Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1877-08-10
Lame Horses.

Ifyour horse is lame, then, realize the
fact as quickly as possible, and attend TO II.
Locate the lameuess where II manifestly Is,
or where it is most likely to be, even If
there is hopelessness about 1t 4; and allow
no friend or surgeon to flatter you with the
suggestion that the trouble Is temporary,
trivial, confined TO some comparatively un-
important point, and, in your horse at least,
is not what it would he in every other
horse about you. If the lameness is "Ior-
ward" you may, in nine cases out of ten,
infer that the trouble is in the foot, unless
you can discover some manifest enlarge
ment of the bones or sinews. Shoulders
are seldom lame. 1t is the foot which is
most exposed it is the foot which is most
affected by the action of the shoulder and
leg above it; so that many wise observers
have insisted upon it that any foot will
stand, If rightly managed by the muscles
which move it; and 1t is the foot whose
diseases are most difficult TO cure. There
is no lameness so perplexing, annoying,
and discouragng. 1t puts an end very eff
fectually to a horses fast work, aud enrolls
his name among the slow movers on the
farm or in the family carriage. Rest, cold
water, Miles's tar. ointment TO stimulate
the growth around the coronet), cool brick
floor, with perhaps a blister or two, will al
most always relieve the early stages of the
disease, and give the horse comfort, and
ability to disc barge well the service of a
quiet life. But laminitis and navcular dis
ease do not surrender so easily, and are
trou blesome as the govt when they find
their way into the luxurious horse circles,
those circles in which they are most
usually found.
So, too, of ring bone aud SPAWN. More
conspicuous than diseases of the foot, they
are more easily managed. l would never
resign promising young Horse on account
of the appearance of those diseases; and l
would never neglect them until they were
past relief. once removed from the pas
terms of a likely two-year old, by a couple
of blisterings, what 1 was told in mild
phrase were Spreads" but what, had they
been let alone, would have been nugbones
in all their deformity and so effectually
did remove them, that at four years old
the engagements were not visible, except
on the most careful inspection. Two of the
best horses 1 ever bred, of The best that any
body ever bred, became diseased in their
hooks at four years old, and were threaten.
ed with incurable lameness. They were
too good 10 be wasted. ! could not beal
the thought of their being cripples for life
They were fired and blistered as soon al
the SPAWN manifested itself; were given {
years run at grass and in the winter-yard
and have done constant work on the roaC
from that day to this, without the slightes
appearance of stiffness in their joints. d.
not think their speed, even land they botl
have great deal of iD, has been reduced
particle. l am aware that the loss of 81
months or year in the work ing time OF
horse is a serious matter for most men " III
use horses. But, 10 such as work then
simply for what they can earn, this remedy
is cheaper than the ultimate loss of the ami
NAL altogether; and, to those who ar
breeding and preparing them for the mar
ket, 1t must be economy 10 take hold O
these defects in season, and treat then
promptly and summaiily. Hardly loca
disease can be named which will not yiel,
10 this summary process, and rest. If Their
Is any check to be put to cribbing, for in
stance, that most mysterious and unac
countable of all diseases of horses, a dis
eased habit which is oflen acquired, an,
which have seen inLerted,--i is by re
moving every Object which can be seize
= with the teeth, and by regulating the food
So, loo, Of sweled legs, scratches, corns
, false quarter, thrush, and other dificultie
, which arise from neglecling either the gen
eral condition of the horse, or from injudi
,, cious use.-Hon. Geo. d. LOring, in "Per
: feet Horse"