in a vessel closely stopped eighteen hours take of the liquor one pint and adde thereunto a pint of White-Wine then tumble them together till they appear slimy and so give it him to drink this given him eight mornings together will not only stop his flux of blood but reduce his Urine to its pristine colour Pursiveness how cured There are some Horses naturally troubled with this distemper as being Cock-throppled that is to say the Wind-pipe is over long and so thereby becoming crooked his wind is obstructed and vents it not but with great difficulty but as this infirmity is natural so I judge it incurable and therefore we shall only treat of that pursiveness which cometh accidentally and that is when the Thropple is too much filled with fat or over strained upon his water which often happens by the watering course as they call it of an over confident Ignoramus or it happens sometimes by much Galloping on a full Stomach and lastly it comes by Colds and Glanders You need no symptoms they are so apparent but as for the remedy take of new Milk one pint of Sallet-Oyl half as much give him this blood-warm and then thrust down his throat two new laid Egges let his Hay be sprinkled with Water and his Oats washt in Ale and by doing this four or five mornings you will find an amendment If you find this doth not answer expectation for the best of Remedies cannot plead Infallibility then take of Barley two gallons steep it in Water two days and shift the Water every day then take it clean from the water wherein it was first steeped and boyl it in three gallons and an half till it burst adding thereto of Anniseeds Liquorish and Raisins of the Sun of each a pound but let the Raisins be stoned so let it boyl one hour then take it from the fire and strain it every dry then put to the liquor one pint of Honey and of Sugar-Candy powdered six Ounces then put your liquor into a clean Earthen bottle keeping it closely stopped and four mornings together give your Horse thereof to drink blood-warm not much above a pint at a time lay the Barley before him and if he will eat he may if not put some thereof into a bag and perfume his head therewith this Medicine hath been approved of by the most experienced Farriers in England Rot in Horses It is one thing for an Horse to be said he is rotten and another thing to say he hath the Rot for to be internally rotten is incurable but to have the Rot is to be afflicted with the Dropsie or some other disease of near a kin This disease happens to Horses frequently very young as when Colts feed in Marshy and wet grounds or when but newly backt and over-ridden their blood becomes inflamed thence comes putrefaction and corruption thence Pustuls ingender in the Liver which produce either Dropsie Feltrick or Rot. The most remarkable signs of this distemper is after a journey a swelling and burning in his legs and having prest the part with your fingers there will remain a dint or pit he will pant much lift and beat in the Flanks with a swelling under his belly c. The method of the cure must be first to bleed him under the Tail then take of Mares Milk or Red Cows Milk two quarts then take a lump of Arement and then if you can get the sweat of a young black Horse and mingle the Arement with the Sweat and Milk mix these well together and divide it into three parts giving him one thereof each morning but let him not drink after it in eight hours if the Season will afford them give him after this the green blades of Rye if not Barley steeped in new Milk But after this if you feel him cold in the Pasterns and Joynts and that he ever and anon stumbleth as you lead him look upon him as lost and irrecoverable Strangury or Strangullion The bladder of an Horse according to the opinion of the skilful is troubled with three very dangerous distempers viz. the Strangury Pain-piss and Stone The Strangury or Strangullion is when the Horse hath great inclination to stale and yet cannot void his Urine unless it be by drops It commonly proceeds either from sharpness of the Urine occasioned by over much travail or else by exulceration of the Bladder or finally some Aposthume in the Liver and Kidneys which breaking and the matter falling into the Bladder the sharpness thereof causeth a continual desire to piss without ability For his Cure bathe the Horses hinder loins with warm water then take bread and Bay-berries and tempering them with May Butter convey down his throat two balls thereof for three mornings together or take a quart of new Milk and a quartern of Sugar and brewing them well together give the Horse to drink thereof five mornings together Otherwise make a strong Decoction by boyling your first quantity of