Horses should always be fed and exercised regularly. If the hay be cut, less will be wasted; and if the oats be bruised and mixed with cut straw, three feeds a day will generally be sufficient instead of four. If the servants complain of the additional labour of bruising the oats, a mill may be procured for that purpose, which will cost a mere trifle, and the turning of which will afford employment for the poor. It is seldom advisable to give a horse that is only moderately worked beans, but it should never be stinted in its water, except when going out. If horses are kept short of water, they will drink too much when they have an opportunity; and thus often injure their wind. When a horse is over-tired, and refuses his corn, he will frequently take a mash of oatmeal and water, particularly if slightly warm, and nothing can be better for him.
When a horse is slightly indisposed, I would not advise you to put him immediately into the hands of a farrier. Most country farriers are ignorant people, who have a certain set of recipes which have been handed down from father to son, and who are as far behind the present age as Culpeper, when he recommends ointments of certain herbs gathered under Mercury to be kept in every house, as a sovereign remedy for all complaints, even broken bones. It is said that horses thrive most if they have always a lump of salt and another of chalk in the manger. Many persons turn a horse out to grass to cure a cough, but this generally only makes matters worse, if the horse has been previously kept in the stable. When a horse has taken cold, he may frequently be cured by stopping his corn and giving him mashes of thin gruel and bran for a few days. Slight feverish symptoms, which often attend a cold, and are known by the nose feeling hot, the eyes looking dull, and the coat rough, with loss of appetite, may generally be cured by similar means, with a dose of two drachms of aloes for a horse, and somewhat less for a pony. If these means are not sufficient, the horse may be bled; but, if it still continues ill, a veterinary surgeon must be sent for. For a bruised leg or a light strain a common bread poultice may be applied; a large coarse stocking being drawn over the leg first, and then the poultice put into it so as to lie on the diseased part. Should a horse break his knees, the part ought to be washed with warm water and a sponge, to remove any dirt or gravel; and then a little unsalted lard or butter should be applied, with a little powdered alum in it if the wound be large; and, taking care to make the hair lie as smooth as possible, a bit of linen should be laid on the place, and kept on with a knee-cap, not tied too tight. If the knee be bruised as well as cut, a poultice should be applied, and changed two or three times a day; but on no account use gunpowder, which is a favourite remedy for broken knees with ignorant people, as it only irritates the wound.