original cause of dangerous sickness are Colds from indiscreet keeping after violent exercise or otherwise and the symptoms of this are heavyness of countenance with sleepiness Pustuls inflamed Kernels and swellings a rotten inward Cough after which he cheweth some filthy phlegmatick matter between his teeth The third cause of dangerous sickness is surfeit by food either by over eating or under eating of that which is good or eating of what is unwholsome by the first all ill humours ascend into the head from which are bred the Stavers Phrenzies with other deadly diseases From the second proceeds the putrefaction of the blood converting all the nutriment into corruption hence come the Yellows Farcy Feavers Mange with other such like pestilential and loathsome Distempers The signs hereof are a dulness of the face and eyes in such sort as the Horse will be unable to lift up his head as high as the Manger his upper lip and sheath cold his pace staggering c. Lastly dangerous sickness may come accidentally as by receiving some desperate wound or hurt in some vital part whereupon nature being highly offended gives leave to many mortal diseases to seize the body of an Horse The general signs hereof are sweatings at the roots of the Ears in the Flanks and behind the shoulders his mouth will be dry and hot his tongue furred and lastly he will have a loathing to his meat Dangerous sickness how to cure The best way to cure dangerous sickness is to meet with it in the Bud before it hath got too great an head but send it packing before it be deeply rooted in an Horses body and to this end you must have a strict eye over your Horse frequently prying into his present condition if