bathe therewith the Legs or Thighs from above the Knee and from the Cambrels downwards or for want of these Neats-foot Oyl after which chafe it in with your hands and in often so doing in all places where you see occasion you will wonderfully restore his Limbs rendring them supple and plyable There are many things to be observed from the Sweating of a Horse especially from that which proceeeds without External force occasioned by hard labour or the like for then is the Horse faint foul fed or wanteth Exercise to evaporate the abundance of watery humours which he hath contracted And especially this is to be noted when his Sweat is white and frothy like a Lather of Soap but in case of Heats and other considerable labour to create Sweat if it appear black and pearly like clear water then is the Horse in a good plight oâ— habit of Body especially if he be lively and brisk not in the least afflicted with any shaking or trembling for that infers the Sweat forced out by some Internal disorder rather than naturally evaporated And now seeing the Causes of Sickness are very material to be known that is from whence they arise that so the Skill in Curing may be the greater and the Remedies to be applied more powerfull and certain in their Operation as also the causes of health and long life Take for your better Experiment what you find in the subsequent Chapter CHAP. XVI Of the Elementary parts of a Horse's Body and of the Agreement of the Humours therewith A discourse of Corruption and Generation in which is set forth all things of that kind relating to Goodness or Badness Health or Sickness c. CErtain it is that no Man can truly pretend to Experience of this kind unless he duly weigh the Nature of Generation and Corruption for on them as on the Collumns of this Art stand what is material of this kind These two being ever consonant in the main though one Horse's body may differ in Constitution from the other for these being the Suparlative of Elementary subsistance or matter fail not to operate in their turns or as Nature disposes them in their places and degrees and therefore it will be highly convenient to discover them in their Parts and Particles As for the Body of a Horse it differs not in Elementary composition from that of a Man for of all the Elements it consists viz. Fire Air Earth and Water which are indeed the Generatives and Consumers of all Mortal things and beings And although these Elements are different in themselves yet are frequently agreeable in the Composition for the Fire though hot and dry in it self yet compounded with the other Elements in a Mortal frame or bodily composition diffuses a gentle heat to nourish and support life Though the Air is hot and moist but more participating of the latter yet does it temperate the heat of the former and gives a kind respiration and gentle breathing to refresh and exhilerate each Part and Particle The Earth though it is in it self gross and ponderous yet in this composition is it rarified and by its substantial matter composes the frame wherein the rest of the Elements cohabit and being cold and dry serves to temperate the hot and moist The Water though cold and moist in it self serves in this case to moisten and render plyable the Sublunar works of Nature and enabling them to subsist And of these four Mothers of Creation participate more immediately the four humours of which the Bodies of Animal and Rational Creatures are composed as Choler Blood Melancholy and Phlegm the first of Fire the second of Air the third of Earth and the fourth to Water And as these more or less operate so according to their qualities is the Body moved and exposed to heat cold moisture or dryness and consequently to the effects they produce for these have their principal Dominion in the Seats of Life and from thence extend their power and force to every part and member As thus Phlegm possesses the Brain Choler and Blood the Liver and Heart and Melancholy the Spleen which is the Recepticle and Conveyancer of the Excrements of the Liver all of them having distinctly and conjunctly their proper office assigned As thus the Blood is the principal nourisher of the natural frame Phlegm or Moisture renders the Members flexible and complyant in motion and use Choler causeth digestion by its Operative heat and Melancholy disposes to an Appetite and attracteth the grosser parts of Nutrimental Elements and occasioneth the disburthening of Nature It is generally agreed on by the Learned That every Organical-body is supported by four principal instrumental Members and these are held to be the Brain Heart Liver and Genitors these performing their particular offices and functions Por as the Sinews are supported by the Brain the seat of Animal Spirits the Arteries from the Heart or seat of Vital Spirits the Veins which are natural parts from the Liver so the Seminal Vessels are supported by the Genital Parts or Instruments of Generation and these conjoyntly operating are the Elementary Substitutes as participating of their Nature and consequently the Materials of Generation Thus having briefly discoursed of the Elementary parts of the Bodies of Creatures I now proceed from the four Humours Elements and Instrumental Members to the Natural faculties which in this case are the next things to be considered which are Eating Retaining Concocting and Expelling and though all the Humours are Instrumental in promoting these yet principally Nature serves her self but of only one to work upon and that is a wheyish kind of Blood generated in the Liver or attracted thereby from the purest part of such nutriment as has been concocted in the stomach and from thence conveying it self to the Liver and through the great Vein conveying nutriment into all its branches and consequently into all the parts of the Body by dispersing the Rarified blood into every part which by the help of the other Humours supports the frame of Nature As for the watery part of nourishment and that of the grosser substance the one is carried into the Bladder and the other passing into the Bowels are in the end cast out of the Body to make room for more of the like nature But moreover there are two Veins that conduct part of the purest and rarified matter into the Seminal Vessels where by the operation and contractions of the Generative parts it is refined by a gentle heat to a more spirituous quality and so in the end becomes Seed which according to the goodness or badness mixed in the Womb proves effectual or ineffectual for note that if the thin and subtil Blood be wanting to support the Seed and enliven it with heat it frequently fails in performing its office and the Horse becomes frigid and uncapable of performance and is often subject to moist diseases as the Glaunders often proceeding from the Liver and Lungs when they are infected with
THE Gentleman 's New Jockey OR FARRIER'S Approved Guide CONTAINING The exactest Rules and Methods for Breeding and Managing HORSES c. in order to bring them up in the best manner for Profit Pleasure or any kind of Service or Recreation Especially in what relates to Racing or Running Coursing Travel War c. With Directions for Heats Dieting Dressing and the several Paces requisite on any of the like occasions Also Approved Receipts and Remedies for all manner of Diseases Sorrances Hurts or Grievances incident to HORSES according to the Opinions of the best Farriers of all Countries and Ages With Directions for preventing Sicknesses and Griefs and the Symptoms whereby they are known To which is added a Second Part Containing many rare and new Secrets never before made Publick relating as well to Management as Cure and what else may contribute to the advantage of Buying or Selling and many other Things and Matters highly necessary to be known by all Lovers of good Horses Illustrated with sundry curious and necessary Cutts LONDON Printed by W. W. for Nicholas Boddington at the Golden Ball in Duck-lane 1687. Licensed and Entred according to Order Advertisement AN Alarme to Unconverted Sinners in a serious Treatise Shewing 1. What Conversion is not and correcting some Mistakes about it 2. What Conversion is and wherein it consisteth 3. The Necessity of Conversion 4. The Marks of the Unconverted 5. The Miseries of the Unconverted 6. Directions foâ— Conversion 7. Motives to Conversion Where unto are annexed divers Practical Cases of Con science Judiciously Resolved By Joseph Alleine late Minister of the Gospel in Taunton in Someâ— setshire Sold by Nicholas Boddington at thâ— Golden Ball in Duck-lane The Preface to the Reader Reader THough sundry persons of no small Experience have undertaken to give Mankind an insight into the Manner and Method of bringing Horses to the hight of perfection in what relates to their Rule and Management on those occasions or services to which they are properly intended or designed as likewise to know and distinguish them in all their capacities with Directions for discovery and â—ure of distempers grievances and defects â—ncident to them Yet let me tell you â—here are many things Material of that â—ind that have not as yet been made pubâ—â—ck