The American farmer's horse book

Front matter

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Chapter I

BRIEF HISTOEY OF THE HORSE.— General Principles kept in viFW IN THIS Work — Remarks on Crossing, etc. — Important Facts to

BB remembered IN TREATING DISEASES OP THE HoRSE 11

Chapter II

OUTLINE OF THE STRUCTURE OF THE HORSE.— Muscles, Tendons, AND Membranes — The Skin — The Hair — The Feet- The Blood-vessels — The Heart — The Pores — The Brain and Nervous System — Respiratory Organs — The Stomach and Intestinal Organs — The Liver — The Pancreas — The Spleen — The Urinary Organs 23

Chapter III

DISEASES OF THE BONES.— Big Head and Big Jaw, or Exostosis of the Bones — Swinny, or Inflammation of the Shoulder — Big Shoulder — Inflammation or Swinny of the Hip — Slipped or Broken Hip — Bone Spavin — Illustrative Cases — Cautions — Enlarged Hock — Broken Hock — Ring-bone — Stifle — Splint — Broken Knees — Stumbling — Sway-back 69

Chapter VIII

DISEASES OPTHE SKIN AND EARS— Scratches— Thrush— Cracked Heels, or Greese — Swelled Legs — Swelled Ankles — Surfeit — Mange — Hidebound — Stiff Complaint — Warts — Sore Nose — Saddle Galls — Injuries of the Ear — Sore Ears — Vermin 216

Chapter XIII

DISEASES OF THE STOMACH AND BOWELS.— Sour Stomach- Colic in the Stomach — The Bot — Inflammation of the Bowels — Enteritis — Flatulent Colic — Inflammation and Rupture of the Colon — Inflammation and Bleeding of the Rectum— Soreness and Itching op the Anus 307

TABLE OF CONTENTS. Vll

Chapter XIV

DISEASES OF THE LIVER, URINARY ORGANS, ETC.— Jaundice, tR Yellows — Enlargement of the Spleen — Inflammation of the EiDNEYS, or Nephritis — Profuse Stalling, or Diabetes — Bloody

UlINE, OR HiEMATURIA — ThICK AND ALBUMINOUS UrINE — WhITE OR

List Urine — Gravel, or Stone in the Bladder — Suppression of Urke — Inflammation of the Bladder — Foul Sheath — Colt Founder — BisBisES op Young Colts 328

Chapter XV

DISEASES OF THE HEART AND BLOOD, ETC.— Thumps— Scrofula- Fever, ■)R Inflammation of the Blood — Thick Blood — Thin Blood — Bleedinv — The Pulse — The Modes of giving Medicine — Drenching — The Pill— In the Feed — The Clyster 353

Chapter XVI

POISONS, P<\ISONOUS SNAKES AND INSECTS, ETC.— Internal Poisons — Po^ons of the Skin — Animal Poisons 383

\ CHAPTER XVII.

FOOD AND GINERAL TREATMENT.— Pasturing-Grasses — Hay AND Fodder — Grain — Green Feed for Winter — General Stable Management — I^ght — Ventilation and Temperature — Flooring — Bedding — CleansVq and Currying — Changes of Weather and Temperature — Blanketing — Disinfectants — Exercise 401

Chapter XVIII

BREEDING, STOCK-UlSING, ETC.— The Hokse and his Qualities— The Mare; her Qualties and Treatment — The Colt and his Treatment — Crossing — Cas^.ating — The Mule— Stock Farms 435

Chapter XIX

MARKS OF AGE, AND ABUSES.— The Teeth— The Lips— The Hair — The Chin — The Eyes — '!he Abuses of the Horse — Over-working — Whipping and Beating — (utting and Slitting the Ears — Nicking and Docking — Racing , 468

CIAPTER XX.

GENTLING, BREAKING, A^D TRAINING.— The Young Colt— The One Year old Colt — The <bLT at Two Years old — Breaking — The Rarey Method — Saddle Hores — Horses for the Buggy and Carriage — Draught Horses — Roadster — Mule Breaking, Training, etc.... 496

"Vm TABLE OF CONTENTS.