Water to half a pint three times over with keen Onions clean pilled and Parsley then take a quart thereof and put thereunto a spoonful and half of London Treacle and as much of the powder of Egge-shells finely searced and give thereof to the Horse to drink several mornings Lastly take this incomparable receipt which hath been by divers tryed with great success You must get Saxafrage nettle-Nettle-roots Parsley-roots Fennel-roots Sperage-roots of Dodder of each one handful bruise all these Ingredients together and boyl them on a gentle fire with White-Wine until a third part be consumed then put to it of Salt one handful of Sallet Oyl and the lard of Goats of each three Ounces of Honey half a pound when all these are boyled strain and wring them very hard and of this liquor give your Horse one pint every morning tasting blood-warm But if in the standing or boyling it become thick dissolve it again with White-Wine and after the first boyling it must be only warmed Shedding of the Seed This shedding of the seed is no more than what among men is called the Running of the Reins the general cause from whence this infirmity doth arise is from either the abundance and rankness of the seed or from the weakness of the seminal vessels which are not capable of retaining the seed till it is arrived to its proper thickness but there is yet one more probable cause than what is already alledged and that is by over much covering Mares or by some great strain in leaping There are some that take this way to cure him by riding the Horse up to the belly in cold water so that his Stones may be covered therewith bathing his fundament with Water and Oyl then covering him warm give him every day to drink Red-Wine and Hogs-Dung but if you will be better advised and that by long experience take my counsel get a quart of Red-Wine and put therein a little Acatium the juice of Plantain and a little Mastick and give it him to drink after
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
the liquor three hours standing over the hot embers then add thereto half a pint of Sallet-Oyl give your Horse this blood-warm four days before the full and change of the Moon Clyster for any desperate sickness Take of Oyls of Dill and Camomile of Violets and of Cassia half an ounce of each and of brown Sugar-candy powdered three ounces of Mallow leaves half an handful boil the Mallows first to a Decoction in fair water then strain it and put therein all the aforesaid ingredients This Clyster is a sovereign help against all Feavers the Pestilence all languishing Distempers or Surfeits and will corroborate and strengthen in a very short time Clyster for the Plague or Pestilence Take half an Ounce of the pulp of Coloquintida the seeds and skins exempted three quarters of an ounce of Dragantium of Centaury and Wormwood of each half an handful a quarter of an ounce of Castoreum boil all these in three quarts of water to a quart then strain it and dissolve into it three ounces of the broth of Gerologundinum and of white Salt three drachms of Sallet-oil half a pint and so administer it being blood-warm Clyster lenitive against Convulsions Cramps Costiveness Surfeit or Foundring Take four ounces of Butter or half a pint of Sallet-oil and put it to the Decoction of Mallows and give it him Clyster-wise blood-warm it is a great Cooler of the body and doth infinitely asswage pain Clyster for the Cholick Take salt water or new made brine a quart dissolve therein a pretty quantity of Soap and so blood-warm administer This Clyster is not only good against the Cholick Griping of the Guts but any other distemper Dropsie This disease is known by an universal swelling of all the body in general but especially the legs through the abundance of water lying between the skin and the flesh the Belly will swell like to a Mares with Foal a swelling also betwixt the great Bag and the Kell this disease is farther known by shortness of breath loss of natural colour want of appetite and a continual christ This disease which is an evil habit of the body is engendered by surfeits and unreasonable labour and is cured by taking two handfuls of Wormwood and boil it in Ale or Beer a quart or better and give it the Horse to drink luke-warm morning and evening at noon let him drink his own water But the best and most approved remedy is to take a Gallon of strong Ale and settling it over the fire scum off the froth which ariseth then take a handful of Wormwood with the stalks and put them therein and let it boil to a quart then take it off and strain it well then dissolve into it three ounces of the best Treacle and put in also an ounce and a half of long Pepper and Grains beaten to a