all or most of them so necessary be known by the curious Inquires into â—is Mystery that without knowing them Man can be an excellent Jockey or aâ— expert Farrier nor consequently have his Judgment approved in any thing material relating to Horses or Horsemanship Great indeed have been the Studies and Travel of the Industruous of many Kingdoms and Provinces in this Affair whose Labours have Worthily found acceptance The Consideration of which has imboldned me to make this Essay hoping it will turn to a General advantage being rightly considered put in practice and applied since that by a more than usual curiosity what has been contained in this has been searched out through all the revealed and till now unrevealed Mysteries of this kind so that the Reader may with easie prospect or survey find out whatever he can wish relating to a good Horse good Management knowledge in the Craft and means to preservâ— his Beast from a multitude of infirmitieâ— nay rescure him from death and utter dâ—struction near and into which througâ— neglect or ignorance he is fallen aâ— thereby not only give themselves sat is fâ—tion in the prolonging the days and heal of so Noble a Creature for service aâ— imployment sundry ways but always redound to their profit and advantage in capacitating them to sell and dispose of at a considerable rate the Horse that they perhaps deemed lost and of no value In order to which beside the Mystery of Breeding Horses to the best advantage and regard that is to be observed in diet dressing and preparing them for Racing and other the like undertakings with Habit of body knowledge of Goodness or Badness and in general and particular all things of that or any other kind whatsoever that is requisite to be known I have set down such ready and easie ways and methods to discover diseases and other grievances joyntly and severally as also speedily and with little charge labour or trouble to prevent redress or cure them that what is written must undoubtedly satisfie the largest expectation as to things of this nature or at least give that satisfaction that the most penurious or critical may find â—nough to make him confess that time and â—ost were not imployed in vain Some inâ—eed may upon the first sight object against the smallness of this Book and imagin a subject so copious allowing such variety is unlikely to be cramped in so narrow a corner But let me tell them that when at great expence and pains they have searched larger Volumes as also into the unpublished Practices of those who are famous at this day they will find that they have wearied themselves in vain in travelling the longest way about when in all that tedious progress they found nothing material but what is comprehended in this Treatise But not longer to gloss upon what is able to speak for it self I shall only say that of this kind Nothing exceeds it and so submit it to the Censure of the Ingenious Reader and remain Yours further to oblige you G. L. To his very good Friend The ingenious G. L. upon the perusal of his Book intituled The Gentleman 's New Jockey c. SIR I have view'd the Authors of this kind That did pretend or seem'd to this inclin'd This Art I would have said such as have wrote Unskill'd themselves and would have others taught But prove in all their large Pretence defect Either the cause of Weakness or Neglect But in the Work you to the World propose I find to th' Essence of those numerours those Who vainly built on a Foundation bad Which from ill structures of old times they had You have Additions in strange measure made Such as those Ages never knew So when Light from the Chaos sprung those things were seen That brooding Darkness spread her wings upon And long obscur'd beneath her gloomy Throne In Epitome the noble Creature you Have in perfection given all his due From his beginning to his end and done What has in Ages past attention wone By all the Brave the Wise when in a Cloud It dimly shone but you remove the Shroud And give unscreen'd a prospect of what may Avail Mankind and your own worth display Whilst those who hunt who Travel or in War At Home seek Fame or in the Regions far Aided by your advice are ever free From Danger great or Ill-conveniency And could a Creature made Irrational Arrive to that Discretion which we call The Sence of Mankind he far more then they Would for this Work a humble Tribute pay And at your feet himself an Off'ring lay Sir Yours to serve you J. D. THE CONTENTS OF THE First PART CHAP. I. Excellent Rules and Instructions highly
shortness of the upper Lip and wrinkles on the side of the Mouth old age and above all observe his Teeth be clean even firm and well proportioned But of them more particularly hereafter when I come to speak of the Horse's Age though in general unseemly and uneven Teeth are a sign of badness Observe the Breast of your Horse and if it appear broad bowing outward and well feather'd it denotes health and strength when on the contrary a small Breast ridged or flat as also the Shoulders standing in denotes stoppage weakness in travel pains of the Heart and Liver and the like with stumbling and interfering as also does a Breast that is narrow and imbowed inward those being generally the marks of a Horse weak and unfit for labour Next cast your Eyes from the Elbow to the Knee and see his fore-thighs be well proportioned strait and well clad with flesh and sinews by which strength is signified and by the contrary weakness Observe the Knees that they are carried even that they be well joynted close knit and fixed with Sinews and Ligaments free from Scabs or Scars not over round but well joynted and boned for if they appear contrary to these marks as round and swelling of a more than ordinary bigness if they be scabbed broken or the hair off then it betokens an uneven treader and one that is apt to stumble or subject to the swift cutt Having thus far taken notice the next thing to be observed materially is from the Knee to the Pasterns and there consider if the Legs be clean well fleshed and well sinewed bowing somewhat inward which shews strength and a firm treader but if on the inside you find any fleshy Excressences or Scabs a little beneath the Knee on the inside likewise then is the Horse subject to interfering but if a general Scab c. then the cause is foul keeping if on the inner bowing of the Knee you perceive Seams or the hair broke disorderly a cankerous Mallender is denoted or Ulcer Observe that the Pasterns be clean and well knit together especially the first and the other short and strong standing upright if the first be large or swelled then is the Horse frequently subject to the Sinew strain and twitching girds or if the other be weak or bending it will hardly support the body in any long Journey or uneasie way As for a good hoof it ought to be black tough and much inclining to roundness for a long white rough or brittle hoof denotes an uneven tread a tripping or loosing the Shooe upon every occasion and is altogether unseemly and fore-shews the Horse subject to foundering As for the Crownet of the hoof observe if the flesh swell a little and that the hair lye decently and in good order that no Scabs nor boney Excressences happen there for if those appear ten to one but the Ring-bone will afflict it Thus having observed your Horse in the front place your self on the right side of him and observe that his head be neither too high nor too low that his neck at the setting on be small and indifferently long growing deeper by degrees till it arrive at the moulder Then for the Crest let it be high strong and somewhat thin his Mane somewhat curling thin long and soft These are not only signs of a good Horse but a Beauty also and consequently the contrary of deformity In the next place have a regard to the Chine of his Back that he have a due proportion of even broad and strait his Ribs somewhat large and bending outwards like a bow his Fillets short strong and upright about four fingers distance from his last Rib and his huckle-bone his Body being well let down yet hidden as it were within his Ribs his Stones round and even hanging and these are marks of beauty and perfection Whereas on the contrary a narrow Chine will subject the Saddle to wound the Horse and bending or Saddle-back'd denotes weakness to have the Ribs over fat makes the Horse breathe painfully when hard laboured If his Fillets hang long and thin they denote him weak and not capable of performing a Journey in a hilly Country and if his Stones hang down as in long bags or purses uneven and unseemly it denotes a defect in nature occasioned either by sickness or a feeble constitution As for his Buttocks note that they be round full and plump and that the Tail be well set on the best observance being the evenness of the Buttocks with the Body and that although they are something long that they spread well behind and are not inclining to make a ridge of the Crupper-bone nor stand long and narrow for in such cases neither a Pillion nor Pad-saddle can sit easie nor convenient The hinder Thighs commonly called Gascoins are likewise to be regarded and the observation is that