CHAPTER XXL

FEACTUEES. — Fractures of the Skull — Fractures of the Nasal Bones — Fracture of the Eibs — Simple Fracture of the Limbs — Framj — Pen — Setting the Bones — Treatment of the Wounds — The timi to heal 525

CHAPTER XXII.

SHOEING. — The putting on the Shoe — Calking — Clips — The .Binder Shoe — Different kinds of Shoes — Paring the Hoofs — CnANrtNG the Shoes — The time of wearing 534

CHAPTER XXIIl.

VICES AND UNSOUNDNESS OF THE HOESE.— I. Vices : Kicking— Biting — Eearing — Scaring. ..Eunning away — Balking ani Backing — Chewing the reins — Pulling at the halter and BREifiiNG away — Overreaching and Interfering — Stumbling — II. Unsouni>'ess : Defects OF the Eye — Defects of the Feet — Defects of the Skn — Defects op THE Eespiratory Organs — Defects of the Stomach anj Bowels — The Urinary Organs — Conclusion 551

CHAPTER XXIV.

MEDICAL PEEPAEATIONS EECOMMENDED IN ^HIS WOEK,. 562

GLOSSAEY OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNICALTEEMS USED IN THIS WOEK 573

GENEEAL INDEX 581

TABLE OF SYMPTOMS TO FACILITATE THE DETECTION OF DISEASE 591

AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK.

Chapter I. Brief History Of The Horse

GENERAL PRINCIPLES KEPT IN VIEW IN THIS WORK — REMARKS ON

CROSSING, ETC.

The horse is a native of several districts of Asia and Africa ; and in the Southern parts of Siberia large herds of these animals are occasionally seen. In Ukraine, where wild horses are often found, they are rendered no otherwise serviceable to man than as food. The wild horses on each side of the Don are the offspring of the Russian liorses that were employed in the siege of Asoph, in the year 1697, when, for want of forage, they were turned loose. They have relapsed into a state of nature, and have become as shy and timid as the original savage breed. The Cossacks chase them, but always in the winter, by driving them into the valleys filled with snow, into which they plunge, and are caught. Their excessive swiftness is such as to entirely exclude every other mode of capture.

The horses of South America are of Spanish origin, and entirely of the Andalusian breed. They are now become so numerous as to live in herds, some of which are said to consist of ten thousand.

The horse, in a domesticated state, is found in almost every part of the globe, except, perhaps, within the Arctic Circle ; and his reduction and conquest is generally considered as the greatest acquisition from tlie animal world that the art and

AMERICAN FARMER'S HORSE BOOK.

industry of man have ever made. In our opinion, however, the sheep should be ranked first in usefulness, the kine second, and the horse third.

Of the six ascertained species of horses, only one has yet been discovered on the New Continent in a perfectly wild state, and this animal has cloven hoofs. It is an inhabitant of the mountains of South America.

The horse is a type of man — of man's pride, vices, and infirmities, no less than of his independence and strength. His martial traits, especially, have been the then^.e of glowing description and eulogy in all ages. The unthinking horse that rushes to battle is but the truthful representation of his great prototype — man. The description of the Eastern horse in the book of Job is exceedingly poetical and expressive :

" Hast thou given the horse his strength ? Plast thou clothed his neck with thunder? Canst thou make him afraid as a grasshopper? The glory of his nostrils is terrible. He paweth in the valley, and rejoiceth in his strength ; he goeth on to meet the armed men. He mocketh at fear, and is not afti'ighted ; neither turneth he back from the sword. The quiver rattleth against him, the glittering spear and tlie shield. He swalloweth the ground with fierceness and rage ; neither bclieveth he that it is the sound of the trumpet. He

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HORSE.

saith among the trumpets, Ha! ha ! and he smelleth the battle afar off, the thunder of the captains, and the shouting."

The exultant song of Miriam, after the passage of the children of Israel through the Red Sea, is the second place in the Bible where reference is made to the horse. In her impassioned recital of the glorious triumphs whereby the Lord had wrought such deliverance for his people, not the least was that " the horse and his rider hath He thrown into the sea."

DARLEY ARABIAN.