fine powder then brew them together till it be luke-warm and so give it him to drink the next day let him blood in the Neck-vein and anoint his Fore-legs with Traine Oil then turn him into good grass and do not doubt his recovery Drenches general for all Diseases in Horses If for colds take half an ounce of the powder called Diapente the way how to make it I have already discovered in a Chapter foregoing and brew it with a pint of Sack if for sickness at heart brew it in Muskadine and give it the Horse fasting in the morning give him this to drink as soon as ever you see him begin to droop and so continue doing for three or four mornings Another Drench you may make by taking two handfuls of Celandine root and leaves chop them and bruise them then take of Rue red Sage and Mint as much of Aloes half an ounce boil these in a pottle of Ale to a quart and give it the Horse luke-warm Or take four ounces of Diapente and mix it with four ounces of Honey clarified and keep it close in a Glass then take a pint of sweet Wine and put half an ounce thereof into it and it is an excellent Drench Take of Liquorish an ounce of Anniseeds Cumminseeds and Elecampane roots of each half an ounce of Turmerick and Bays of each a quarter of an ounce of long Pepper and Fenugreek of each two drachms beat these small and sierce them and put five spoonfuls into a quart of Ale warmed with a little Butter or Oyl The powder of Brimstone mixt with sweet Wine is a very good Drench The root of the Sea-onion the roots of Poplar mingled with common Salt given in water preserveth health a long time Garlick and Housleek beaten together in a Mortar and then boiled in Ale from a pottle to a quart and mixt with Liquorish Anniseeds and Sugar-candy with a pretty quantity of Sallet oil is an incomparable Drench for any internal maladies proceeding from hot causes Of Drenches and their uses let this suffice Diseases commonly infesting the Spleen The Spleen is the receptacle of Melancholy and the dregs of blood there is no part of the body more subject to diseases than this is for through its Sponginess it is inclined to suck in all manner of filth and communicate it to the whole body The diseases of the Spleen usually afflict Horses in the Summer most proceeding from the greedy eating of green food The signs of these Maladies are Heaviness Dulness pain on the left side hard swellings short breath much groaning The speediest way to cure him is to make him sweat then take the leaves of Tamarisk bruised a good quantity of Cumminseed beaten to powder and boil them in a quart of white wine and so give it him luke-warm This last is not the least nor a despicable remedy Take Cumminseed and Honey of each six ounces of Lacerpitium as much as a Bean of Vinegar a pint and put all these in three quarts of water and let it stand so all night in the morning give him a quart to drink having fasted all the night Diseases of the Gall. If the Liver be troubled with many diseases so is the Gall which is a long slender little greenish Bladder fixed underneath the Liver which receiveth all the Cholerick bitter moisture which would otherwise not only be offensive to the Liver but likewise the whole body Now if the passage of this necessary Vessel be stopped there will certainly follow many diseases as the Lax Bloody-flux Yellows and the like Or if the way whereby such Choler should issue forth of the Bladder of the Gall down into the Guts and Excrements is closed up and so aboundeth with too much Choler hence proceedeth Suffocation heat thirst and a disposition to rage and fury and for certain in any beast there is not a more dangerous disease than the overflowing of the Gall. The Symptoms of these Maladies are yellowness of the skin yellow Jaundice with costiveness of body The Cure is to boil good store of Saffron in Milk or Ale Saffron and Anniseeds mixt together But I am of the opinion
but be sure to keep him warm and expose him to no labour for some small time Or secondly you may take an handful of an herb called Shepherds-purse and boil it in a quart of strong Ale then take the seeds of Woodroof stampt and when the Ale is luke-warm put them thereinto and give it the Horse to drink Let his drink in this mean while be warmed mingled with Bean-flower but give him not his full draught at a time and when you give him any let it be but once in eighteen hours Others and not unadvisedly take the powder of one Nutmeg half an ounce of Cinamon and as much of the rind of a Pomegranat and mixing these with a pint of red Wine give it the Horse luke-warm to drink But if this Disease happen to a sucking Foal as it is frequently seen by reason of the fluidness of his Diet then give