they be well let down in an evenness to the middle joynt thick brawney full and swelling by which strength and goodness are to be observed whereas a lean and lank Thigh not will gristed but very slender denotes weakness Then observe the middle joynt behind and see that it be somewhat lean well knit and ligamented and Sinews well veined and moderately bending which shews perfection in that part but if it have any Chops or Sores in the inward bending then it threatens a Sellender and if it have a general swelling then some blow or bruise has happened again if the swelling be particular in the pot or hollow part or on the inside and there it happen the Vein be full and proud and the swelling moreover short then is it the blood-spavin if hard the Bone-spavin but if it happen behind on the Knuckle then is it a Kerb or Curb After this look on the hinder Legs observing whether they are clean well fleshed and supported with Sinews If so it is a good sign but if they be fat they will not endure labour and if they swell it is a sign the grease is molten in the body of the Horse and that he is foul If scabbed above the Pasterns then beware the Scratches if under the Pasterns Chaps appear then it is the Pains All which are infectious and dangerous to the Horse and render him far from being good As for the Tail it seldom sits amiss upon a good pair of Buttocks and on the contrary never well upon ill ones but the best setting on is broad high and flat a little couched inward And these Rules for knowing and chusing a good Horse may generally and particularly suffice though in the sequel many more will occur CHAP. XIII Exact and Infallible Rules to know the Age of a Horse by the perfections or imperfections of his Teeth in all their particular and general Marks as also by the Tail when the Mark is out of the Mouth c. TO know the Age of a Horse there are sundry things and matters to be observed besides his Teeth though by them most take their Rules
putrefaction occasioned by moist Rheums and other indigested Moistures dedescending on them or Inflamations occasioned by Lumps Knots or Kernels under the Chaul proceeding from cold or immoderate labour and many times the Mourning of the Chine by a Horse's immoderate Leaping a Mare or over-straining himself in the action And this may likewise happen by his eating too much raw meat or drinking upon a suddain heat and many other ways which when I come to treat of Diseases I shall largely discourse on But first I shall proproceed to let you know how Horses ought to be used to prevent their contracting Diseases as much as in the superficial Schemes of Art the greatest Artists of this kind have allowed and the means are chiefly five as Cleansing Blood-letting Purging Sweating and Vomiting The first of these may be said to be twofold as outward and inward the first being by cleansing his external Parts by care and good dressing which ought the more diligently to be observed upon his being taken up from Grass and the time limited for that by the curious is Bartholomew-tide for then the heart of the Grass beginneth to decline And this may be done in the manner which I have often recited in what relates to Dressing nor is it at all inconsistent with Reason that the cleansing the Skin from dust and dirt and loosening it in every part by gentle rubbing should enliven the Horse and render him more sprightly so that Nature having her free course and progress without restraint may opperate in dispersing kind refreshment to every part and keep those gross humours from setling that are frequently the origiâ—al of Diseases and Grievances and if so it happen that your Horse be mirey and foul then may you use Fulling-earth Soap and other scowring Materials especially with warm Water but then having an especial care he catch not cold thereupon keeping him warm and well drying him till he be thorowly cold and in so doing you will prevent those moist Diseases wherewith he is otherwise afflicted And the better to effect this cut away all the superfluous hairs that any way anoy the body or other parts c. And so being shooed and neatly dressed I leave him to the Second Part which consists in the Internal cleansing and purging Directions for which in consideration of more immediate or particular Directions take in the following Chapter CHAP. XVII How a Horse ought to be used in general and particular as to his Physick Diet and Looking to for the preservation of him even to old Age. THough I have named what I intend to propose in the foregoing Pages yet let not the Reader considering the consequence and validity of what I shall here propose think it amiss that I select a Chapter for no other purpose and that the advantage may neither be delayed nor appear small in the Eyes of the Reader or Practitioner take a prospect of it in the following Directions As for inward Purging the measures ought to be taken from the temperature of the Horse's body and more especially in case of his retirement at such a time that no hard labour or immoderate exercise has been imposed on him And in this case if you find him costive or that in case of Evacuation nature help not as in usual cases let some one with a small Arm penetrate his Fundament and draw thence the Dung that obstructs or at least clogs the fluent or natural passage that so both the natural and artificial Motions and Causes proceeding from Drugs or composition of Purgation may opperate and perfect their intended design and may be best administred Clyster-wise But then consider the constitution of your Horse If he be fat and somewhat inclining to foulness it must be a strong potion that will effectually opperate but not so if the Horse be weak and melancholy But waving 'em here I shall speak more particularly of them in due place as also of Drinks which ought to be made and seasonably given for the preventing sickness and preservation of health and if you find the Blood coagulated which may be perceived by the trembling of the Veins and the working of it therein then it is requisite to let him Blood and give him a gentle Vomit to carry the foulness from off the stomach that may be the occasion of bad digestion and consequently of the naughtiness of the Blood Dieting him with Mashes and fine Provender from which may spring such wholsome nutriment as may create a thin and airy Blood rubbing and often anointing his Body with Hogs Lard or Ointment of Marshmallows And now to be satisfied what things mostly contribute to health take the following Opinions of the Learned viz. A good natural constitution good digestion good nourishment moderation in feeding and diet moderation in labour and sleeping moderation in leaping Mares Again wholsome Airs not laboured too soon after Grass to be kept from raw Meats not to drink nor eat being hot ever observing to walk him at the end of any Journey and not to Physick him unless you find occasion And these observances being the occasion of long life I shall endeavour for the better satisfaction of the Reader more fully to demonstrate them As for Nature good Digestion and sound Nutriment they ought to be consonant and indeed they are well proportioned when neither the moisture with its humidity is not so predominant as to quench and over-power the heat nor the extraordinary heat too suddainly consume the moisture though of necessity the latter must be of force above the former or else Digestion cannot be perfected as it ought and in that case seasonable nourishment must consequently fail Moderation in Eating is another main cause of long life as immoderate Eating is of a short one For as excess in Eating though the Provender be never so good and wholsome obstructs good digestion and contracts crudities with a bad habit of stomach so on the contrary spare Diet weakens and decays Nature and infeebles the natural powers and faculties of Life giving the heat by that means a power absolutely to subdue and conquer the Radical moisture and gives Diseases an opportunity to break in upon the infeebled body which prove many times too hard for the Farrier for in all Creatures observe that the weaker Nature is the stronger is the distemper Another cause of health and long life proceeds from moderate and kind labour for by indifferent motion digestion is much forwarded and the humours dispersed being by that means prevented from setling more than is requisite in any one place besides it is the cause that Excrements are sooner voided which by lying long in the body might occasion sickness And further observe that he be not laboured upon a full stomach so as by over-straining digestion may be hindred which should turn to nutriment and lay a foundation for Diseases by indigested Crudities being too suddainly drawn into the Veins and by that means dispersed into all parts of the Body
