Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1870-08-06
FARM AND GARDEN.
HORSE NOTES.
EisfuIas

FistuIas
/ A correspondent of the Cincinnati Ga
zette says, in reply to the question whether
it is best to drive back the swelling or
bring it to head as soon as possible: |
would state that it is undoubtedly the best
to drive it back. Never open it unless
you are sure the pus has commenced to
form. | have just cured one of my
mares by applying a remedy which never
fails, if applied in time. We call it here
the CLAM Gray" recipe, from The name
of the man who introduced it into our
neigbbOrhood Take one pint of alcohol,
one half pint of turpentine, one half ounce
of rhubarb, one half ounce OF aIOes and
three ounces of hartshOrn. Mix it and let
it stand twenty-four hours. Apply it to
the swollen part once every day for eight
or nine days, and then cease using it for
about the same period, then apply it
again as before. The hair may come out,
but it will grow cut again at least, it did
on my mare. would further state that
the disease can not be cured in fen
days. 1t requires about from two to
three months.
About SPAWN.
H. ]. Detmers, V. s, writes to the
Western RaroL:
If we examine the hook joints of those
horses which suffer with SPAWN, we al
ways find that the same are not of the
very best shape and form they either
lack in width, or length, or have not the
exact angle; reYersely, we never find that
horse becomes spawned, whose hook
joints are of really good and faultIess
form and q sufficient size; at least, l
never saw one. We all know that SPAWN
is considered to be hereditary in q
high degree. The question is, why 2
Is it the disease itself, or is it by
the formation of the hook, that it is trans
mitted by the sire or by the dam upon
their offspring9 One thing is a fact,
namely, that nothing is more naturally
and more frequently transferred upon the
descendants, than peculiarities in the
shape, form and size of the different parts
of the bodily frame. Whether SPAWN and
similar diseases are hereditary by being
transmitted by peculiar condition of the
blood-idiosyncrasy-as some believe, in
dependent of such peculiarities, which |
render an organ or a part, for instance
the hock-jOint, weaker than it ought to
be, is at least very doubtful. In my
opinion, the hereditary nature of SPAWN |
and kindred diseases is amply explained, |
if we only keep in mind that narrow and |
small joints as well as other bodily imper- |
fections are transmitted upon the offspring, |
and that such an Informed joint fire. |
quently proves to be too weak for the ex- |
ertion and the burden assigned to it. |
Hence it becomes diseased. If the hook |
joints are very weak, it frequently hap |
pens that a colt, even before it has been |
broken for work, gets spawned when
running idle in the pasture; if these joints,
however, are tOlerably well formed, and |
not very weak, it, in the most cases,
wants violent exercise, hard pulling, gal
looping under the saddle, and leaping, to
produce SPAWN. am sure if we reject |
strictly all those mares and horses for
breeding, whose joints are not sufficiently |
strong and not well made, we soon shall
have no more cause to complain about |
SPAWN and similar diseases. Prevention |
is better than an uncertain cure.
How the Horse Dexter is Fed.
In the morning he is allowed all the |
water he will drink, and after which two
quarts of oats are given, and when eaten,
half an hours walking exercise is en-
forced, when he is brought home again
(Which is usually about 9 o'clock A. N.Y.
be gets two more quarts of oats; but if
no drive for the afternoon, half or three
quarters of an hour more exercise of a
gentle nature is eXacted, and at / o'clock
P. NJ. two quarts of oats are fed, and in
the afternoon, if he be driven, which is
about fifteen miles, on coming into the
stable he is rubbed dry, a swallow of wa
placed before him. If the work has been
a little extra, he is treated to two quarts
of oatmeal cruel, and when well cooled
off, half a bucket of water and three
quarts of oats, with two quarts of bran
with hot water. On days |
of great speed the allowance of wa
ter is reduced. Thus it seems
that this pleasure horse is fed on nine
quarts of oats and two of bran, and from
five to six pounds of hay, in the twenty
four hours, costing for oats about twenty |
cents per day; bran, say five cents; hay,
seven cents, making total of thirty-twO |
cents for feed. 1t will be observed that
it costs within few cents as much to
feed a horse for pleasure driving, when
FED on oats, as it does a hard working
horse on corn meal; but it does not follow
that hard working horse could be kept |
in condition with nine quarts of oats per |
day, nor that the pleasure horse would
require fifteen quarts of corn meal per |
day to insure a good working Condi-
ton. How difficult as well as unneces-
sary is it for US to fix certain quantity |
of food to be given to all horses when |
age, condition and work are not the same.
This discrepancy, however, is for the in
telligent stableman, easily overcome by |
little observation of the feeding capacity |
and condition of each individual horse |
under his care. 1t is safe to allow some |
horses of weak constitution to eat all the |
food they can consume, and that will not |
be too much to maintain them in flesh |
and working order, their appetites being |
the only measure required for daily use, |
at least during the season of work. The |
work is the regulator of the consumption |
of food, as with such horses the harder |
the work the less they will eat, and vice |
versa, when limit of the quantity |
should be made.