him a pint of Verjuice which curdling the Milk will thicken his excrement and is I can experimentally assure a speedy Remedy Now as to the Bloody Flux it is undoubtedly occasioned by some sharp humour excoriating the Guts or from some exulceration thereof The signs of this distemper are very apparent therefore I shall not need to describe them wherefore I shall only prescribe the Cure and that may be effected several ways as by dissolving four ounces of the Conserve of Sloes in a pint of red Wine and so with your Horn give it him to drink but the most approved Remedy in this take half an handful of Shepherds-purse and as much Tanners Bark taken out of the Fat and dried a little Cinnamon boil these in three pints of red Wine to a quart and then straining the liquor give it your Horse lukewarm to drink Molten Grease If an Horse be Grease-molten or foundred in the Body then open the Neck-vein and draw away the corrupt and inflamed blood then take a pint of white Wine half the quantity of Sallet-oil of Rhubarb two drachms and the like of Aloes half an ounce of Sena three drachms of Agarick half an ounce of Bay berries two drachms of Saffron of Duck and Cordial powder two drachms pulverize what is to be pulverized and having mixt them well together add thereunto four ounces of life Honey give him this blood-warm let him fast four hours before he take it and as many after let him have no Oats that day nor any other drink than sweet Mashes and be sure to keep him very warm Mourning of the Chine This Distemper by the experience of such who have frequently opened Horses is found to be a Corruption or Consumption of the Liver this Consumption proceeding from a cold which is afterwards converted into a Pose that into the Glanders and lastly into the Mourning of the Chine To avoid prolixity or the variety of Cures which every man according to his own fancy thinketh best I shall give you two which instar omnium are lookt upon by the most Expert the best Remedy for this Malady Take of the Bark of an Elder-tree growing by the water side as much as will fill an ordinary Pipkin add thereunto as much running water as the Vessel will hold and boil this liquor half away then fill it up again and continue so doing thrice after the consumption of the water and take it off the fire and add thereunto a third of the Oil of Oats or the like quantity of sweet Butter or Hogs-grease and being warmed again take a quart thereof and give it the Horse to drink one hornful at his Mouth and the other at that Nostril which evacuateth the matter Let your Horse be fasting when you administer to him this Drink and you will find it not only an excellent Cure for this malady but also for all others proceeding from any cold whatsoever Let his meat be boil'd Barley and his drink warm Mashes but if the season will permit his best food will be to turn him to Grass but that which I shall particularly commend to your observation and practice is Take two drachms of Auripigmentum and of Tussilage as much pulverized then mix them into a kind of paste with Turpentine and make little cakes thereof drying them before the fire then take of these cakes as much as you shall think sufficient and put thereof into a Chafing-dish of coals and covering it with a Tunnel when it smoaketh put the end of the Tunnel into his Nostril that the fume may ascend into his Head then ride him till he sweat thus do before you water your Horse every morning till you find his Nostrils leave running and that those Kernels or hard lumps at the root of his tongue be dissolved Night-Mare This is a distemper which very much afflicteth Horses as well as Mankind seizing both so violently that the breath will be so stopt that it will cause a struggling and a striving so that an excessive sweat and faintness will follow It comes only in the Night and it proceeds from Crudities and ill digestion whose ill vapours do not only disturb the head but likewise all the sensitive parts The signs are coming to your Horse in the morning you shall find him all of a sweat one drop driving the other panting and sweating principally in his Flanks Neck and roots of the Ears The Cure is Mornings and Evenings both before and after Water to give him a good moderate exercise and having brought him into the Stable rub him well down giving him Oats mixed with an handful of Hemp-seed Now by the way take notice that there are other distempers which proceed from the same cause as doth the Night-Mare viz. the Falling-Evil Planet-Struck and Palsey and these may seem to have different natures and dispositions whereas they are all the same having one rise or original which is only cold Phlegm or thick humours ingendered