The horse is nearly always associated in Holy Writ wita man, as possessed with the spirit of war, and of great fondness for its conflict and carnage. He, like man, requires, and is capable of, great cultivation and discipline for the murderous and guilty pursuit. Associated with man in his sins, he has been cursed, like him, with his diseases — the sure and certain consequences of sin. It may be said of both his physical structure and his disorders that they place him nearer man than do those of any of the other beasts of the field.

The history of the horse affords us no evidence that there has been any improvement in the race since Pharaoh and his hosts of horsemen and chariots were overthrown in the Red Sea, The Arabs have always liad the finest horses in the world, and their great attection for them has been most remarkable. Among no people has the art of breeding and training the horse been carried to such perfection as among the wandering tribes of the desert ; and nowhere else has there been such freedom from disease, unless it be among the ponies of the Western Indians. It does not, then, require intelligence nor cultivation to have good horses, or even the best. And whether the horse has advanced in improvement since the earlier ages, he certainly has become much more subject to disease, and much more so in those countries Avhere the greatest efforts have been made for the improvement of fine breeds. Among the horses of England and France there is three times as much disease as in America, and ten times more in the older States than among the wild horses of the plains of Texas, or the Indian ponies. Both disease and degeneracy have kept pace with the efi:brts of stable breeding and management?

But few persons are aware that on these plains are to be found some of the finest horses in the world — in size and form and motion — some of them of the most perfect symmetry and models of beauty, and possessing all the varied movements of gracefulness and agility characterizing the horse trained under the most careful supervision, and often in a much more perfect degree.

Said an old Texan ranger to the author, as they were riding together across the great prairies, " Have y "»u heard

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 16

the story of that wild pacing mare ? " And he proceeded to relate that, on the plains south of San Antonio, there had often been seen, in one of the droves of wild horses so common there, a beautiful cream-colored mare, that never broke her pace, however hard pressed ; and that no horse had ever been found of sufEcient bottom to overtake her, although she had been often seen, and the trial made. I afterward heard others speak of her, and that such was her rapid pacing that she could not be caught.

One striking peculiarity of the wild horse of the plains, and one that interests us more in this work than any other, is that hinted at above, his almost entire freedom from disease. Could we learn the cause of this exemption, we might do well to imitate the example of these dumb instructors; and nothing in the history of the horse could be of more interest or benefit than to learn this fact. We discover two causes of disease among the horses of civilized life — the diet, the food of the stables, and the abuse he receives from his master — man. The wild horses are free from both, and, with the exception of death from the borer-fly, or from accident, they nearly all die with old age; and some of them live to a great age. They take exercise as iTature requires, and are governed by its instincts. Their food is the wild grass of the prairies, and their drink is from the clear water brook. They visit often the salt licks, with which the country every-where abounds ; and their simple life is one of almost entire freedom from disease, and in which their natural capacities are developed in their greatest perfection and strength. We could recommend no better veterinary course of study than a trip to the plains, and an acquaintance with the manners and habits of the wild horse, and their beautiful symmetry of form and movements, the last of which has been compared by one,* who has given a description of them, to excel the besttrained cavalry in the world. The student would come back with his mind thoroughly disgusted with the vile practices

♦Washington Irving.

of the stables and the farms — the homes of the horse among civilized man.

In England, for the last two or three centuries, the rich and noble have been engaged in improving the breeds of horses, and bringing out all their fine qualities; and during all this time he has improved backward — has actually degenerated — gone back a hundred years; and, with the exception of a few, gathered from all parts of the laud in the stables of rich and noble gentlemen, he is not to day what he was in the days of Charles I. and Oliver Cromwell. And if we are to take the statements of the most learned and reliable English authors upon the horse, there has been a very great falling ofi' in the last fifty years, more than at any former period. We refer to the statements of Mr. Castley, and of Youatt in his work on the horse, pp. 248-9, This is the condition of the farmer's horse : A very few fine horses are to be found among the rich, who gather them up from all parts of the land ; and the number of these have become so few, and are held at such enormous prices, that the farmers eun not procure them at all. And many a rich gentleman in England may be seen riding a horse now not so good as the common farmer rode to his fair fifty or a hundred years ago. It used to be common for the old English farmer to ride his fine blooded horse to the fair, but that day has passed. All such have been appropriated by the rich and great, and so poorly has the supply kept pace with the demand, that there is not near enough to meet it, and the disparity is becoming greater every year.