let a Horse Blood too often decays Nature and much weakens the Horse when on the other side too long to defer it gives corrupt Blood an opportunity to create Diseases that infect and afflict him if it be done for healths sake without any sign of apparent danger then is twice in a year sufficient The times best approved of for this office are the end of December and the beginning of May. Now some are of opinion that there is no need of letting a Stone-horse Blood if he be used to cover Mares unless some disease be apparent and the reason they give is that his spending does exhaust his Blood sufficiently But such a reason is very weak considering the Blood of which the Seed is made by the working and operation of the Genital Parts is the most spirited and and pure of all other and that which ought to be taken away by Blood-letting is commonly the most gross and offensive so that it will never turn to Seed but corrupt by continuing in the Body and create Diseases and therefore ought it to be drawn off that the Veins being emptied may fill with better Blood nay Blood-letting is coveted naturally by some Horses for the Horses of Poland often let themselves blood by often rubbing against a sharp Post or Rock And so does the River Horse in Niius from whose Example 't is held that Phlebotomy or Blood-letting came in use Others there are that will not have Geldings let Blood and the reason they give is that his Body through the loss of his Genitors being infeebled wants the Blood to support and corroborate it and that it consumes faster in him than in a Stone-horse But this bears no weight for the Blood will increase according to the constitution of the Horse and his feeding and according to the heat or coldness of the Country the Horse is bred in the less or more Blood is found in him The next Material matter to be regarded is the exact time when it ought to be performed and most hold it best in the Morning when the Horse is fasting an hour after he wakes or rouses up And then again have regard to the Moon it being in the encrease if possible but by no means in the Sign where the Vein is scituate that you open least thereby your Horse be weakned for then the Vital spirits will issue with the blood And another regard is to be had to his Age for if he be very old you must not bleed him unless upon some emergent occasion but suffer his Blood to nourish him that his Flesh may not wain or decrease And in all these cases you must have regard to a Horse's constitution for some are more capable of losing three pound of Blood than others are two or one or in case of a Disease according as more or less is required as the Blood is more or less infected and in such a case no time nor season is to be regarded but as necessity requires for many times Blood-letting in such cases is a means to save the Horse as deferring of it is to the destroying of him And in these or the like cases it ought to be known in what Diseases it is requisite and that it may in the general be discovered by these Signs Viz. If the Horse's Eyes look red and his Veins rise and swell beyond the ordinary bounds then is he oppressed with too much Blood or at least that which is not good If you perceive by his Itching scrubbing himself and uneasiness that there is a salt firey humour contracted in the Veins then let him Blood which is more immediately known by the extraordinary itching of the Mane and Tail by rubbing of which the Hair frequently sheds and the Skin peels off If his Urin be red and high-coloured and his Dung very hot black and hard If on his Back there appear little Bubles or Inflamations red and angry or if his Meat be not well digested then they denote the Horse to abound with Blood and stand in need of having it drawn off to a degree that his health may be preserved or restored If the Whites of his Eyes are tainted with yellowness or the like happen to his upper or neither Lip it is requisite to bleed him for upon the happening of any of these Signs the Blood is disordered super-abundant or corrupted and some fatal sickness is threatned To prevent or at least mittigate which there is no better way than bleeding And in the manner of letting Blood when you have corded your Horse conveniently that the Veins may appear full and fair you may strike your Fleam in the Neck-Veins four Inches on this side the setting-on of the Head but the other Veins being small you must open them with a Lancet for fear of cutting them through and so consequently injure the Nerves that support them And thus much for Blood-letting and the Signs of Bleeding c. From which I shall proceed to what relates to Cures of all kinds whether Internal Diseases or External Sorrances after the best and easiest manner and method according to the approved Rules and Directions of the ablest Farriers and Horsleeches that are and have been rendred famous for their Skill not only in this but in divers other Nations and withall let you plainly understand the cause of the most Chronical diseases as well as the means to Cure them rendring the method and manner easie to the Practitioner and advantageous to those that trade in Horses and keep them for their profit or pleasure But before I absolutely enter upon them there are a few things necessary to be considered and especially five Viz. 1. To inform ones self to what grief or distemper a Horse is inclinable 2. The cause from whence it proceeds whether External or Internal 3. The tokens and symptoms by which the distemper is known 4. By what means the Causes accrue that create the distemper 5. How to apply Remedies fitting to the distempers and disorders And these are so absolutely necessary that without such knowledge a perfect cure cannot be wrought by any Farrier And now as for the Diseases and Grievances incident to a Horse they are not a few those that reckon the least consent to sixty of different natures and to be plain there are many more which may be called dependants on these or indeed some of them no less dangerous But submitting to the Judgment of the Learned I now come to another Material Point which relates mostly to the Chyrurgical part or Methods to be taken and known in the curing Sorrances c. which indeed are the most difficult and then I shall proceed in order CHAP. XXI A Description of Diseases Grievances or Sorrances incident to Horses c. to foresee them by sundry signs and tokens and know whence they arise with the ways and methods of Preventing Redressing and Curing them by Approved Rules and Remedies according to the Practice of the best Farriers in all Ages
it an ounce of well-washed Alloes And observe in this case above all things to keep him warm The falling-Evil its Cause and Remedy This distemper is caused by a vapour that oppresses or anoys the Vital parts rendering the frame of the body for a time sensless and altogether unable to distinguish what befalls it and has its original from an evil habit of body and its approach is frequently known by the coldness of the Nose and Gristles thereabout The speedy at least the best Remedy is to let him Blood on both the Neck-veins in the Morning when he is fasting and then prepare a dose of the Powder of dried Berries of Misletoe and the Powder of Harts-horn each an ounce of the Oyl of Nutmeg and Pepper each a dram compound them in half a pint of Canary and give it the Horse when you perceive the grief to be coming on him as warm as may be The sleeping-Evil what it is and the way to remedy it This is a distemper frequently occasioned by the over-moistness of the Brain or rather a watery coldness contracted within the cells which chills and numbs the Brain whereby the Horse becomes dozed heavy and stupid ever desirous to sleep yet still troubled with restless dreams and disorders and owes its original to moist feeding in Marshey-grounds whereby abundance of phlegmatick and watery humours have been contracted And in this case likewise letting Blood in both the Neck-veins is much available But further to perfect the cure Take Cammomoil and Motherwort of each a like quantity boil them in a Gallon of Running-water with a pound of Treacle and a handfull of Bay-leaves and give the Horse a pint each Morning fasting as hot as he can endure it keeping him warm and fasting for the space of an hour after and then of Malt or scalded Bran make him a warm Mash The Horse-Pestilence and its Cure. The Pestilence in Horses is either contracted by bad feeding which occasions a corruption or inflamation of the Blood whereby the Heart is afflicted or it happens by being in foggy and infectious Airs or catched by contageon And in any of these cases Take Lavender a handfull the like quantity of Rue and Wormwood as also of Walnut-tree Leaves and an ounce of Alloes boil them in a quart of Water or three pints of Milk till half be consumed then add half a pound of fresh Butter or rather if you can get it half a pint of the sweetest Olive-oyl and straining out the liquid part give it the Horse fasting in the Morning blood-warm repeating a fresh dose every other Morning for the space of a week For Chest-foundering the Remedy To know whether your Horse be Chest-foundered or not observe him standing and if then he do as it were stand drawn up or crimpling with his body or stradling and covet much to lye down running sometimes backward in his going then is it apparent he is afflicted with this grievance To cure which Take Oyl of Peter half an ounce mix it with an ounce of the Oyl of Cammomoil and