Mineral Point tribune. (Mineral Point, Wis.) 1869-1938, 1869-08-14
OverWorked Herses.

OVcrWOrKeQ d9rSeS-
Overwork generally destroys many
horses, especially in the omnibus,
cab, and heavier draught work of
our larger towns. Very frequently
the locomotive organs first fail.
More than one-half of the animals
sent to the auction yards are inca
pacitated from lameness. The tend
nous cords running down the limbs
are repeatedly and severely strained,
causing painful shortcomings of the
limbs. Nayicular disease shelves
many well bred steeds. Often the
disease. Threads, falls, broken bones,
and other accidents, are greatly in
creased by the WEAKNESS and distress
accompanying over work. In fast
trotting or galloping, the tough
tendinous suspensory band, passing
Immediately behind the cannon
bones, is sometimes torn, causing
tie breaking down SO familiar to
racing men. But the tear and wear
of severe eXertion tells not only on
the extremities. In animals unused
to it, and especially if the work is
rapid as well as violent, blood is
driven from the surface to the inter-
Tor of the body, the internal organs
become ~congested, and amongst
the lungs and the sensitive famine
Of the feet frequently suffer.
Severe eXertion also operates in
juriously in greatly increasing the
disintegration of the structures. The
! blood is thus loaded with effete par
ticles, which, unless rapidly remov-
ed give RISE to serious arrangements.
To favour the elimination of sub
s-f, oil r4d IN y
horses, after hard days work, are
washed with tepid water, well dried,
comfortably clothed, and their legs
bandaged. The skin is thus left in
Il Condition in which it fultills its
share in the process of publication.
Cruel and mashes, rather than dry
food, form the bulk of the dietary for
twenty-four hours, especially If the
exertiOn has been very violent, and
| thus the bowels ard kidneys are en-
couraged to drain away by these two
| important channels any deleterious
matter.
But amongst hardwrought, i'll
caredfor horses, no precautions are
| thus taken to mitigate the evil of Sc
we're work The poisonous products
of active tissue-metamor
not got rid of the chills to which SO
many hor ses are exposed when over
| heated and exhausted interfere with
the important purifying influences of
| the skin retained eXcrementltlous
matters gradually but certainly I'M
dermine health (; for few days there
may be only dizziness, listlessness,
and feverishness ; and the animal
may still be kept at work in ex-
| pressive popular paraseology, the
| horse does not always die the day he
| is killed, and three or four days or
even a longer period may elapse be-
| fore the animal is entirely laid up
| with gastric fever, farcv, CHAMBERS or
diabetes.
The effete putrescent Substances
50 largely generated by severe exert
ion cause, as already pointed out,
much harm when retained. They
are, moreover, apt to irritate and in
jure the channels or organs by which
| they are expelled from the body. In
this way are explained the diarrh9a
which in many horses follows vio-
| lent eXertion, particularly of the
description to which an irrit-
able animal is unused, and the
| Inflammation of the kidneys and
bladder which succeeds long and eX-
hausting journeys.
Notable amongst the ways in
which horses are overtaXed, is their
| being urged beyond the pace for
| which their breeding or condition
fits them. Many good horse that
might last for years if driven at six
or seven miles an hour, becomes ir-
| retrievably used up by few jour
| neys performed at the rate of ten or
| twelve miles an hour. ProVerbially,
| it is "the pace that kills" Farm
| horses, although their work is sell
dom very violent or severe, often
suffer in busy times from being kept
| too long in harness. Their times of
eating and of rest being thus unduly
curtailed, arrangements of the di-
| gestive organs, lassitude, and loss of
condition, are entailed. A regular
ly recurring day of rest is requisite
for hard-worked men and so thor
oughly is this now recognized that
in all well conducted coaching, car,
and other such ablishments, one
| day of rest per week is allowed to
each horse. Many young green
| horses are overworked, not so much
| from the actual severity of the la
| Dor required of them, astfrom their
| being immature, fat OF unprepared
for any work. Hundreds of horses
| Just out of the breeders, farmers, or
dealers hands, possibly plump, well
made up, but without the condition
which properly regulated exercise
alone can give, are put, with little
| preparation, to severe and even to
| fast work. They flag at the lightest
labour. II urgeu on, they are, to use
an expressive coachy phrase, knock
| ed out of time,n and they largely
I l.
/ book with strained and injured linn bs,
| catarrhS, sore Threats, congestion of
| the lungs, gastric fever, farcy and
glauders.
Written tor the American Stock Journal
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