This is the case, also, in Spain. In the days of Spanish chivalry, the Andalusian horse was the finest and noblest the world has ever seen, and the crusader was mounted upon the noblest steed that over trod the soil. But what are the Audalusians now? Mere ponies. Their former greatness is gone. They possess no points of resemblance of former days. They were collected from their native hills and valleys to the haunts and service of civilized man, and they have sunk into obscurity and almost extinction from the earth.

BEIEF HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 17

Sucli ever has been, and such ever will be, the history of the domesticated horse. Xew races are produced by breeding and mixing the different races, yet not more than one out of five will be an improvement of a medium of the two, and the others will fall far below it, and, in combination of bloods, the days will l)e shortened and the infirmities increased.

In our own country the same law governs, and may be seen to a large extent. But his treatment is so much better, and on our farms he is so much nearer his natural condition, that the same evil results are not seen. Yet the horse of the present will not compare with those of the days of the Revolution. The history of the late terrible war proves this but too plainly. The qualities of the cavalry horse of the present, and his powers of endurance, in comparison with those of McDonald and Marion, are largely in favor of the revolutionary times. We have many fine horses in our country, and many of these are among the farmers, but is the general character of the horse what it was in former times ? It certainly is not. Many of the horses are larger now, but they are generally coarser, more flabby and loosely made, and do not possess the compactness of form or the powers of endurance of the horse of the last century, and, from some source, a fountain of disease has s[)rung that is deluging our land with its dreadful virus, and disease and degeneracy are terribly on the increase. From whence does this all come, and what has caused it? are questions that interest the his* torian of the horse, and should be made a part of his record, as it properly belongs to his department.

AVe introduce a short account of a very remarkable race of horses, as given by Mr. J. S. Skinner, formerly Assistant Postmaster at Washington City. They are " very small, compact, hardy horses, called beach horses, on the islands along the seaboard of Maryland and Virginia. They run wild throughout the year, and are never fed. When the snow sometimes covers the ground for a few days in winter, they dig through it in search of food. They are very diminutive, but many of fhem are of perfect symmetry and extra ordinary powers of action and endurance." One served as a pony for the boys of a family of Accomac for several generations; another could trot his fifteen miles in the hour; still another that it was believed could trot his thirty miles in two hours."

This account has been introduced to prove still more clearly what has been already stated in connection with the wild horse of the plains, that man has never accomplished, with all his plans and schemes of improvement of Nature's work, what Nature is constantly doing in the same department, unassisted by him.

Man has been trying, in all ages of the world, to do Nature's work; has interfered with her laws, and tried to control her action. And Nature has been, when obstructed, silently at work, far outstripping him, and showing a perfection of beauty, of symmetry, and power that puts to shame and rebukes the madness of the prophet, and exhibits so clearly the weakness of man and his folly.

Whenever man undertakes to do the work of the Creator, he mars its beauty and excellency, and introduces discord and death as the result of his patch-work.

The beach horse is the Canadian pony breed, originally from the south of France, and is of the same race as the Indian pony. The wild horse of the plains is of the old Spanish stock and the pure Andalusian, propagated and improved b}' Nature's in-and-in during hundreds of years. The fine bloods of England and America are crosses of the Arabian with several others, and none of them come near equaling the original. Many an Arab of the desert can sell his mare or horse for two and three thousand dollars, and a stallion from the cavalcade of one of the more powerful Sheiks will bring almost fabulous prices.

A fine Andalusian may be met with occasionally in this beautiful valley in Spain, but Spanish in-and-in crossing of a former age has nearly destroyed the race. The pure races far exceed in longevity any of the mixed breeds. The pony

BRIEF HISTORY OF THE HORSE. 19

will last three times the life of the American horse. The wild rover of the plains lives to twice his age. The Arabian often lives to thirty and even fifty years, with his vigor but little impaired. The Indian pony has been known to live fifty and sixty years. The American or English horse will not average fifteen.