so proportionably a greater quantity as you see occasion and bathe the Breast with a hot Woollen cloth and when you have in that manner chafed it as well as you can run a hot Iron over it to make it sink into the Skin Do this twice or thrice and give the Horse a quarter of a pint of Salad-oyl and the like quantity of Aquavitae warmed and well mixed together over a gentle fire For an Obstruction in the Bladder or Windiness in the Bowels use this Approved Medicine Of Cake or Castle-soap take twelve ounces scrape it so that it may be rendered very small adding two ounces of Dialthaea Incorporate them well and make them up into balls as big as Pigeons Eggs and when you find your Horse afflicted as aforesaid dissolve one of them in a pint of Ale or Beer and give it him scalding-hot or so hot as he can take it without danger and it will force a passage for the Urin without much difficulty This is also good for the Stone or Gravel in the Kidneys The Pole-Evil how to know and Cure. The Pole-Evil is known by its growing bigger than ordinary on the top of the head where if you find it large take a hot Iron and sear it in a circle after the form of the Figure till the Skin become as it were of a yellowish colour then with a sharp Iron make holes in it one large one in the middle small ones circling it within the first Circle the form of the Iron which must not penetrate above half an Inch you have in the Margin The holes made as directed Take a piece of yellow Arsnick to the bigness of a Pea and divide that or a somewhat larger quantity that a part may be applied to every hole made as aforesaid and cover it over with black Soap then with Hog's Lard and Verdegrease anoint the rest of the place seared and cover it all over with a cloth dipped in the Oyl of Turpentine and so by the corrosive nature of the Arsnick the contracted swelling will be so loosened that with a little cutting or drawing off the bottom the core or cause of the grievance may be drawn out or taken away and this frequently especially according to the constitution of the Horse may be attempted in a week or ten days after the application and having washed the wound with Plantane-water wherein a small quantity of Allom has been dissolved anoint it with Oyl of Roses or Ointment of Tobacco and cover it up close from the Air anointing it once a day till the flesh fill up the hollowness and if proud flesh appear notwithstanding scald it with Salt and Butter The Fistula how to discover and cure A Fistula is the contraction and settlement of bad humours or infection into one place occasioning an Ulcerous Tumour and is best suppressed by Cauterizing in circling it round to prevent its further spreading and likewise to deny the humours that feed its access and when you have with a hot Iron circled it as the former prick it full of holes with a three-square sharp Instrument the Figure of which and of the Circle take notice of in the Margin and so use it in all respects as that of the Pole-Evil if you find it very corrupt but if it appear shallow mitigate the Corrosives to half the quantity and search it in a shorter time letting out the Corruption if it will come forth by applying Lenitives c. And when you find it begin to heal anoint it first with Oyl of Cammomoil and after that to take the effects of the fire quite away with Oyntment of Marshmallows beaten with the White of an Egg or Spermaceti Hard Kernels under the Throat how to remove Take half a pint of Brandy or Aquavitae put into it a quarter of a pound of common Soap boil them till they become thick as a Plaster and apply it Plaster-wise to the place
occasioned thereby Take the Juyce of Wood-sorrel or Field-sorrel a pint Allom-powder two ounces Hart's-horn an ounce the Seeds of Pomgranets two ounces and Spring-water a quart boil them well together and strain out the Liquid part give it the Horse as hot as may be To prevent staling Blood a Remedy Take of Ale a quart the Roes of two red Herrings and three or four Cloves of Garlick boil them together and give them the Horse Morning and Evening that is the Liquid part Another excellent Remedy for the Farcy vulgarly called the Fashion Take Rue Garlick and Cloves of each half a handfull bruise them well and boil them in half a pint of Aquavitae then dip Wool or Lint into the Liquid part and stop it into the Horse's Ears binding it in after that bruise the Bark of the Elder and making an incision in the Forehead and raise the Skin with your Pegging-horn and stop it in under the Skin being first dipped in Oyl of Rosemary then give the Horse a dose of the Juyce of Liverwort mixed with half a pint of Canary and after that warm Mashes An Approved Cure for any Sinew-strain or Over-reach Take Oyl of Bays an ounce Linseed-oyl two ounces put them into half a pint of Aquavitae and being well incorporated add Wine-Vinegar half a pint and boil them to the consumption of a third part then with your hand chafe it in or with a warm cloth swathing it afterward to the best advantage and in so doing you will soon find the effects Diseases in the Hoof how to remedy And first for a Horse that upon sundry occasions is apt to cast his Hoof. The cause of the Hoofs falling off is various for sometimes it proceeds from Gravel and another time from the pricking of an Nail and in these cases it cleaves downward as the humour settles but if it happen by any grievance on the top of the Hoof as the Quitter-bone and the like then must you look to the top of the Hoof and when you there perceive it begin to divide from the flesh or to open at any part then take off the Shooe open the Hoof and pare it as near as may be to the Sole after which steep the foot in Neatsfoot-oyl and the Juyce of Hemlock in which Allom has been dissolved then make an Oyntment after this manner Take of Virgins-Wax two ounces of Verdegrease an ounce of Per-rosin three ounces and Hog's Lard a quarter of a pound to these add the Juyce of green Tobacco a quarter of a pint make them into an Oyntment and pour it into the divided place which done bind it up close with a thick Linne-cloth and in so often doing the flesh will be obliged to cleave to the Hoof and render it firm unless it be too far gone before you attempt it Hoof-bound what it is and how to remedy it This grievance proceeds from some defect in the Hoof or harm taken in the Colt-age whilst it was tender or by the falling down of a humour and the Symptoms are the flesh growing over it more than usual the straitness or narrowness in disproportion â—o the Leg and the sound of hollowness being struck with a Hammer or other material Instrument which being well understood Take Hog's Lard a pound Soap the like quantity â—he Juyce of Baum a pound Bay-leaves a handfull â—he Juyce of Rue a quarter of a pint Incorporate or concoct them well over a gentle fire and steep â—he Hoof in the Liquid part for the space of an hour every morning then dip a cloth in the Oyl of Petrolum and bind it about it To soften or harden a Hoof the best way This Experiment is fitting to be known by all Farriers not only for the advantage of Shooing but for the Travel more or less of the Horse Wherefore in the first place if you perceive the Hoof to be hard and brittle standing out uncomly then try it with a Butress and if you find it brittle and not plyable to be pared or cut then Take of Lime unshaked an ounce Common Soap the like quantity dissolve these into a Lye made of Ashwood-ashes and having prepared a Cataplasm or Poultis of Groundsel Marshmallows Smallage Succory and Sallendine fryed in Neatsfoot-oyl after the Horse's hoofs have been steeped in the Lye for the space of an hour as warm as may well be endured clap the Poultis to them and stop the bottom of the foot well with Flax dipped in Tarr To harden a Hoof as occasion requires If by going in moist ground or moist feeding the Hoof happen to be softned so that it will not well bare a Shooe or be prejudicial in Travelling then to render it capable for either Take the Coles of burnt Leather a pound the water wherein Lime has been shaked and hot Flint-stones quenched two quarts add to them a quart of Lime-juyce and a pound of Bay-salt and in the Liquid part either let the Horse stand or with it bathe his Hoofs after which Take Oyl of Tartar or that of Brimstone and anoint them binding a cloth over them and suffer the Horse to stand dry And by thus often doing you will by experience find your expectation answered For any hurt or Cankerous sore in or on the Hoof. Take if the season permit a pound of black Snails if not other Snails of any kind may serve the purpose of Burdock-roots sliced the like quantity Oyl of Cammomoil four ounces and Olive-oyl a quart boil them together till they are plyable to be layed Plaster-wise to the place grieved To which after you have washed the Sorrance with water wherein Elder has been boiled apply them supplying those first layed with fresh every day till you find the effects To oblige a Horse to carry his Ears well the way This defect happens either for want of a true proportion or by a defect of the Nerves which refuse to administer so great a supply of strength as may support the Ears as they ought to stand for the sake of Ornament Now to strengthen the Nerves or Sinews to that degree Take of Bear 's Fat an ounce Comfry-juyce the like quantity Oyl of Amber a dram the Root of black Helebore beaten into Powder an ounce and with Bees-wax half an ounce and the Oyl of Roses half a pint make these into an Oyntment and anoint the roots of the Horse's Ears as hot as may be well endured repeating it for a week together For the grievance called the Frounce a Cure. This Sorrance is also called by some a Cameroy and is not other than small Knobs or Bladders on the roof of the Mouth or upon the Tongue and the cause for the most part is the Horse's feeding in wet or low Marshes in frosty weather or by eating unsavory Hay in which Vermin have pissed or dunged And further some hold it to proceed from the Horse's licking up unsavory things tending to a Venomous quality To remedy which Take Vinegar and Bay-salt with the Juyce