about the Brain and benumming the Senses and so weakning the Members that they cause sometimes the Horse to fall down and then it is the Falling-Sickness sometimes they seize and weaken one Member only and then this Malady is named Planet-Struck sometimes it spoileth some particular member by some strange contraction and then it is called the Palsey and lastly when the humour oppresseth the Stomach lying heavy at the Heart stopping his Breath and making him Sweat then it hath the appellation of the Night-Mare As all these Distempers proceed from one cause so I shall prescribe but one Medicine Take three spoonfuls of Tar and of Butter the like quantity beat them well together with the powder of Liquorish Anniseeds and Sugar-Candy till it be like a Paste then make these into three balls putting to each ball three cloves of Garlick then take your Horse fasting and give them him and let him fast four hours after Over-gorged Horse The signs of an Horse over-gorged are swelling and slavering so full as if the skin were ready to burst as soon as you have discovered his distemper take a quarter of a pound of
French for its cure it is thus effected There is an Herb which goeth by three or four names viz. Emanuel All-good Bonus Henricus or good King Henry take of the roots hereof and boil them in water and give him a Drench hereof blood warm in an horn this will remove the Red water and then you may cure the old Ulcer as you are prescribed in the Section of Fistulas Repercussive Medicaments Repercussive Medicines are such as repel or drive back evil and malignant humours Farriers call them Plaisters Defensative these are to be used in great wounds or Ulcers the best Repercussives are Vinegar Salt and Bole Armoniack beaten together and spread round about the Sore or else white Lead and Sallet Oyl beaten together or Red Lead and Sallet Oyl or else Vnguentum Album Camphoratum with a many more your own experience will indagate and discover Ring bone A Ring bone is at first a certain slimy humour and viscous which resorting to the bones of their own nature cold and dry cleave thereunto and become hard gristly nay absolutely bony its scituation is ever upon the Cronet of the hoof The causes hereof are twofold either natural or accidental naturally when either the Mare or Stallion have it from whom the Colt proceedeth and though I never saw a Colt bring a Ring-bone into the World with it yet Mr. Markham avoucheth he hath seen many Foals foaled with Ring bones on the feet wherefore I shall advise you not to breed upon any such Stallion or Mare that either have had or have this Malady Accidentally this happens several ways first by some blow or stroak on the foot or else from some evil humour descending and setling upon the Cronet The Symptoms hereof are apparent to the eye the Cronet of the hoof will be much swoln especially that part which is next adjoining unto the lower part of the Pastern the hair thereabout will grow bristly and stare and the Horse will go lame The Cures are several but I shall prescribe you none here but what have been many times experimented with welcome success First scarifie the skin above the Ring bone with a Lancet then take a great Onion and pick out the Core then take Verdigrease and unfleckt Lime and put them therein then cover up the hole and in hot embers roast it till it be soft then take it and bruise it well and being very hot lay it to the sorrance do thus five days together you will not miss of a cure Another way to cure it First cast your Horse or tye up his contrary leg with a strong rope till you strike five or six holes in the Ring bone at the very edge of it let the holes be equally distant from each other then take Arsnick and upon the top of your Fleim put some thereof into every hole then bind up his foot for a night and a day But that which Esq Grey prescribeth as infallible is this take unfleckt Lime newly taken from the Kill well burned which you may know by its lightness pulverize this Lime and lay it thick upon the place swelled with a linnen cloth bound about it to keep it on then let him stand in cold water an indifferent while then taking him forth unbind the foot and he is certainly cured for the burning of the Lime doth kill the Ring bone even to the very root thereof this is a truth throughly experimented Rats tails how to cure Take green Vitriol half a pound and boil it in a pint of running water with Alom Mustard Sage and Hysop the night before you apply this anoint the sores made raw with strong Mustard the next day wash them with the water afore specified and it is a cure Rowels how to put them in whether French or English If you are to place a Rowel in the breast