The history of in-and-in breeding, and the crossing of different races, is the history- of disease and deterioration. The evils arising from these practices are untold and unimaginable. It was never designed to be so. While there is no law of incest in the brute creation, it is unquestionable that great evils result both from mingling the blood of members of the same family, and, also, that of the separate and distinct races, the same as in the human family. The pure races have ever been superior to the mixed. There is an awful curse resting upon the amalgamation of the races in the human family, aud it applies to man in liis mismanagement of the brute creation. It is assigned in the Bible, by Ezra, the prophet, as the cause of the banishment and captivity of the Jews, " and as a great trespass in the sight of the Lord," and one that must be put away to bring again the favor of the Lord. And he says, " When I heard this thing, (the mixing of the holy race with other races,) I rent my garments and my mantle, and plucked oif the hair of my head aud of my beard, and sat down astonished." And so will every intelligent physiologist sit down astonished at the foll}^ and ignorance, and, more so, of the great wickedness of those who would thus subvert iSTature's laws and destroy the great ground-plan of creation and Providence by an intermingling of the different races in either man or beast. God, in his wisdom and goodness, after an experiment and a failure of one race upon the earth, sent them out again, difterent races of all animate creation, to fill the earth, and yet to be kept entirely separate from each other, and giving to each a law of instinct or reason to govern them in their habits and propensities ; and when these laws are obeyed, blessing and prosperity attends; but when disregarded, the consequence is a blighting curse. Our object

20 A.MERICAX FARMER'S HORSE BOOK.

should be to study this great law of our physical being, and also in the brute creation, and to labor for the improvement of the diiferent races, not the formation of new ones. Such will be our purpose in the future pages of this work.

It is not our design to enlarge upon these topics in this very brief outline of history, but in their appropriate chapters they will be more fully presented. It is with the horse as we find him in America that we have to do in this work. ^ot the general history of his races, pedigrees, and performances, but the history of his diseases, their causes and cures, and rational and generous rules for his treatment and general improvement.

GENERAL PRINCIPLES JCEPT IN VIEW IN THIS WORK.

Certain leading principles, already indicated in this chapter, have been constantly kept in view in the preparation of this work. An epitome of these will probably prove of material assistance to many readers, and, as it will occupy but little space, is here introduced :

1. The horse is naturally a wild animal, his condition of domestication being really one of slavery.

2. His wild or native state is that in which he is the most fi'ee and happy, and that in which he lives the longest and attains the most perfect development of his natural powers.

3. Like the human family, the species was originally divided into distinct races, which races Providence designed should be kept separate forever.

4. In their wild state, the different races, dispersing in droves, do not mingle together, and if they were left to follow the instincts of nature, intermixture would never occur.

5. The horse is not naturally a diseased animal. He is subject to extremely few hereditary disorders, or, perhaps, to none; but indiscriminate commingling of blood has fearfully multiplied the diseases to which he is subject, and occasioned deplorable degeneracy.

6. Improper treatment and abuse at the hands of man

BRIEF HISTtRY OF THE HORSE. 21

have been the causes of nearly all his diseases, and of his great decay as regards longevity and natural capabilities.

7. The horse is improved and becomes more efficient as his circumstances "are brought nearer his condition by nature, and as his wants are better understood and supplied.

IMPORTANT FACTS TO BE REMEMBERED IN TREATING DISEASES OF

THE HORSE.

1. The horse is more like man, as regards general structure and the pathology of his diseases, than any other animal.

2. As a ru^e, though not without some exceptions, the causes of disease in man operate similarly upon the horse, and the same remedies are equally efficacious for both.

3. Disease is either general or local in its character : local when only some particular organ or part is affected; general when the whole system is involved.

4. Nearly all disorders of both man and beast, whatever may have been the primary or external causes, proceed from obstruction and derangement of the circulation and secretive functions. Therefore, to keep in health, prevent these obstructions; to restore to health, remove them.

5. Although disease does not originate in the blood, this is the medium by which it is transmitted throughout the general system.

6. One of the functions of the nervous system is to assist in propelling the blood through the veins and arteries. Hence, any derangement of the nerves affects the circulation, and vice versa.