of Sage and with them after having let the Horse Blood in the Veins under the tongue rub the place grieved till the Knobs or Pimples bleed and by often so doing they will disappear For a Heat which sometimes occasions a breaking out in in the Mouth and Lips the Cure. This disorder is accompanied with dryness and proceeds from the heat of the stomach by surfeits over-heating or a consuming quality and if not timely taken notice of produces the infectious humour that creates the Canker To redress which Bleed the the Veins in the Lips which you may cause to appear by bending them the contrary way and then wash them with Salt and Vinegar giving the Horse water to drink wherein Coltsfoot has been boiled or Fenegreek-seed with his Provender Wolf-teeth what they are and how to ease their Pair the ready way These Teeth are too commonly growing in the upper Jaw next the grinders which many times occasion such pain that the Horse is frustrated in hiâ— eating by being obliged to let his Provender fall ouâ— of his mouth and the cause they are mostly subjecâ— to this is by reason they have frequently a hollowness within subject to receive the Rheums that settle in the Jaw To remedy which either draw them or Launcing the Gumms that they may bleed wast the Mouth each morning with Hysop-water and Allom the latter being dissolved in the former To staunch any Bleeding a speedy way If by occasion of Wound or Sorrance your Horse happen to bleed excessively so that thereby if not timely stopped he may be weakned or other ways endangered Take the Wool of a Hare or Coney dip it in Vinegar and then strew upon it the Powder of Calcined Egg-shells and apply it to the place or you may for want of the former dip it in Nettle-juyce and Bay-salt or apply to the Wound or Sorrance a Poultis of Hemlock and the Eark of Elder-root To supply the defect of the falling of the Crest a Remedy This uncomeliness in a Horse is the leaning of the upper part of the Neck on which the Mane grows to one or the other side which is caused by weakness of the Sinews or Nerves through a contraction of cold or some flegmatick humour there engendred or on the other hand upon the rising of the flesh through extraordinary fatness To remedy which Take the Oyl of Petrolum two ounces Linseed-oyl half a pint and having well washed the Crest with Water wherein the Roots of Mallows have been boiled and Allom dissolved anoint it with the Oyl and in so continuing to do for a month the Skin will contract and more especially if upon every Application you clap two broad pieces of Deal or other Board on each side and so bind it up in due order and let the Horse blood in the contrary Neck-vein To Cure Manginess or the like disorder in the Crest Take Hog's Lard a pound Verdegrease four ounces Flower of Brimstone four ounces add to these a pint of Beef-broth very salt and dissolve what is to be dissolved therein Then having rubbed off the Scabs and Scurf till they bleed wash the place grieved therewith as hot as may be well endured for a week together and lay after that a cloth dipped in green Oyntment thereon This will also hinder the Hair from falling off especially the former The Navel-gall what it is and its Remedy This grievance is no other than a bruise or hurt with an unfit or uneasie Saddle or that part of the back that is opposite to the Navel and for that cause only is so called it is known by a soft swelling in the place bruised and its Cure is as followeth Take the Whites of two Eggs an ounce of Copras two ounces of the Oyl of Bays and of Marsh-mallows Smallage Groundsel and Cammomoil each a handfull stamp them in a Mortar and pour the Liquids on them by which means make them into a Poultis and frying them lay them as hot as may be to the place grieved For a Sitfast or horney Excressence under the Saddle whereby the Horse is disabled from carrying it in good order as he ought This Sorrance appears like a piece of old Leather upon the Horse's back and is commonly the relick of some old bruise or desperate Saddle-gall not well cured and obligeth the Skin to stick fast to the flesh To cure which Take Oyl of Vitriol and anoint the place till it has loosened the Excressence after which take it off by incision and anoint the place with Verdegrease and Hog's Lard hot and wash it after with the Juyce of Mint till it be new skinned and to make the Hair come wash it with the Juyce of Cardus Benedictus or that of Hemlock For any Knob or Wen near the Saddle-skirt or the Sides of the Horse a Remedy To remove this Wash it first with hot Wine-Lees and afterward bathe it with Oyl of Cammomoil or Marshmallows Then to draw it to a head lay on a Plaster of Stone-pitch and Turpentine which being done Lance it with your sharp-pointed Fleme and apply a Plaster of Oxecrotium to draw out the putrefaction and then with Hog's Lard supple it and if the Sore be deep Tent it with a Linnen Tent dipped in Bees-wax and Honey melted together For Weakness in the Back a strengthning Remedy This happens frequently through Coldess or watery humours afflicting the Sinews or in gelly'd matter setling in the Joynts or by his too often covering the Mares or such-like Now to corroborate a Horse defective herein Take Horse-radish Roots a pound Bay-leaves two handfulls the Bark of Elder the like quantity boil them in Man's Urin and with the Liquid part bathe the Back as hot as is convenient giving him for diet Oats and Splent-beans and each morning fasting a ball made in this manner Take Licorish-powder two ounces Hart's-horn beaten to Powder an ounce Fenegreek and Hysop-seed stamped of each two ounces wet them with as much Mallaga-wine as will make them up into balls about the bigness of Pigeon's Eggs. For the Swelling in the Cods of a Horse naturally or occasioned by any Bruise c. Take Dill-seeds or Fennel-seeds an ounce the Juyce of Orpin a quarter of a pint Bole-armorick two ounces the Juyce of Garlick the like quantity make these with Hog's Lard into an Oyntment and anoint the place grieved therewith as warm as may be well endured For Burstenness or the Rupture in a Horse This grievance is the breaking of the Rim or Film that holds up the Bowels from falling into the Cods and either happens by over-straining in riding upon a full belly or the Horse's leaping beyond his strength and is by most Farriers held incurable But since it so happens that a bursten Horse may notwithstanding in some measure be fit for service I shall give such directions as may the better inable him for it Take your Horse to whom this misfortune is befallen and fasten Ropes with running Nooses to his feet
Sugar-candy or fine Sugar give it him blood-warm fasting and keep him warm with a cloth for the space of two hours after without Meat A Cure for a sore or defective Mouth The sores or disorders in the Mouth are occasioned either by bad blood or excessive colds creating rheums and noisome vapours that afflict the pallate for there they generally begin and from thence descending to the Jaws do in a great measure obstruct the feeding and hinder the shutting of the Mouth Now when it happens in the Palate only the best expedient is to let blood in the Mouth by cutting the third barr or as your discretion leads you The Horse being let blood Take of strong old Cheese four ounces and a Root of Garlick bruise them well and boil them in water wherein Plantane has been concocted and with the Liquid part wash the Mouth and Tongue of the Horse as hot as it may well be endured so continuing often to do till you find the grievances to decrease and if it be so far gone that this proves not effectual Take a pint of Verjuyce a handfull of Bay-salt a quarter of a pint of the Juyce of Housleek and a penyworth of Diascordium boil them well and having washed his Mouth with Savin-water or water wherein Savin has been concocted give him the before-mentioned potion to drink luke-warm For the Mellet in the Heels a Cure. Take three ounces of Casteel-soap a pound of English Honey Allom two ounces and of Lime-juyce or Verjuyce a quarter of a pint with half a handfull of Bean-flower incorporate them over a gentle fire and having reduced them to a convenient thickness bind a part of