make it lean to that part of the shoulder which is grieved then take a Lancet and only cut the skin through not cross but down right then put in your finger between the skin and the flesh raising the skin from the flesh round about the Orifice the breadth of a Tester then take a piece of the upper leather of a shooe and cut it round with an hole in the middle then put a Needle and Thread through it then take a quill and put one end into the Orifice of his breast upwards and so blow in the Wind having blown it three or four times run the Needle and Thread once through the Rowel and once through the skin and draw the Rowel into the cut when you have thus placed the Rowel in the cut with the hole of the Rowel right against the hole in the skin of the breast so that it may not move then with your Needle and thread run a stitch or two overthwart the cut to keep in the Rowel when you have thus done anoint it with Butter and so let it stand five or six days this is the best method can be prescribed Saddle bruised or Swellings on the Back You must first take some wet Hay but rotten Litter is better and lay it on the swelling this will make it soft very quickly then with a Lancet let out the putrefied matter and let the cavity be filled with the powder of Rozen then lay on a Plaister of Shoomakers Wax and it is a Cure Swift cut Take a pint of White-Wine and put to it three spoonfuls of Honey stir these and boil them to a Salve then take it from the fire and put to it half so much Turpentine as there was Honey stir these all together with this Salve anoint the Sorrance twice a day and it will heal it quickly Stanching of blood Some ignorant Farriers have let an Horse blood when the sign hath been in that place from whence he hath taken blood by which means there hath followed so great an efflux of blood that by reason it could not be stopped it hath indangered the Horses life Wherefore if any such thing should happen by this ignorance aforesaid or by wounds or any other accident take presently some new Horse dung and temper it with Chalk and Vinegar and lay it to the wound letting it remain there three days or else lay thereunto wild Tansie bruised Sage bruised bruised Hysop or hot Hogs dung but if these fail this will not take of the soft Down of Hare or Conies skin and stop the bleeding place therewith holding it to with your hand first a pretty while if it be to a great wound then spread over it a Plaister of Vinegar and Bole Armoniack incorporated together Slaves very good for the healing all sorts of Sores and Wounds I shall here of some hundred sorts of Salves only insert three or four which I have found the best of any I have tried in above 45 years practice 1. Take of the buds or tenderest tops of Elder-leaves one handful first shred then pound them in a Stone-mortar very well till you bring them to a
it into the same form the Bodkin is of and having withdrawn your Bodkin let the Lead in the same hole supply its place then thrust in the Bodkin cross-wise underneath the Lead and put in some more Lead into that place in such sort that it may represent a perfect cross then take Pâ—ck-thread and put it underneath the four corners of the Lead and by drawing it strongly you will contract the hollow skin to a purse having drawn it well together let it rest a day and a night in which time the skin will be so deadned that it will not when loosned return to its former place after this remove the Leaden pins and with your hand close the skin to the forehead in a little time after this you will perceive the hair to fall off but assure your self the next hair which appeareth will be white This I know true likewise by my own experience take a Crab and roast it and being excessive hot bind it to that part of the Horse which you would have white this will infallibly scald away the old hair and the new hair that cometh will be white Secondly how to make a black Star This black Star you are to understand is to be made on a white Horse which will be very remarkable and thus you must do it Take the rust of Iron Galls and Vitriol and pound them in a Mortar with Sallet-oil and herewith anoint the place and it will convert white hair into coal black colour I have been told that this will do as well though I never tried it Take four scruples of the wood of Oleander beaten to powder and one scruple of Ink then with an indifferent quantity of Sheeps-suet work them together and herewith anoint the designed part and this will effect your purpose Thirdly and Lastly how to make an artificial red Star in the forehead of an Horse Take of Aqua Vitae one quartern of Aqua fortis one Ounce and a half and of Silver to the value of one and