Page:Mrs Beeton's Book of Household Management.djvu/2002

1798. is fresh shod, the shoes should have holes drilled in them, one at each heel and one at the toe, to admit of the small iron calkings being screwed into them, when the horse has to travel on a slippery road. As soon as he comes into the stable the calking should be unscrewed, and put aside till again required for the road. The horse so roughed is in no danger of accident or injury.

In our very variable climate frost often sets in so suddenly that there is little or no opportunity of having horses roughed in the usual way, which always takes some time, even when the farrier is close at hand. Whenever such is the case, the following simple plan is recommended:—With a chisel and hammer rough well the surface of the shoe. This operation, with the proper tools, may be easily and quickly performed The hammer may be an ordinary one, but the chisel should be short and stout, of the best cast steel, and what is usually termed "diamond-pointed." With such tools, that might easily be carried in the pocket, any one may rough a horse sufficiently to carry him firm and safe upon ice for a long journey. Take up the horse's feet, one after the other, precisely as the farrier would, and, if the shoe is tightly nailed on, with the point of the chisel on the flat surface, inclining to the toe of the shoe, give sharp blows with the hammer, and you will raise projecting barbs or teeth, deeper cut than any on a farrier's rasp, and quite large enough to prevent all possibility of slipping upon the smoothest of ice. In the depth of winter, troopers, horse-artillerymen, cabmen and others who are often on the roads, should always carry such simple tools with them.

All wounds of a bad character require the attention of an experienced veterinary, and they are best let alone till he comes. All that can be done is to sponge the place well with warm water to keep it clean. If the wound be not deep-seated, and also not in a dangerous place, the divided parts of the skin should be carefully drawn together by means of a few stitches with a needle and thread. Strappings of adhesive plaster may be made use of, friar's-balsam applied upon a piece of lint, and the whole secured by a bandage. When the edges of the wound are so far apart that they cannot conveniently be drawn together, the best plan is to apply a poultice, either of linseed meal or bread and water; the former is to be preferred, as retaining warmth for the longest time. If the place comes to a swelling, and is likely to break, it may be forwarded by the free use of the following liniment:—4 ozs. of fresh olive-oil, 1½ ozs. of spirits of turpentine, 1 oz. of tincture of camphor, 1 oz. of tincture of opium, the yolk of 1 fresh egg. Mix all these ingredients well together, and keep them in a bottle for use. Apply the liniment warm to the wound, but do not touch the