it with Leather or thick Linnen upon the place grieved suffering it without renewal to continue there for the space of five days and between each renewal wash the place well with Beef-broth keeping his Leg moist and roped up for some days after The Stavers their signs cause and cure This distemper is known by a dizziness in the Head a dullness of the Eyes and disorderly hanging of the Jaws and proceeds in chief from corrupt blood and infectious vapours that affect the brain and consequently put the whole frame out of order And this disease few Horses altogether escape The cure is to let him Blood in the Temple-veins or Neck-veins and having a potion made after this manner give it him hot viz. Take a handfull of Savin the like quantity of Rue an ounce of Ruburb and an ounce of Methridate give him these Ingredients the Liquid part well boiled in a quart of Spring-water sweetned with brown Sugar or Molossus For the Stone a very good Remedy This distemper is occasioned by gross humours which setling in the Reins or Bladder do in process of time by the help of heat and moisture grow to a hardness and so obstruct the passage of the Urin and by grating those tender parts cause exceeding pain and disorder to the creature so afflicted To dissolve or remove the Stone so contracted Take the Roots of Nettles Parsley Fennel and Sperage of each four ounces of Saxafrage and Dodder each a handfull bruise and boil them in a quart of White-wine and a pint of Vinegar untill a third part be wasted then add a handfull of Bay-salt and half a pint of Olive-oyl with half a pound of Honey and having strained out the thin part as hot as may be let him drink it fasting and so continue to to do for the space of a week together and you will find the pains will cease To take away a Wen in the Neck or any part of the Horse's Body without danger These Sorrances are generally caused by the assembling of bad humours to one place and their contracting into a Tumour To remove them therefore Take the Oyl of Bays Water of Tartar and Soap-boylers-Lees mix them well and being very hot dip a cloth therein and lay it upon the place grieved continuing often so to do and the humours thereby being dispersed the swelling will sink and disappear The Crownet-Scab what it is together with the Cure. This is a troublesome Sorrance being a Scab round the corners of the hoof very cankerous and dangerous and frequently comes by a Horse's running in wet and mirey ground especially in Winter-time whereby the cold has power to contract the gross and disordered humours and is known by the hairs standing up the unevenness of the Crownet and the watry humour that proceeds from thence Wherefore to cure it Take Verdegrease an ounce Rusty Bacon-fat two ounces Powder of Hart's-horn an ounce wash the place with Beef-broth and having made the before-mentioned materials into an Oyntment anoint the place hot as may be endured and continue so to do for a week together after which anoint it with Oyl of Bays or Rosemary To draw out a Thorn or Stump or any Iron or sharp thing gotten into the flesh If you cannot come at the cause of this kind of Sorrance so as to draw it out with your fingers or Pincers then mollifie the swelling or part where you conceive it to be and Take of Burgundy-pitch an ounce and of black Soap two ounces stamp the Roots of Water-lillys to the quantity of both the former and spreading them Plaster-wise lay them to the place a night and a day and thereby the swelling will not only be sunk or depressed but the head of the Thorn or Iron will appear to that degree that it may be easily taken out after which apply a Plaster of Diaculum or Oxicrotium to bring away the festered matter if any be found there and so heal it with green Oyntment For a Strain in the Coffin-Joynt or Socket of the Hoof. This Sorrance happens by a sudden short slip and is not thought of by many Farriers who are of the opinion That under the hoof there can be no slip or strain though the contrary appears and this is found out by taking up the foot and bowing the hoof from side to side and on that side you perceive the Horse to be pained in so doing on that side is the danger This being perceived Take of Beef-brine a pint and as much tried Suet set them on the fire and let them consume to a third part then add Wheat-meal and the Juyce of Alehoof or Ground-ivy half a pound or so much that they may be made up into the thickness of a Poultis when having pared the hoof at the bottom to the quick spread some of it very hot and stop it in with Flax and so renew it every other day till you perceive by your Horse's going the grief removed and the better to keep it on you may clap a cross stick under the shooe or cover the whole foot with a pitched cloth or a thick sole of Leather will do the same office but observe that during the cure you suffer him not to go in wet and dirty ground For a Horse that is perpetually sick or out of order by retaining a
a Horse's Tongue and by the faintness of his breathing When a Horse is very thirsty and seems very little affected towards his Provender then has he the symtoms of a Feaver or some hot disease that afflicts the Heart and Liver or else it may signifie the Putrefaction of the Lungs but when he eats largely and desires not much water it denotes a cold Liver and that the Horse is subject to gross humours by reason the heat cannot concoct the quantity of nutriment as it ought and therefore it is not amiss to restrain him from eating altogether so much as he requires or at least to give it him by degrees that it may leasurely digest If with exceeding greediness he devour his Meat and Drink then beware he be not troubled with the diseases of the Spleen or putrefaction of the Lungs If the Breath of a Horse without travelling or other force or violence be found very hot or so much as is more than usual it denotes the symptom of some feaverish disease approaching If the left side be much swelled and there be no apparent cause then proceeds it from the disorder of the Spleen And if the Legs on that side be likewise swelled then it commonly proceeds to the Dropsey Drivelling or noisome water descending or issuing from the Mouth or Nostrils of a Horse denotes the wet Cough and if it be gellied or the like then it threatens him with the Staggers The dullness of the Countenance lolling of the Ears and hanging of the Head are signs of the Megrim or extraordinary pain in the Head. If disorderly pantings appear on the Breast Sides or any part of the Body then does the Horse labour under some sickness that afflicts the Heart or Liver If the Mouth be foul and furred and the Tongue look yellowish then the Lungs are defective and tending to a Consumption The hollowness of the Temples denotes either the Strangles or that the Horse is very old Shortness of Breath hanging of the Eye-lids and beating of the Flanks denote a Feaver A cold swelling under the Throat with a ratling in the Head signifie the approaching of the Glanders If about the Tongue-roots small knobs appear then it signifies Cold c. If the Horse offer to cough and be faint in so doing as not throughly able to bring up what he offers at then is it occasioned by the swelling or rising of the Lungs or oppressive Phlegm setled there which obstructs the Lungs in the performance of their office The stairing up of the hair and hardness of the skin with dejected looks and lankness of the belly denote the Horse foundered in the body and sometimes the Wind Colick or Stone is signified thereby as also the Yellows which are all dangerous distempers in a Horse If the skin stick to the Ribs so that it cannot be well raised then the Horse is troubled with that infirmity which we commonly call Hidebound An uneven stiffness in going denotes some Strain Wrench cold Swelling in the Joynts or foundering in the feet c. If a Horse have a spongy Wart full of blood it is an Anbury If a knotty Ulcer creeping along the Vein it is a Farcy If scabby or ulcerous on the body and about the neck it proceeds from the Mangy If it singly spread abroad and that but in one place then is it held to be the Canker The Botts or such-like Insects in the paunch or belly of a Horse you shall know by the Horse's endeavouring to strike thereat with his feet his lying down and wallowing himself and his often turning his head back and looking upon his sides If the Horse be over-covetous to lye down on thâ— right side it signifies corrupted blood setled in thâ— Cavas of the Liver and occasions extraordinary heat which by the pressure of the Liver is augmented A Horse's spreading when laid down generally denotes the approach of the Dropsey and his ofter groaning the Colick or the Heart 's being oppressed with bad blood And thus of other signs and symptoms most or the most part whereof I have in this Chapter and what has been before mentioned is effectually discussed according to the best Experimental observances that have been made From whence I shall proceed to give Directions for sundry choice Oyntments and Salves highly necessary to be kept in store and used on sundry occasions as necessity requires and other matters