SCRATCHES IN HORSES.

Southland Times, Volume III, Issue 200, 10 January 1866, Page 3

SCRATCHES IN HORSES.

-* It is my purpose in this writing to giv< a few practical hints to avoid a trouble some disease, known as " scratches " o: " grease." It is generally caused by lo&i £ stable management. It seldom attacks B the forelegs, and horses with white legf - are more, subject to it than any others 1 Strict cleanliness is the only prevention, ' To-day's dirt should not be left for the * morrow's, cleaning. A man that is truly . fond of his horse will attend to his beirio t properly cleaned at the proper time — he 3 will say that it is not good for him to \ sleep in his sweat. 1 well know the benefit of an hour's work at night. Sup- . pose a man with a four horse-team — and it is heavy horses that are more subject to 1 greasy heels — with a currycomb in one ■ hand and a brush in the other, for he can ! use two hands in cleaning horses, though a good many drivers appear ignorant of the fact — spends one hour industriously on his horse's sides and legs, he will be \ surprised in the morning to see how much sleeker a horse lodks, than if he has been in the habit of feeding, hanging np his gears, and calling his work done. He will from this time devote one hour to cleaning — that 1 is \ but just enough to save greasy heels — when opportunity permits: do the well regardless of time. lam not a stranger to the job. Just get on your knees : with a corn cob and a handful of straw, rub off every speck of dirt, and continue rubbing after the dirt is gone. The stable is the place to make your horse look well. When you have him out he has got to work, and he can perform that work better if he is properly cared for over night. The first appearance of grease is a dry scurvy state of the skin of the heel — in white legs it will show a blue shade under the hair. Custom has very properly L retained the hair on the horse's heel. It guards the heels from the rough surface of our ploughed fields, creating a greater necessity to hand-rub the dirt therefrom. It should never be washed, as the washing keeps the heels moist, and to prevent grease the heels should, be kept dry and clean. — Maryland J?armcr.