7. The size of the horse is ten times that of man. His organism is coarser, and the vessels of his system are larger in proportion. "When medicines are administered, they must be of corresponding strength.

8. Compared with man, the horse breathes only half as fast. The same is true in respect to the rate at which his pulse beats and his blood flows.

9. Disease usually develops itself, and likewise abates, much more slowly in the horse than in man.

22 AMERICAN FARMER'S HOIHE BOOK.

10. All medicines are not uniform in tbeir action upon different animals. Some substances which are poisonous to mac are quite harmless to the horse. The reverse is also true.

11. The fewer the medicines given the horse, provided the cure is eflected, the better. Thousands of valuable animals are killed yearly by excessive drenching.

12. Nature can not be forced, but may be assisted and relieved; and to accomplish this there must be an adaptation of the treatment to the nature of the disease.

13. As no effect can exist without adequate cause, whenever disease is detected, we may be sure that its sources are not far remote. Whatever these may be, no time should be lost in tracing them out, and in removing them, if it is possible to do so.

14. Great as is the disadvantage under which the veterinary practitioner labors, from the fact that the sufferer can not speak, it is compensated in great degree by the expressive actions of the animal ; and treatment of the horse may always be undertaken with greater hope and confidence than that of the human patient, because it may be male, with perfect safety, much more vigorous and decided.

Chapter II. Outline Of The Structure Of The Horse

In discussing this subject, we propose to depart from tlio method usually followed by anatomists in their divisions, classes, and descriptions, and to present the whole subject briefly in one distinct, connected chapter, and in its natural, consecutive order. The classification of the horse among other animals in natural history, and his relations to them, are matters of no practical moment to the farmer and stock dealer. To them the subjects of chief importance are the horse's own peculiar history; his adaptation to the service of man, and the best modes of training him and fitting him for that purpose ; the general laws of health, and the means of its preservation ; and the diseases to which he is subject, with their proper treatment, and means for their prevention as well as cure. It will be sufiicient, in a work like this, to communicate a general knowledge of his structure, so that, in the treatment of disease, the part afiected may be readily known, and the remedy intelligently applied.

Our plan of discussion will be similar to that of the carpenter in building a house, which concerns, first, the frame-work; next, the braces and pins that hold it together; then the covering, and, lastly, the inside finish. In the same manner, we will consider, first, the bones, which constitute the frame-work of the horse ; next, the muscles and tendons — the braces which fasten the former together ; then the skin and hair, the horse's covering; and, lastly, the internal finish — the entire vascular arrangement of lungs, heart, intestines, urinary organs, blood-vessels, capillaries, and pores, with the whole glandular and nervous structure.

Our limits allow, and our purpose requires, but a short

,- ei ri ^-o«rt.-«; oTs --2"3 s s S Ji 2 S"S S S S Sf S S S S S K S S S 5 *' S 5 space for the discussion of each of these divisions. We ^egin witli the general frame-work. In this division, although a minute description of each part is foreign to our purpose, we l)resent the engraving of a very perfect skeleton, accurately indexed for reference or investigation.

The skeleton is composed of two hundred and forty-seven separate bones, which are united by joints to form the spine, tnorax, pelvis, tail, and fore and hind extremities. The spine is finished anteriorly by the head, which is divided into the cranium, or skull, and face, and contains the teeth. Suspended from the head is the os hyoides (bone of the tongue), which completes the number of bones ; thus :

The Spixe consists of 7 cervical, 18 dorsal, and 6 lumbar vertebrae.

Total 31

The Thorax is made up of the dorsal vertebrae, with 18 ribs on each

side, and the sternum in the middle. Total 37

pubes), and 1 sacrum. Total 3

The Tail contains, on the average, 17 bones. Total 17

The Fore Extremity is made up on each side of the scapula, humerus, OS brachii, and 8 carpal bones; 3 metacarpal, os sufiraginis, os coronte, OS pedis, os naviculare, 2 ossa sessamoidea. Total on both sides 40 The Hind Extremity has the femur, patella, tibia, fibula, 6 tarsal bones, 3 metatarsals, os sufFraginis, os coronas, os pedis, os naviculare, 2 ossa sessamoidea. Total 38