Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1882-03-31

in Turkish and Russian bathing place for
the sick horses. We have over 1000 horses
you know, and some Of them are always
sick. They put them in tho Turkish bath
aud ciyo 4 em a good rubbing. II this isn't
enough they give th,l au electric bath. It
is the quocro,t thing yoi ever saw
The reporter was soon in TIC Third avenue
stables talking with DR.. Ho1gh, the inventor
and designer Of tho only Turkish bath for
horses in the world. The Thrd-avenuo car
horses, like all other horses, aro liable to oc.
cusioual indisposition. They have attacls OF
glandcrs heRycs, pink-eye, and all the diseas-
es that turn "a good working horse into
WORTHLESS, plug Out Of the 1000 or more
owne by the company, tLere are always be-
tween fifty and hundred in the hospital
DIR. Hough has been successful in treating
them in the ordinary way with medicines, and
has brought large number Of valuable hors.
Is safely through severe attacks Of illness.
But many of the horses catch cold, and are
kept some time from their work by disorders
that the surgeon thought ought to be re-
moved in a few hours if properly treated.
Particularly in their legs, the car horses suf-
| fer. In the winter. when the streets are full
| of slush, sores break out on the lower part of
| the horses legs, and these sores often disable
| good aud otherwise healthy horses for weeks,
sometimes for months, making them pitiable
| objects 10 look at and depriving their owners
Of their services The Third Avenue Com
| pauy takes good care Of its horses, and it
| pays They are well fed, carefully groomed,
aud comfortably housed. When a horse gets
sick he receives rs much attention as a pa
| tient in Bellevue Hospital. The sick animals
! are given such horse luxuries as their stom.
achs can bear and they are kept warm and
! comfortable. 1t is the compauy's practice to
! take the best care Of a sick horse and make
| him valuable again. instead Of selling him for
a song and replacing him with new animal.
| This system is not only humane but prcfla.
Gle, and in carrying it out DR.. Hough, the
company's veterinary surgeon, has devised
| the equine Turkish, Russian, and electric
| baths. They have been in operation less than
! three weeks, but IN that time a large mum.
Der of horses have been treated in them and
| their success has been far beyond expecta-
| tion
There are no marble slabs, upholstered
! dressing-rooms, or bottles of scented oils, in
| these horses baths. Everything is plain aud
simple, but very convenient and admirably
adapted for the purpose. space about as
large as six or eight ordinary stalls has been
| tightly enclosed IN corner, near the Second
avenue end Of the building, with thick board
wells, floor, and ceiling The floor is COW
| cred with movable stats, and under these
Stats are steam pipes by which the tempera-
/ ture can be run up to 100 :, $50 >, or 2OO7
at the will of the operator. In another apart.
| ment are rows Of gas burners for horses re-
| quiring treatment with hot air. In front of
| two OF the stalls are small square windows
each large enough for horse to put his head
| through. These windows can be closed with
board shutters, aud they are also provided
| with heavy curtains, opening in the centre.
| When it is desirable to give a horse a very
| hot bath in room whose temperature must
| be higher than the horse could breathe with
| comfort, one Of the windoSs is opened, and
| the horse, with his body in the bath, put, his
head out into the cool air. The curtains are
then drawn tightly about his neck to prevent
the heat from escaping and the horse has
all TIE luxury Of Turkish bath without the
! inconvenience of breathing the overheated
! air. Horses requiring trcatm, Il, are left in
! the hot bath from 20 minutes to an hour and
are then washed with tepid water and thor
oughly scrubbed. After being groomed till
! he shines like new scal.skin sacque, a horse
! on being taken out OF {. bath is taken into the
| cooliug,room and kept there an hour or more,
| tho temperature being lowered gradually tin
/ it is the same as in the body Of the stable.
| When this point Is reached the horse is
| ready 10 be take back 10 his stall, aud IL, to
| all iutrnts, a new animal. A horse goes into
| the bath dripping at the nostrils, limping or
| heoyiuE, and comes out feeling as frisly a. a
/ colt. He goes in, often, looking as If there
was no rest for him outside the bone.yard,
and comes out locking well enough for Il car.
| riage horse. II the first bath does not re-
1 move his complaint he is given another and
another on successive days till he is cured.
| The stablemon say that the horses have
/ learned the pleasures Of the Turkish bath,
! aud evidently like the process. One horse,
a very nice looking gray, with a sore hind leg,
| has taken four baths, and is said to walk up
to the door Of the bath house whenever he is
| at liberty and wait TO be let in. The hostltrs
would no doubt tell stories of the horses
| feigning illness 70 as to be put through the
baths il they could find anybody TO believe
them. For strains, sprains, and various 9TH
| er ailments, electric baths are given. The
| horse to be treated with electricity is put in
the warm room and is well rubbed down with
| sponges attached to electric wires The re-
suits Of these equine electric baths have some
times been startling. One horse expressed
| his approval of the new system by kicking
| his attendant through one of the small win
| dows, but without breaking any bones The
animals do not know quite what to make Of
the electric shock, but they are said to take
kindly to it after they have had q little expe-
| rience. In the Russian baths where the
steam is let ont of the pipes into the room,
till the atmosphere is wet enough 10 bottle,
the horses sometimes rebel, but never make
| any very vigorous resistance. Several horses
have been treated that were too sick to stand
| up in the bath For the accommodation of
such unfortunate invalids, there is a stout
blanket, fastened to ropes running through
| pulleys in the ceiling. The blanket is put
under the horses body, and, when the ropes
are frightened, the horse enjoys the luxury of
! the bath swinging in q hammock. In every
material point the baths are precisely similar
to those provided for men and women. The
horses are heated to a high point, deluged
with cold water, thoroughly kneaded, slowly
cooled off and well rubbed down. The cleo
trio bath is a very powerful one, the batteries
being capable of giving a shock that would
make any human bather squirm.
DR.. Hough is enthusiastic in describing the
results Of his system Of horse baths He tells
of one of the best mares in the stables that
two weeks ago had a very severe case of
pneumonia. Her pulse was extremely high,
| and she had a dangerous rattling in the bron-
chial tubes He put her in the new Russian
| bath and kept her in nearly all the afternoon,
reducing the temperature gradually. She
perspired very freely, and, when she was tax
en- out of the bath, the rattling was entirely
| gone The next day the mare was much bet
! ter, and the bath was repeated. On the third
| day she was given another bath, aud when
she came out her pulse, respiration, and tenn
perature were normal At the end of week
she was entirely well and was put to work.
For pinkeye, which is an aggravated form of
influenza, with bronchial troubles, the baths
arc very efficacious. A horse was put in the
hot air bath with his eyes entirely closed and
u heavy discharge of white mucus from eyes
and nostrils On the day following the first
bath, the swelling was greatly reduced and
the discharge had disappeared. Two horses
have been treated for founder both success
fully.
There are at present 20 horses in the 'hos-
pital" in the Third-avenue stables, and many
of them have been treated in the baths with