altogether as Material CHAP. XXIV Directions for making and preparing Oyntments Oyls Salves Waters Purgations Poultises Charges Supplements Pills Powders c. singular good in case of any Distemper or Sorrance Many of them never before made publick ALthough I have mentioned many famous Oyntments and Salves in the course of the Cures yet some there are which may indifferently serve for most Sorrances and Griefs of any kind and these I shall chiefly name and direct how to make them because they may be gotten in a readiness and thereby the party not be to seek them nor his Ingredients when the urgency of the Horse's distemper or grief requires the Application An Oyntment to search any Wound or Vlcerated Sore or any thing of the like nature Take of Bees-wax four ounces Turpentine the like quantity the Juyce of Spurg-lawrel two ounces Deer's-suet half a pint Verdegrease an ounce Allom calcined two ounces and Hog's Lard as much as will make it into an Oyntment over a gentle fire This by often using will not only search the Wound and discover dead proud or putrefied flesh but cleanse it and cause it to heal restoring the good flesh and rendering it easie to cure An Oyntment excellent good in case of Botches Boils Seabâ— or the like Sorrances Take the Juyce of green Tobacco half a pint of Deer's-suet a pound the Powder of Dandely onroots two ounces as much of Soap-makers Ashes and half a pint of the Lees of Wine make them up into an Oyntment with half a pint of Olive-oyl and an ounce of the Oyl of Petrolum To skin any Wound an excellent Oyntment Take of Dog's-grease two ounces half the quantity of black Soap of the Powder of calcined Roach-Allom two drams the Juyce of Mugwort an ounce make them into an Oyntment over a gentle fire and when the Wound begins to fill with flesh anoint it over To mollifie and asswage any Swelling an excellent Oyntment Take of Nut-oyl a quarter of a pint Neatsfoot-oyl half a pint and Linseed-oyl the like quantity add to these the Juyce of Plantane a quarter of a pint and four ounces of the Oyl of Earthworms boil them over a gentle fire to a convenient thickness and apply the Oyntment to the place grieved as warm as may be well suffered and chafe it in with your warm hand when it begins to cool An excellent Oyntment to cool and allay any Inflamation Take of the Oyl of Marshmallows half a pint the Juyce of Mandrake-root two ounces Dog's fatt four ounces or instead thereof that of Hog's lard Spermaceâ—i two ounces
hoof the narrow heels the flat hoof the broad frush and the crooked hoof and to these shooes must be purposely made and fitted and the paring be shaped accordingly The Particulars of which being uncertain or at least too tedious for this discourse I refer them to the Skilfull Farrier whose proper business it is to order and reduce them so as they may become practicable and usefull If the hoof be damaged by reason of any Nail that lurks therein not easily to be found it must by all means be looked after and taken thence and the place of its aboad or lodgment may be found by sundry means and ways but chiefly by the heat of that place more than any other or by the Horse's shrinking up his foot or strike thereon or pinch it with your Pincers The place being found pull off the shooe and open the foot gently with a Buttress or Drawing-knife and if you can come at it pull it out if not apply the Plaster I have mentioned for drawing out Thorns Stubs or Splinters Or for your more readiness this Having in the best manner laid open the Wound Take of Stone-pitch Tar Turpentine and Bees-wax of each an ounce and half a quarter of a pint of Juyce of Garlick make them over a gentle fire into a Plaster and apply them as hot as may be endured And sometimes it so happens that by long continuance the Nail in working breaks out above the hoof and in such a case apply Honey Burgundy-pitch and Powder of burnt Allom or a Poultis of Mallows Cammomoil and Groundsel fryed in Hog's Lard and beaten up with the Whites of Eggs and Rye-meal and applying it as hot as may be endured and in so often doing it will break the Skin so that the cause of the grievance may be removed but by the addition of half an ounce of Verdegrease it will bring away the Corruption and heal the Wound Critical Days and the Observation thereon AND now since it may not be amiss to say something of the Critical Days observed by many as to Health and Sickness which relate not only to humane Constitutions but those of all Creatures I shall here incert them These days are accounted such wherein are manifested Alterations in relation to Sickness or Health Life or Death And as for the Critick-day it is ever principally to be observed after the beginning of the sickness as the 3.5.7.9.11.14.17.21.28 In which days so cursarily to be observed no strong Medicines or Purgations ought to be given Nor is it convenient to let Blood unless great necessity require it And other days there are in which many Learned Men hold If Man or Beast fall sick he shall hardly escape and that not without much difficulty which are noted to be these viz. January 1.7 February 3.4 March 1.4 April 8.10 May 2.7 June 10.15 July 11.13 August 3.2 September 3.10 November 3.5 December 7.10 And many add that if any dangerous disease happen on the 10th of August 1st of December or 6th of April it will go very near to terminate in Death Now there are on the contrary other days held to be good days and that if a disease happen on them there is great hopes of recovery nay there is great hopes of succeeding in taking a Journey or any Labour wherein Man or Beast is concerned and these are held to be the 3d and 13th of January The 5th and 28th of February The 3d 22d and 30th of March. The 5th 22d and 29th of April The 4th and 28th of May. The 3d and 8th of June The 12th 13th and 15th of July The 12th of August The 1st 7th 24th and 28th of September The 4th and 15th of October The 13th and 19th of November The 23d and 26th of December And these indeed by the Antients were held in wonderfull esteem they generally taking their measures thereby as to what I have said in relation to them nor are they to be neglected or slighted by Practitioners in Physical or Chyrurgical matters either in relation to Man or Beast no nor in their undertaking relating to Labour or the like but have Some further Considerations upon the Cause of Diseases and how to Remove them Physically discussed c. The cause of a Disease proceeds principally from an effect against Nature and happens either External or Internal the External is that which is outwardly visible and consists generally of what comes by Strokes Bruises Wrenches Scalds Shot or any manner of Wound Those Internal are occult or hid within the body and consequently the less discernable and are divided into an Antecedent and Conjunction The Conjunction is that which is nearest and immediately causes the Disease and is generally held to be the Blood which causes the Phlegm nor is it reckoned the Antecedent doth actually cause the disease but procures matter and stirs it up almost to the creating a disease but between it and the disease are some Causes placed viz. abundance of humours and ill digestion and therefore these things ought to be chiefly considered before any one absolutely attempts to dispell the disease by reason diseases are first cured by removing the Cause Antecedent and after that the Cause Conjunct And as for the External diseases they ought to be known because they breed diseases Internal and very much change the blood and with much diligence are therefore to be sought out that so the Practitioner may be brought to the perfect knowledge of Internal diseases and these External diseases are not either to be avoided or amended but necessarily penetrate the body as Air infected Meat Drink Labour Sleep Watching or Wakefulness Repletion and Evacuation and some disorders that frequently happen or to be avoided as unnecessary as Bruises Strains Slips Wounds Strangling or the like As for the true cause of a disease it sometimes proceeds from corrupt matter whereof they are generated or when either the Sire or Dam is infected with any disease the corrupt quality of which flowing into the Seminal-vessels and transmitting the like to the creature generated making it hereditary and at other times it proceeds from bad usage bad feeding heats colds and many more which I have named in the first Part. And again as I have here hinted Internal diseases may proceed from External strokes bruises or the like And thus much for Physical Observations of this kind From whence I proceed to give an accurate relation of the Spirits by which the frame of Life is supported which take as followeth The Spirits what they are with their Office c. The Spirit is the Aerious and subtil substance of a Body generated of the most pure and thin Blood and is the Original mover and supporter of the Members giving them power to perform their office and is seated chiefly in the Brain and Heart from whence it delates it self by the means of the Nerves and Arteries into all parts of the body and is divided into three parts viz. Animal Vital and Natural the