twenty pence put them into a Glass and shake them well together and therewith anoint the place very well this in an instant will convert what ever the colour of the hair be into a perfect red but this will continue no longer than till the casting of the hair so that if you desire a continuance you must renew it Sit-fast The Sit-fast or Stick-fast is called by the French Mal de la Cron it is an hard horny knob growing in an Horses skin under the Saddle and is dead like a hard piece of Leather It proceedeth from some old Saddle-gall or bruise which not impostumating the skin falleth dead and sticketh to the flesh That you may effect the Cure take the green outward leaves of a Cabbage then take tried Hogs-grease and stamp them together making thereof an Ointment herewith anoint his back very well chafing it in and it would not be amiss to clap on his Saddle and immediately ride him But in my opinion this is the best and speediest Cure first anoint this dead skin with Hogs-grease to supple and mollifie it then pull up this skin and with a sharp Pen-knife cut it away from the sound flesh if after this the cavity appear deep pour every morning and evening into it Butter melted hot and this will eaven the flesh then dry and skin it with the powder of Honey and Lime mingled together Swaying in the Back Swaying in the back is occasioned by great burthens slip or wrench in the lower part of his back below his short Ribs and directly between his Fillets The signs are when the Horse is laid he will rise with much difficulty besides his going will be uneaven swaying sometimes backwards sometimes sidelong The Cure is first to cover the Horses back with a Sheeps-skin newly fleyed off laying the fleshy side on then lay thereon a good warm cloth letting the Sheep-skin lie so long till it begin to corrupt then apply a fresh one continuing so to do twenty days this I have tried but have not found it so successful but that I was forced to use this Remedy which never failed me First draw his back on both sides of the ridge from the pitch of the Buttock unto an handful within the Saddle and so again overthwart let the lines be an inch distance one from the other and let not the strokes be otherwise burnt but only to look yellow having so done lay on this Plaister Take of Pitch half a pound of Tar half a pint of Rozin and Bole-armoniack of each a quarter of a pound beaten into fine powder boil these together stirring them till they are throughly incorporated then being luke-warm daub all the burning therewith very thick after this take flox of the Horse's colour and daub as many on as will stick remove it not but let it fall off spontaneously if the season will permit turn him to grass Spurgalling how remedied Spurgalling to be sure happens no other way than by the indiscretion of a digging Horseman The signs are plain to be seen and felt the Cure is not difficult only take Urine and Salt Water and Salt or warm Vinegar alone or bind unto the Spur-gall the tops of Nettle-leaves and any of these will perfectly cure him Swelling of the Cods This swelling is always accompanied with an inflammation and happens to the Stones of an Horse several ways viz. either by the bite of an Horse or some venomous beast by a blow or by a strain nay it hath been found to have happened after sickness or surfeit with cold being a sign of his recovery if so the usual way of curing it is by taking of Bean-flower Wheat-meal Cummin and Hogs grease of each an equal quantity and therewith Plaister his Cods or Stones Sometimes again this swelling proceedeth from rankness of seed and the Symptom thereof is the great sliminess of his Yard if so then get any Mare and let him first cover her then keep him without Provender and bleed him above the great Vein which is between his lips having so done take three or four hard Eggs and some of his own dung and pound them together making thereof a Plaister with which cover his Cods but be sure that every day you wash them with cold water till the swelling come down But if by accident as by stroke strain c. his Cods and Stones do swell then follow this Rule which the French prescribe Take the roots of wild Cowcumber and Salt and boil them and with the water bathe the Cods after this anoint them with an unguent made of Oil Goats-grease and the white of an Egg or an ointment made of Chalk Potters-earth Ox-dung Cummin-water and Vinegar mingled together after this let him blood in the Flank-veins Selender There is very little discrepancy between the Selender and Malander only that the Selender breedeth on the bending of the bough in the Leg behind whereas the Malander afflicteth the bending of the Leg before the Symptoms of